Every year American shad migrate up the Delaware River to spawn. The numbers and timing of the "shad run" vary year to year depending on water temperature and conditions. Having accurate, up-to-date information on the run can greatly impact on angling success and enjoyment. Fortunately, there are resources anglers can use to get this information.

INFORMATION RESOURCES

In addition to the postings below, anglers can utilize the following resources:

• Delaware River Shad Fishermen's Association - Call 610-954-0577 or 610-954-0578 for the latest updates.
• Woo's Shad Fishing Reports - Active bulletin board of reports.
• Lewis Fishery Reports: Contact Steve Meserve of the Lewis Fishery in Lambertville at LewisFishery@comcast.net to be added to his list. His reports are below.
• Past Seasons Reports

6/4 Report
5/30 Report
5/29 Report
5/28 Report
5/24 Report
5/22 Report
5/21 Report
5/19 Report
5/16 Report
5/15 Report
5/14 Report
5/13 Report
5/12 Report
5/8 Report
5/6 Report
5/4 Report
5/1 Report
4/29 Report
4/28 Report
4/26 Report
4/24 Report
4/22 Report
4/21 Report
4/19 Report
4/17 Report
4/15 Report
4/14 Report
4/12 Report
4/11 Report
4/10 Report
4/9 Report (9:30 p.m.)
4/9 Report
4/8 Report
4/7 Report
3/28 Report
3/19 Report

Lewis Fishery Report, 6/4/14
Sad to say but another season has come to an end. First, the last two hauls then a quick season summery.

The river was down to 0.99' on Monday night and the temp was 74F. We still fished 200 yards but came in on the side. There were no shad but we did have 4 smallmouth bass, 20 catfish, 3 suckers, 7 quillback and 2 stripers. Tuesday the river was at 0.89' and still 74F. We were still at 200 yards. We ended up with 1 shad, 4 smallmouth bass, 23 catfish, 4 quillback and 2 striped bass.

Highlights for the year:
Total shad caught - 416, 36 hauls in 33 days. We started on April 8th and ended June 3rd. We had 2 stretches of 4 days and another 2 of 3 days (a total of 14 days) where we couldn't go out due to weather or river. The highest river we went out in was 4.32' on 5/20 and the lowest was 0.89 on 6/3. Temps ranged from 46F on 4/8 (first day) and 74F 6/3 (last day).

I will get some more details out over the weekend. Have a great summer and you'll hear form me sometime after the first of the year to let you know things are starting up again for 2015.

As always, we are looking for any extra hands to volunteer. If you think you might be interested, come on down and check us out. We start about 6pm Monday to Friday and 10:30am Saturday.

If you know anyone who would also like these updates just send the e-mail address and contact info to me at LewisFishery@comcast.net.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/30/14
The river was down to 1.75' and 67F. We were still at 200 yards. We ended up with 2 smallmouth bass, 12 catfish, 4 suckers, 4 gizzard shad, 2 carp, 7 quillback, 3 striped bass and 1 sunfish. We will be going out Monday and Tuesday. The end is looking near I'm afraid. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/29/14
The river was down to 2.17' and 65F. We fished 200 yards again. we ended up with 1 buck and 5 roe. We also got 2 smallmouth bass, 15 catfish, 2 suckers, 27 gizzard shad and 1 carp. We will not be on the water tonight. We will go out again tomorrow (Friday) night. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/28/14
The river was down to 2.33' by 6:30 last night. I added another 100 yards on and thought we could beat the rain. After my wife saw the second bolt of lighting we were done for the night. It rained pretty good about 15 minuets later. Anyway, we are all set to load it up for a try tonight if the rain holds off. Things are starting to wind down. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/24/14
The river was down to 3.75' by 6:30 last night after getting up to 4.45 Thursday. The rain held off so we gave it a try. We still had 100 yards of net on. We ended up with 20 gizzard shad and 1 sunfish. We are taking Saturday and Monday off for the holiday. We'll be out again Tuesday. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/22/14
The river was down to 3.8' by 6:30 last night and the rain was holding off so we gave it a try. We still had 100 yards of net on. The haul looks great until that big black thing came up out of the water while we were bagging up. It was a stump that we got into last week and had moved out of the way but then the river put it back in our way again. It was too far out to get it out of the net so we kept pulling it in. By the time I could get to it the net was all tangled and we ended up with 1 turtle.

