Do shad hit top water? Wiconisco/susqui area.

[drumat26]

Sat down at the river for 20 min after my run in Millersburg this evening. Noticed many rises to the top of the water with some fish coming most of the way out of the water. I couldn't really tell what type of fish they were but I know for sure they weren't all bass. The dorsal fin was farther up the back on most of the fish. I didn't really notice any major hatches. Saw a few small stoneflies but I didn't notice anything on top of the water for the number of rises I was seeing. Just wondering if anybody had any insight anybody else seeing anything in their area?

 

[phiendWMD]

Striped bass maybe? Most people use some sort of sinking line to get down for shad. I'm just guessing though.

 

[hooker-of-men]

I don't have a good answer, but I was wondering exactly the same thing while watching a stretch of the Delaware around Shawnee a few weeks back. Saw many, many rises that looked more like a ton of trout over a wide area than bass, though that contradicts everything I've heard about the sparse distribution of trout in that river.

If I'm remembering McPhee's book correctly (and that's my only touchstone for shad info), topwater feeding in groups like that would be strange behavior. I feel like he made it seem that they don't feed much at all during spawning and hit at shad darts deep in the water column mostly out of reflex.

 

[ryansheehan]

I have caught shad on dries while fishing for trout on the main stem of the Delaware. The guide I was fishing with says it happens all the time despite many of the fishing biologists telling him that the shad don't feed on their way up river. I had always heard they strike shad darts out of reflex as well but they definitely take things up top.

 

[Fishidiot]

My guess would be you're seeing fallfish in the Susky.

Fallfish are very active in the warm water we're now experiencing and they are much more inclined to sip from the surface than bass, especially the smaller fallfish. They're also very active in riffles (much more so than bass). Because they're so numerous, it's common to see many rises in a single pool or eddy.

 

[sandfly]

After spawning shad will feed on flies. they will take wets and drys now, but hardly fight because they are worn out from spawning. we used to dry fly fish for them along the lower beaver kill near the rest stop on rt. 17. gizzard shad will do the same all year in the rivers. same goes for alewives.

 

[MattBoyer]

Fallfish. The mouth of the Wiconisco is stupid thick with them. Possible the highest concentration I've seen anywhere west if the Swattie.

Boyer

 

[Mike]

Agree with Sandfly in #6 above.

 

[Swattie87]

Agree with FI and Boyer in #5 and #7 above.

 

[AFISHN]

When I lived on the Main Stem and fished almost evry day in season, while fishing for trout on drys, once in a VERY GREAT while,I'd catch a shad on a dry

 

[beeber2]

I second what ryansheehan said. I have had similar experiences. I was catching shad on top during a sulphur hatch. It is a hoot!

I fished the delaware around the water gap last weekend. There were lots of dead and dying shad around.

 

[Chaz]

When the trout aren't hitting some guys will target rising shad on the Upper D.