Shad Fishing on the Willamette?

[Tanner]

To my knowledge the shad do not go above Oregon City. I have flyfished for them many times right below the falls in OC and it is a kick.

[drifter24]

Tanner,
What time of year are they around the falls, I would assume its pretty soon. Any special flies? Thanks for the info.

[drifter24]

I caught the end of a TV special the other day about fly-fishing for shad on the Willamette. Does anyone know when they start running, what types of flys to use, and some decent spots to fish in the vicinity of Corvallis? Thanks for the info.

[Tanner]

There are probably a few there now but I usually wait until the first - middle of June when flows start getting a little lower.

As far as flies. Anything shiny. I usually use a silver or gold tinsel body with a red or chartreuse mylar wing and tungsten dumbell eyes.

[Paddlefish]

A number of years ago, I heard a "friend of a friend" story (complete with a real estate offer, no doubt! :grin: )about catching shad at the mouth of the Tualatin River, but that's the only reference I've ever heard about shad above the falls.

The Willamette Falls fish counts never list shad, but they certainly aren't shy about climbing the Columbia dams' fish ladders, so I wouldn't consider it to be impossible. :whazzup:

Anybody got any knowledge in the area? graemlins/1zhelp.gif

[drbfish]

we fished below the falls today with flies. We got zero, but the boat above us caught about 50. I have never been out fished like that in my life. But we were using flies and they were using spinning gear. They were using a ton of weight. The fish are in good right now!!

[PittsburghD]

I've never used flies but we hit those suckers hard with Dick Nites in the first two weeks of June all the way through the month. My buddy has a downrigger we started using now to feel the fight better. I have a 7-weight steelhead rod I'd bet would work for shad. Hey, Tanner send me your email address, I'd love to tag along and watch this process maybe toss in a few flashy bugs myself.

--D graemlins/lurk.gif

[letsfish]

Any one with some room in a boat I will be having the week of June 2 off. I love to fly fish and shad fish. Never put the two together, sounds like fun.email me we can rip lips. Thanks,
Jim