The rain today and tomorrow could bring the river up again. Right now (and this just changed) the forecast is for the river to stay around 3.6' to 3.9' until Sunday morning. We won't be out tonight but we could be out on Friday. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/21/14
The river made it to 4.32' by 6:30 last night so we gave it a try. The temp was 60F. We went to 100 yards of net. It was a muddy mess on the point and along the path. We ended up with 9 gizzard shad. Can't tell what the weather will do to us tonight yet. If there is any rain the path will be too slick to be safe. We won't be out tomorrow night but we could be out on Friday. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/19/14
Today's update. The river made it to 7.21' at 4am Sunday. At 3:45pm today it was at 5.41'. It still needs to go down another foot at least for us to fish. With a little luck that could be tomorrow. We'll just have to wait and see.

I don't think I have seen this many high water events during a season for quite a while. It will be interesting to see if the shad are sticking around or if they have gone on to other river systems (they will do that if conditions are bad enough). As always, I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/16/14
Just a quick note with the highlights. The river was at 1.84' last night. I don't have my paperwork with me but we got about a dozen shad. That puts us over 400 total shad for the season. The rains look to keep us off the river tonight and tomorrow. Don't know what Monday will bring. Right now the forecast is for the river to crest at Lambertville at 5.6' at 2pm Sunday. About a foot higher then we can fish at. As always, I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/15/14
The river was at 1.98' and 63F last night. We kept 3 bucks and 5 roe. We returned 2. There were also 37 gizzard shad and a catfish. We'll be at it again tonight. Friday is not looking good at this point. We'll just have to wait and see.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/14/14
One of the guys in the crew remarked the other day that it felt more lake the middle of April then the middle of May. It sure felt that way last night. There was a cool breeze and the water was perfect. The river was at 2.22' and cooled off a bit to 62F. We kept 13 bucks and 8 roe. We returned 3. There were also 213 gizzard shad, and 4 catfish.

We'll be at it again tonight. Looks like the river will come up a bit starting Friday afternoon after getting down to 1.5'.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/13/14
A good night on the river. The shad are still out there. The river was at 2.35' and 64F. We kept 11 bucks (some real big ones) and 8 roe. We returned 2. There were also 111 gizzard shad, 4 catfish, 3 carp and 2 quillback. We'll be at it again tonight.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/12/14
Gotta catch up again. Thursday the river was at 2.78' and 56F. We got 4 bucks and a carp.

Friday the river was down to 2.64' and the temp was 58F. We went to 140 yards of net. we got 3 roe , 9 gizzard shad and 1 quillback.

Saturday we were still using 140 yards and the river was at 2.47' and 60F. We got 5 bucks, 2 roe a sucker and 46 gizzard shad. Looks like the river will be about 2.25' tonight. One more night with 140 yards I think, then we may need to go to 200 yards. The warm weather should get things moving around a bit more.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/8/14
Gotta catch up here. Tuesday was a bit better night. The river was at 3.2' and 58F. We ended up doing 2 hauls. The first one got us 1 buck and 4 roe. We returned 2 shad and 232 gizzard shad. The second haul got us 3 bucks, 1 sucker and 197 gizzard shad.

Thought things would be better last night. The river was at 2.88' and 56F. 1 sucker, 1 herring and 109 gizzard shad. I am getting reports that people are still getting shad on hook and line. If the rain holds off we'll be out there tonight.

Friday and Saturday are looking iffy. There are thunderstorms in the forecast. Just have to wait and see. Next week is looking better at this point.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/6/14
Just a quick note. River was at 50F and 3.64'. Still a little high but we gave it a try. Nothing. Hope for better luck tonight.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/4/14
The river is finally settling down. As of 4:45pm it is at 4.14' in Lambertville. Worked on the island today to get a tree that fell across our path in the storm. Not too much else happened to us. Lots of fresh mud on the path. We are already set up for a 100-yard haul Monday. Just hope they didn't get past us while we couldn't get out there. We'll see what happens.

Lewis Fishery Report, 5/1/14
We were not on the river last night. In fact we were almost in the river and still standing on the island.

When I left work the river was still in the 4' range. By the time I got there about 2 hours later it was almost 7' and coming up quick. We got things moved and were out of there by 7:30. Lucky for us it crested before it got under the cabin. Looks like it is going to come down fairly quick so we should be able to get there on Monday. I'll keep you posted.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/30/14
Well, we got another one in before the weather came in. Started raining hard on the way home. River was at 2.02' and starting to come up already. Temp was 55F. We still had the 200 yards on but fished it more like 150 yards because we wanted to get back in as quick as we could and still make a good haul.

