Doug Jewett of Yakima lands a shad while fishing on the Columbia River below John Day Dam. There are currently two million of the feisty shad swimming up the Columbia, giving anglers a great opportunity to catch some of the feisty fish. (Photo courtesy Rob Phillips)

Doug Jewett of Yakima lands a shad while fishing on the Columbia River below John Day Dam. There are currently two million of the feisty shad swimming up the Columbia, giving anglers a great opportunity to catch some of the feisty fish. (Photo courtesy Rob Phillips)

When it comes to procreating, one fish that returns to the Columbia River each year has it figured out. The American shad, an interloper to the Pacific Northwest, discovered early on that they were a good fit to our oceans and rivers, and now the prolific fish return to spawn by the millions in the Columbia River.

The shad, described by Wikipedia as a species of anadromous clupeid fish naturally distributed on the North American coast of the North Atlantic, from Newfoundland to Florida, has flourished after being introduced to the Sacramento River in 1871. From there the productive shad rapidly expanded and found the mighty Columbia to their liking.

Runs in recent years have pushed over six million fish, and the way the run is starting this year, with already nearly two million counted through the fish ladders at Bonneville Dam, it looks like it will be another big one.

While runs of other anadromous fish returning to the Columbia, including salmon and steelhead, have floundered, the determined shad just keep on coming by the millions.

Shad are not the biggest of all the migratory fish in the Columbia. And they certainly can’t compete with salmon or walleye in a “best eating fish” contest. But when you have millions of them in the river, chances are pretty good you are going to catch a few.

And, shad are definitely fun to catch. Built like mini-tunas, shad are not very thick, but they are deep. They are basically one big fin. They can slice through the water with incredible speed and when hooked they fight like crazy.

They turn their wide, deep body into the river currents, which just adds to their ability to pull line off the reel. They look and act like little tarpon.

A big shad will run 20-inches long and weigh four pounds. Most are in the 16-inch range and weigh two to three pounds. Hooked on a light trout rod, they will put up a battle comparable to a steelhead.

Right now, anglers are lining the banks of the Columbia below Bonneville Dam and catch the shad by the bucketful. It is estimated that some 250,000 of the feisty shad will be caught during May, June and July from the Columbia.

In the days and weeks ahead, as the shad keep pushing upriver, they can be caught off the bank and from boats in the river below John Day and The Dalles Dams.

And, if the river drops a bit, shad fishing below McNary Dam can be quite good, too, when the fish arrive.

There are several ways to catch a shad. You can fish for them from the riverbank, or from a boat. They are known for hitting small, bright shiny spoons, but many are also caught on a shad dart, which is basically little lead-headed jigs painted in red or green or chartreuse. Weight will need to be added to get the lure down to the shad.

If you have done any river drift fishing for steelhead or trout, bank fishing for shad utilizes the same technique. Cast upstream at about a 30-degree angle and let the weight take the rig to the bottom, bouncing along tapping bottom as it flows downstream with the current.

The secret is to get enough weight on your line, via a slinky or piece of pencil lead, and then let the shad dart or small spoon drift along just off the bottom of the river where one of the thousands of shad swimming upriver will grab it. Yes, as in any other drift fishing you will get hung up at times, but often when your rig stops or hesitates, it means a shad has picked up the lure.

When fishing from a boat an effective technique is to use a diving plug, such as a 3.5 Mag Lip, and tie a 36-inch leader off the center hook eye. Tie a shad dart on the other end of the leader and you are good to go. The plug takes the dart down where the migrating shad will hit it dancing in the current.

Some boat anglers will also use downriggers to help keep the small lures down where the shad can grab them.

Because of their bony build, shad have a reputation as being sketchy table fare. Don’t tell that to the hundreds of anglers working the shorelines of the Columbia River.

Smoked and canned, shad make an excellent appetizer on crackers with some cheese and your favorite glass of wine or IPA.

There are already two million shad swimming up the Columbia River, with potentially millions more on the way. Whether you want to eat a mess, or just have some fun, right now is the perfect time to get after the intruder to the Northwest known as the American shad.

• Rob Phillips is an award-winning freelance outdoor writer who has written the Northwest Sportsman column for over 30 years. He can be reached at rob1@spdandg.com.

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