Any body going down to the Columbia to take part in the shad fishing this year?

Ive been down there before and its a kick-a$$ good time.

I'm doing it this year as soon as I hear they're in.

Heck yes. June 5-10th. Bonneville area. Last year was basically the record all time year, by the way.

Memorial Day weekend is the unofficial start! That's one of my favorite fisheries too! Non-stop action on the ultralight trout rods! Gotta love it!

I am going to head down there again this year. That was fun last year. 4salt I will look for you in the same spot. I will see dave next week and get the low down.

I have a guided trip for big sturgeon June 1. We're going down the day before to bank fish for shad.

I will be down on the lower columbia on memorial day and I know nothing about shad. How do you fish for them from the bank? And are they good eating? I would not mind trying it out but I am clueless on this one

Looks like 6 went over the dam yesterday. SO they're coming.
Johnny use you're trout rod and throw shad darts at em. Shad darts are basically a painted jig head. Sometimes you need to add a split shot with the dart. Throw way out and really in slow. They'll hammer it when the fish are thick. I wouldn't eat shad too bony. They are great sturgeon bait up at bonneville though. Sturgeon meat wrapped in gills. Look out here comes a 10 footer.

Also can use SMALL spoons. Try diffrent colors. Shad darts are good but small spoons are better.

I'm going for the first time this year.

Shad Recipe:

Butterfly fish open (can't use the word filet as it would be an oxymoron).

Marinate in Yosita Teriyaki sauce for two days in refrigerator.

Place fish in baking dish and cover with foil. Bake at 210 degrees for six hours until bones get soft.

Take out of oven and allow to cool slightly.

Carefully place in garbage.

Go out for Mexican food.

Bon Appetite

Beezer

Beezer

That's exactly how I eat fish

Hey Beezer-

Best recipe I've heard yet for those bony bass turds.

Beezer...Gotcha

Looks like I'll bank it for gators and hit the jetty for lings if we limit...

I can't wait, the last two years we have been slaying them and just keeping the fish hooked and close to the bank until one of those oversize comes and plucks it from our hooks. our best day was feeding 18 shad to those guys.

One of my favorite every year trips! I will be just below the Bonneville for 11 days starting the 27th. I am so broke after mounting a couple bass over 9 pounds that I will probably spend alot of time squaw fishing this year. hopefully the Island is open this year.

Okay guys this will be my "BIG 20th" year goin after those oversized herring and have I still figured out that you can't fillet them? Not yet. May take another 20 more years before I can catch on. These fish aren't that bad. If you smoke smelt, then you ought try shad. To me its a heck of alot better and if you have a Norweigen pickled herring recipe, give it a try. Biggest kick I get is when the person next to me will put them on a stringer in the water and then watch the sturgeon come and snag the whole mother load into the water. Probably will see some of yall's from this BB down there if you're on the bank fishin. They'll be a bunch of us fishin' with 10.5 rods and we stick out like sore thumbs outta the hundreds of people. And if they don't open the island for fishing, its gonna get pretty crowded like last year.........

Robert

Here's your answer to the island thing micro.

vwww.wa.gov/wdfw/do/may03/may1303a.htm

Here's an up date on the island closure thing. They've dug up on the north side of the island to put in what looks like a new fish ladder and made the island taller by dumping the dug up soil on top, closed off parking access on the mainland side for construction vehicles so now you'd have to park a block away to fish the dead line. Did go and wet the line with my boys and caught a few, but still early and were small.

ditto bigb8bigfish:
I don't think that we'll ever fish from the island again. Maybe get a 3-day Ore. license.
It really saddens me, I looked forward to two or three trips a year there. I especially liked to take people and even kids and they always came away happy.

Spoke to some of the oriental folks there and they cook the fish until it crumbles. Kind of looks like Grapenuts they say. No bones.

More and more Shad every day. Stopped and fished the docks at Washougal, Two seperate fishermen said that two Kings were caught on Wee Dick-Nites that day (last Tues.) by Shad fishermen.

Stayed the night at Rama-Inn (no association) and was pleasantly surprised at the price and accomodations. It's North of the highway at the exit with the accomodation sign.

Fished Wed. morning and caught a couple, that spot can be hot for a bankie but will get pretty crowded. I'm going to have to find some new bank areas.

If you haven't been - it's worth the trip for the experience even if you don't ever go again. Just like my first (and last) trip to Wind River earlier this year............have fun.

Okay so I did the holiday thing down there and it was just full of fish hardy people. There had to be at least 1/3 of a mile of people fishing on the bank on the Columbia from the dead line on down, and that's being on the conservative side, guys catch-n-releasing sturgeon were doing real good on the bank, all the lakes were putting out fish but you'd had to get there early to get the decent spots, lots of boats out in front of the Wind, only about a dozen at Drano, and the weather got better as the holiday ended.

Robert

What kind of fish are in those small lakes along the highway there near the bridge of the Gods? Smallmouth? panfish? Walleye? Trout?

I always see lots of people fishing, I've just never stopped to ask.

4salt,
Most years they stock the holy bejesus out of that pond your asking about. You name it, its got it except for smallmouth bass, or walleye. The lakes further up do have smallmouth bass, and walleye, among largemouth, carp, trout, crappie, and various minnows.

Bluegill and cat fish also. If you plan to keep and eat the fish like I do, you'd have to go before the water warms up and gets the algae bloom, then the fish will taste like the lake it came out of and that goes for all the lakes down there. My boys went down for some shad the other day and did good but was still crowded.

Robert

Thanks Micro. Is your arm wore out from all those days of shad fishing?