We ended up keeping 2 row and returning 14. Not bad for a rising river. There were also a dozen gizzard shad and a couple of quillback and a sucker. The new forecast has the river getting to 8.6' by 8am Friday. Between rain and river it may be next Monday before we are out again. I'll keep you posted.

As always, we are looking for any extra hands to volunteer. If you think you might be interested, come on down and check us out. We start about 6pm Monday to Friday and 10:30am Saturday.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/29/14
What a night! We are always a little slow the Monday after Shad Fest. The crew got there and were able to get out at 7. Really gray out and the wind was starting to pick up. I really wanted to get this one in because the rest of the week is not looking good. The forecast is for 2-4" of rain and the rive to reach 5.8' by 8pm May 1st. And that doesn't look like the crest yet.

Anyway, we got the nets in and we had 104 shad! We ended up keeping 6 bucks, 29 roe and returning 69. We also had 2 bass, 1 sucker 2 quillback and 66 gizzard shad. Water temp was 58F and the river was at 2.0'. Now it's a waiting game to see what weather rolls in. Maybe we can get one in tomorrow night.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/28/14
Great Shad Fest weekend! We got out at 10:30 and 1 on Saturday and 1 on Sunday. I don't have the details with me but we had about 20+ shad at 10:30 then a dozen or so at 1 on Saturday. The rain Saturday evening didn't scare them away and we had another dozen or so Sunday. It was nice to be able to show the crowd some fish.

Water temp was still in the mid 50s. I think the rain tomorrow and Wednesday will bring it down again, and the river up. Right now the forecast is for the river to reach 4.1' by 8am Wednesday. We'll just have to wait and see what ends up getting here. We'll be out there tonight anyway.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/26/14
Good night on the river last night. The river was at 2.44' and 56F again and we still were fishing with 140 yards of net. Could have gone to 200 but would need to be back to 140 for the haul for the festival Saturdsy. We kept 5 bucks and 17 roe. We returned 11 shad (small bucks all again) 1 quillback and 86 gizzard shad. We'll do the haul at 10 and then one at 1 for the Shad Fest. We'll do the one at 1 again tomorrow.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/24/14
Wednesday night was very windy but we gave it a try anyway. Wind was in a direction that would help us in. The river was at 2.77' and 56F. We ended up with 1 buck, 1 smallmouth bass and 2 suckers for our effort. Last night was much better. River was at 2.56' and 56F again. kept 12 bucks and 9 roe. We returned 15 shad (small bucks all) and 17 gizzard shad. We'll be out again tonight. Getting ready for the big weekend today.

As always, we are looking for any extra hands to volunteer. If you think you might be interested, come on down and check us out. We start about 6pm Monday to Friday and 10:30am Saturday.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/22/14
Good night on the river. Great night to be there. The river was at 3.1'. Temp was 58F. We had 140 yards on again. We should have seen a big bunch of fish. We got nothing. All we can figure is that the front coming in made them lay back. We'll be out again tonight.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/21/14
Out on the river Monday night. Great night to be there. The river was at 3.22' but falling slowly. Temp was 56F. We had 140 yards on again. We kept 7 bucks and 11 roe and returned 17. Still needed more shad so we made a second haul. Came back with 1 buck and 3 roe and returned 12. Not a bad night at all. We also had a nice rainbow trout. Also there was a sucker and a total of 42 gizzard shad. Looks like a good week for fishing. There were a number of boats under the bridge until after we started the second haul. We'll be out again tomorrow night

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/18-19/14
No fishing Good Friday night. River was at 4.65' but falling. We were able to get out Saturday. It was at 4.29' and 48F. We went to 100 yards. All that was in the net was a carp. I think tonight will be better. We'll go back to 140 yards of net. We could be into a bunch of fish for Shad Fest next weekend. We will be doing hauls at 1pm both days.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/16-17/14
No fishing the last two nights. River was at 4.93' on Wednesday and climbing. It was at 5.48' last night after cresting at 6.05' at 6:30am. It's not going down too fast so we may need to wait until Saturday. We'll just have to wait and see. Next week looks to be much better for us. We could be into a bunch of fish for Shad Fest next weekend. We will be doing hauls at 1pm both days.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/15/14
No fishing last night. River was around 3.5' when I left work at 5. By 6:30 it was up to 4.7'. It topped out at 5.33' at 8:30pm. Looks like it will take another run up later today and into tomorrow. Forecast is for a crest of 6.4' Thursday around 2pm. I think it will end up a little lower then that but still too high to fish. Best we can hope for is Friday but we'll just have to wait and see.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/14/14
Went to 140 yards (don't ask where the other 10 yards went, I don't know). Temp was 58F. River was 2.76. We got shad! In total we got 13 roe, 5 bucks and returned 17. There was also a smallmouth bass and 4 quillback. Now it's up to the weather if we go out tomorrow night. Still calling for 1" to 2" of rain for tomorrow. Also calling for the river to get up to 4.6' by 8am Thursday. We'll just have to wait and see.

