Northwest Fishing Reports

Hi everyone,
I'm new to this site. And would like to know if anyone can help me with good locations for shad fishing?

Danie

Boat or shore?

If you're going to be banking it you either fish below Bonneville dam or John Day dam. The run has been far below normal numbers wise this year but if you put in your time you'll get fish.

:bounce: One of the best kid fisheries going!!!:-$

Grab a few on your way up or down to her:thumright

I will most likely be fishing from shore. Thanks for the input my friends! Is it easy to find good shore fishing around the Dam area?

Danie

Welcome Dani...from shore just below the Bonn, it can be pretty much combat style. Be patient and curtious and someone will give you room. There was a great report recently on a Shad trip too...

There is a lot of bank access below the dam. Travel east on hwy 14 past the town of North Bonneville. You will see a Chevron gas station in North Bonneville. They sell sinkers, ice and most importantly, shad darts. They are 4 for 4 bucks. There is a sign that says Dan Access Road. Make a right turn into the dam area. Once the access road starts to curve, drive towards the river. You will have to walk down steep rocks or loose gravel to get to the waters edge. So just keep in mind how much stuff and shad you will haul back up.

As far as technique goes, someone will probably show you. A total stanger showed me how and gave me his spot. I managed to catch only one shad over a five hour period. Make sure that you have tons of pencil lead, shad darts or crappie jigs and patience. Good Luck

Thank you for all the great information my friends!! I will give it a try in the next week.

Danie

howdy. i just got back from Bonn Dam last week. shad fishing is def slower than i had expected. total, between 4 or 5 of us, i think we came home with 6. we def didnt want to be battling for a spot so we were fishing a bit down from the dam which might explain it.

pick up some darts before...those gas stations and general stores upprice those shad darts ALOT. prepare to lose a ton of them too...i think i lost a good 30$ worth of darts in a day. pretty frustrating...

but, with took the 6 shad and went to Westport and caught lots of crabs and had a feast so it was worth it

I drove past Bonneville saturday and sunday, and the usually packed parking lots and bank anglers, were very thin. I had every intention on fishing for them, but luckily my plan b was smallies a couple miles down the road-

Ckim, thanks for your information, I love that picture you posted! I can't wait to give it a try!

Danie

Bonneville dam. went fishing there a few weeks ago. def slower than i expected from all the information, duno why. but yeah, if you catch one, def worth the time. they def put up a fight compared to many other fish. be prepared to get snaged a **** load though. have fun!

This is a great fishery.Fished shad below the dam maybe 10 years ago with brother-in-law.Wow,only thing I can compare it to is a good run of pinks.Shad run a little smaller but they can get up to 5 pounds Ive heard.Try to find a spot where there is a little slack current and the main current pushes them in.We went during the peak of the run and access was really not a problem.There were a LOT of people fishing but it wasnt as bad as say the Puyallup or the Nisqually when the salmon are running.If you've fished much in rivers for salmon or steelhead its really not that hard to keep from getting snagged a lot.You will definately still get snagged but not excessively.Use sugical type tubing and the rolls of soldering iron looking lead.Place the tubing around your line then slide the lead into the tubing.The theory here is the lead will come out of the tubing before your line breaks.Since the first time I fished here Ive wanted to return.Have a wife and 2 kids now which doesnt help the fishing excursions,plus I live in Tacoma and this is a LONG ways.

Wow, thanks for the great pointers!! Goneshootin