Columbia River - Bonneville Dam

[ckim85]

So i'm heading over to Bonneville Dam tomorrow for my first time shad fishing. We'll be fishing just above the Dam from shore

now, having never fished for Shad before, I have no idea what to use...I've got an assortment of spoons and spinners which I've heard works well but not quite sure about it. I've heard even small jigs work as well.

Any tips will help!

Also, any good spots for catfish around the area? 10 mile radius possibly. We'll be camping roughly 5 miles or so from the dam so anywhere in vicinity will be good. Greenleaf Slough? Black Lake, Wauna Lake?

btw, I'll be fishing from shore as well.

[Kfedka]

Used to fish for shad in the past, lots of fun!

I always fished bellow the dam.

Here are some links for you to read through;
http://www.sschapterpsa.com/ramblings/S ... le_dam.htm

When shad fishing is hot, this is what it looks like;
http://www.washingtonflyfishing.com/gal ... hoto=13044

The three jigs on the right is was I always used, you have to experiment with which color works best. There is a Gas station about 10 minute ride below the dam that sells these jigs. Make sure to buy a lot because you will lose a lot.
Jigs

[fishaholictaz]

These green tiny tube jigs work well on those heads

GOOD jig bodies [/url

[url=http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/templ ... hasJS=true]these are good also

[/url]these also

I never fished them from shore but these 3 baits were all we used on the boat:cheers: Also on the jigs I like the light green with silver flake. Take some red and white also....

[Aintskunked]

I go every year shad fishign at bonneville we normally used the shad dart jigheads pictured in the first link. I prefer chartruese with a red or orange head or a white with a green head. From my experiance almost any jighead or small spoon/spinners work ( I know dicknites and the lil fish shaped ones are really popular too ) but for me the ones with the gold hooks seem to work 10x better then the bronze or other color. I know Cabelas sells shad darts and theres usually a guy who walks up and down the bank sellin them too. me and my father make our own just because we go thru so many. I mainly rig up like I would for drifting corkies in a river except my leader is usually only 2 ft long using the same style of coil lead and swivil. I have also used the egg weights above the swivil too. Its mainly casting a lil bit upriver then reeling back in slowly. one of these days Im goin to move further downa nd try to find a spot away from the crowd because some of them are just rude, they will squeeze in and be pretty much be standing shoulder to shoulder, if you can handle it you should be ok. If you plan on keeping some shad a long handle net come in handy because the shad have really weak lips and the hook rips out easily it can be a pain to pull them up the rocks. Oh yeah one last thing watch your step walking down the rocks some of them are very loose and wobbly and I always see someone fall every year, thats all I can really think of so have fun and let us know how ya do

[returnofthefish]

If your fishing right below the dam, keep an eye on your stringer. Giant sturgeon will come up and suck shad off of your stringer. The sturgeon are literally right there in front of you.

[ckim85]

hey guys,

just got back late last night from my camping trip. Overall, had a great time with friends. Spent the first afternoon fishing for shad but being that it was way too crowded below the dam, we actually fished a little more down the river and didnt have too much luck.

Bored, we drove maybe 1 mile west and hit up Ash Lake. the water level was extremely low so we were wading in and fishing but way too many weeds covering the ground. We decided to just enjoy the scenery and hang out...then we saw some giant fish rolling around in the water maybe 20-30 feet from us. Couldn't figure out what it was for the longest time but ended up being a big catfish.

Anyway, did some more shad fishing and caught a few and saw some sturgeon jumping!

Overall, we had a blast.

Thanks for all the tips!

[jens]

Thanks for the update, I am hoping to head down that way this weekend. Fishing for those Shad is one of my goals this year, and it is looking like I am going to be able to do this, and try for some smallies as well.

[ckim85]

hey jens, replied to your email.

We actually caught a little smallie while fishing for shad off the Columbia. random surprise!

spillway into ashes should hold plenty of bass. there were a group of people fishing at that spot right off 14.

[fishaholictaz]

If you can stand the smell Jens the water right in front of the paper plant in Vancover on the Big C is a great place for shad and smallies:-$

[ckim85]

ah the view from Cape Horn. absolutely amazing.

[fishaholictaz]

Man that pic makes me home sick#-o

[jens]

I have been fishing off Hwy 14 for over 2 years now...That view is amazing. You can see Beacon Rock in this pic too..I am planning on hiking up that bad boy by summers end.

[ckim85]

man when i first drove through 14 and saw beacon rock, that thing looked scary! kinda looks like a face from some angles...just creepy to think that thing is just one big hunk of rock!