Anyone getting ready for the shad run below Conowingo? I just rigged two poles for them and can't wait, won't be long now.

are they shad or skipjack?

Hickory shad will show by the end of March and the white shad will get there mid April. The really good fishing is from mid April til mid May, you can't have more fun with an ultralight. You can't keep them but they are a blast to catch and if you hit it right you can catch 100+ in a morning or evening, I am sure you could catch 250 in a day but they will wear you and your fishing reels out. They fight like a tarpin does - out of the water as much as in it.

What lures do you use for those shad?

I use a three way swivel and tie a 3 foot leader to a nun guesser shad spoon on the inline and a 1 foot leader on the dropper with a shad dart. Size of the shad dart depends on how fast the current is running, blue & white always work well. A good tip for this rig is to use something like 14# to 20# test for the long leader and around 8# to10# on the short to avoid tangles, these fish are strong and will break your leader if you go lighter(especially when you are catching two at a time). 

That sounds like a blast.Do you fish from shore or boat?I never have been there but fished the Delaware for shad years ago.

I fish from shore below the dam and at the mouth of deer creek, and it is a blast.

Sounds like fun fishing with light tackle. Never done it before but might just give it a shot. Above post said you can't keep any, WHY? Not good to smoke or eat or other problems. Wouldn't they be good for other fish bait? I recall reading a post last year about using them for striper bait. Just curious.

They are protected due to alot of factors such as commercial netters - and a big fish kill due to them not running water from the dam and suffocating an unreal number of them. I have a friend who is 83 and has pictures of the dead fish from one side of the river to the other. Now I am pretty sure they are not allowed to shut the water down like that. Not to mention when the fish came back in force they decided to build an elevator so they could run up the river in Pa which did little more than kill alot more fish. Trust me when I say me and alot of others have seen the dead fish. I recently read an article where they admit it "may" have been a mistake. I do think you can keep them in some other states. They are best known for their roe (lots of people love it) but you can eat the fish very bony, I had some years ago that were done by my friend and they were good. Not sure how he did them but you ate the bones as well.

Thanks for the feedback. I was also looking into coming out to the Del. and attempt some striper fishing if I can talk my son into it.