As always, we are looking for any extra hands to volunteer. If you think you might be interested, come on down and check us out. We start about 6pm Monday to Friday and 10:30am Saturday.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/12/14
Still 100 yards. Temp was 50F. River was 3.15. Lots of rod and reel guys were out. No fish for us. We'll go to 140 yards for Monday night. I think we'll get into them.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/11/14
Yet another nice night on the river. Still a bit windy and out of the north tonight. The river temp was 51F and the river stage was 3.23'. We were fishing 100 yards of net and got zip again. We'll be out there again Saturday at 10am.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/10/14
Another beautiful night on the river. Still a bit windy but out of the south tonight. The river temp was 50F and the river stage was 3.45' so not much movement. We were fishing 100 yards of net and got zip again. We'll be out there again tomorrow if not too much rain comes in.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/9/14 (9:30 p.m.)
Beautiful night on the river. A bit windy again but not too cold. The river temp was 47F and the river stage was 3.46' so not much movement. We were fishing 100 yards of net and got zip again. We'll be out there again tonight.

As always, we are looking for any extra hands to volunteer. If you think you might be interested, come on down and check us out. We start about 6pm Monday to Friday and 10:30am Saturday.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/9/14
Well, we got in last night. A bit windy but not too cold. The river temp was 46F and the river stage was 3.53'. We were fishing 100 yards of net and got zip. Really, it was just getting the crew back in shape. We'll be out there again tonight.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/8/14
Too much rain last night to make a go of it. We will get out there tonight. Should be a good night if the river settles down a bit.

Lewis Fishery Report, 4/7/14
With any luck at all we will go out tonight, about 6:30. However, if the forecasts hold true it looks like the next few nights won't be any good. Rain tonight and the river coming up over a foot and a half between tonight and Wednesday night.

Just got a report from a guide that was out yesterday and he got a bunch of shad so I really want to get out there. I hope the rain stays away for tonight.

As always, we are looking for any extra hands to volunteer. If you think you might be interested, come on down and check us out. We start about 6pm Monday to Friday and 10:30am Saturday.

If you know anyone who would also like these updates just send the e-mail address and contact info to me at LewisFishery@comcast.net.

Lewis Fishery Report, 3/28/14
OK, Mother Natureis not liking us this year so far. We got the rest of the tree out of the river last weekend and I thought we might actually be able to get something started Saturday the 29th. Then I saw the forecast about Wednesday. Not looking too good for fishing but we could at least get the boat in make up a net. Then I saw the river forecast today. Now I am getting a crew together to move things up and make sure things and tied to something. The forecast right now (3/28 @10:30pm) is for the river to reach 8.2 feet by 2am Monday. And that isn't the crest. Nine feet starts to get under the fishing cabin. Ten feet starts to get under the house. Maybe we won't see as much rain as they think. We'll just have to wait and see. I'll keep you posted.

As always, we are looking for any extra hands to volunteer (when ever we get to start). If you think you might be interested, come on down and check us out. We start about 6pm Monday to Friday and 10:30am Saturday (again, when ever we get to start).

Lewis Fishery Report, 3/19/14
Is it really the middle of March? Where did February go? So we have started to try to get things ready for the season. There is a tree down on the outside path that has taken up most of our time. We will try to get nets out and the boat in this weekend (if the weather cooperates). Maybe next Saturday? Sometime that week? Only Mother Nature knows for sure.

As always, we are looking for any extra hands to volunteer. If you think you might be interested, come on down and check us out:

Steve Meserve
Lewis Fishery
1 Lewis Island
Lambertville, NJ 08530
908-806-3163
908-507-8197

If you (or anyone you know) would like to receive Lewis Fishery updates directly, send the e-mail address to LewisFishery@comcast.net.

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