Not bad . . . not bad at all! That was many veteran anglers’ assessment of last year’s Keystone State shad run. Photo by Vic Attardo

After several years of disappointing spring migrations, sportfishermen saw the first effects of stricter ocean limits and, as a result, enjoyed a solid shad season in 2006.

To prove this is not just whistling across the Delaware, there’s one sure way to gauge the shad run: by looking at the number of fish passing through the fish ladder into the Lehigh River at Easton.

In 2004, 754 shad were counted. In 2005, the number dropped to 607. But Dave Arnold, the Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission’s Area 5 fisheries manager, reported that in 2006, 1,853 shad were observed climbing the rungs. When you add in a very low 375 count in 2003, that’s more than the previous two years. The 2006 shad run was greater than the previous three years combined, proof that last year’s run was something to be optimistic about.

Hoping for more of the same, here are some top places where anglers can make their own assessments of the 2007 migration:

CENTRAL BUCKS COUNTY
The shad season heats up first in central Bucks County from Tinicum downstream to New Hope. Some shad are caught before they reach this area, but often the early-season water temperature below central Bucks County isn’t conducive to a strong bite. Typically, migrating shad reach the Tinicum-to-New Hope zone in the first or second week of April. The bite gets progressively solid with warmer weather.

Throughout the area on the Pennsylvania side of the river, there is only one public boat launch available, and that is at Tinicum. However, a number of ramps are available on the New Jersey border along Route 29.

The Tinicum access is off Route 32 between Upper Black Eddy and Erwinna in a broad, flat area of the river.

Though launch sites are limited, this stretch offers good shore access. Anglers will find limited parking from Point Pleasant south to the area parallel with Stockton, N.J. Sites include Lumberville and the Virginia Forest Picnic Area north of Stockton on the Pennsylvania side, all along Route 32.

UPPER BUCKS COUNTY
The buzz gets louder as shad reach upper Bucks County from Upper Black Eddy, through Narrowsville and Durham and into Riegelsville. When the shad reach this zone, the water temperature is often a more bite-friendly 52 degrees.

There is a launch ramp at the PFBC’s Upper Black Eddy on Route 32 just below the Milford bridge. Boaters use this site to head upriver, above the bridge, to fish the fat water and narrower channel in that zone.

The farther you go above the ramp, the greater the number of channel pinch-points, which funnel shad to more confined chutes. Downstream of the ramp, the river is wider and less hospitable to shad anglers.

For shore-anglers, there’s the PFBC access at Riegelsville. There is no ramp here, only walk-in fishing. At this river bend, however, the channel is too long a cast for wading anglers. Hike up or downstream, using the canal wall to find other spots.

In fact, if the river appears close to the canal, it’s a good idea to walk the inner bulwark to find suitable sites.