Weekend Report - June 3 - 4

It was our second annual weekend Shad fishing trip to the Bonneville Dam with our good friends Tim, Teri, Tori, Clint, Matt, and Maria. And of course we also had the pooches; Clyde, Teddy, Moose, and Daisy. We had such a good time last year that we decided to make it an annual pilgrimage. This year we elected to stay at the Columbia Gorge Riverside Lodge in Stevenson, WA.

It's a convenient 7 minute drive to the dam where we fish. The cabins were nicely furnished and were quite comfortable. My only grief were the trains that roared throughout the day and in the middle of the night. They did warn us about the trains, but it was tough to get any kind of restful undisturbed sleep.

Despite the lack of sleep, unstable weather, and poor counts, we did catch plenty of Shad. We decided to hold a friendly competition for the biggest shad. The winner would be bestowed the title King of Shad and a trophy. Youngster, Clint, took the lead early on Saturday with a 2.9 lber but was quickly over taken by his dad with a 3.1 lber.

On the second day I caught a fish that put on quite a tussle. When I finally weighed it, the fish went to 3.4 lbs! Clint tried hard, fish after fish, to find the elusive 4 lber. But at the end of the day my fish withstood the assualt and won. So until next year's trip, I will be the owner of the King of Shad Trophy.

When we finally got back from the trip, I checked the fish count to see exactly how much fish came through while we were at the dam. On June 3rd, 71,752 Shad passed through Bonneville. The following day 100,802 passed through. Wow! This is an amazing fishery that everyone should try once.

Before you go, stock up with 1/16th ounce shad darts and plenty of swivels, lead, and leader material. The river bottom is quite snaggy. I bought 100 darts for less than $50 from Woo's Lures and they worked great.

I personally prefer using light tackle such as long noodle rods and small spinning reels. With this set-up I feel every ounce of fight that the Shad is capable of throwing at me. One word really sums it all up - fun!