Columbia River shad migration underway
Marking the return of one of the region’s more popular recreational fisheries, the annual Columbia River shad watch has kicked off. Introduced to the West Coast in the late 1800s, this non-native member of the herring family begins its run in May, typically offering consistent recreational fishing opportunities into mid-summer.
American shad were released into northern California’s Sacramento River in 1871. Five years later, anglers reported catching shad in the Columbia River, with catches confirmed by 1880. After their arrival, shad gradually became the dominant anadromous fish in the Columbia River basin, surpassing numbers of native salmon and steelhead.
Since then, the shad migration in the Columbia River has grown significantly. In 2019, a record high return of 7.5 million shad passed the dam. The 2024 shad return was 3.2 million fish.
Columbia River shad recreational fishery
Over the last decade, the shad migration up the Columbia River each spring and early summer has turned it into one of the most consistent and easily accessible sport fisheries in the Pacific Northwest. Run timing extends from mid-May through early August at Bonneville Dam, with peak daily counts occurring in June.
If anglers encounter shad in waters outside the Columbia River basin during food fish or game fish fisheries, WDFW encourages retaining them and contacting the nearest regional office to report the catch. For detailed shad fishing rules, visit the WDFW webpage.
Potential impacts of Columbia River shad
While recent shad migrations have created a productive fishery in the Lower Columbia River, the increased numbers of non-native shad and their spread into other waterways raise concerns about their impact (e.g., predation, competition, blocking access to fish ladders) on native fish species, including Endangered Species Act-listed salmon and steelhead.
These concerns require a cautious approach to celebrating the shad fishery, addressing the need for more research and information about their potential ecological effects.
Increased numbers of shad, alongside the decline in salmonids, signals a disruption in ecosystem health, though detailed information on the possible impacts of non-native shad in the Columbia River and other waterways is limited.
About Columbia River shad
Shad spend most of their lives — three, four, or five years — at sea before returning to spawn in freshwater areas, including the Columbia River.
You can identify shad by their metallic-blue to greenish back and shading through white to silvery on the belly. A row or rows of dark spots decreases in size toward the tail. These spots are not always visible but show up when the fish are scaled. A very distinctive characteristic is the saw-like serrated edge along the midline of the belly.
Shad are mainly plankton eaters, and their diet includes euphausiids, copepods, mysid shrimp, amphipods, fish larvae, and tiny insects.
Unlike Pacific salmon, shad do not necessarily die after spawning. Many shad continue to spawn annually. Female shad release anywhere from 30,000 to 300,000 free-floating eggs, which males that arrive later fertilize.
Shad can reach up to 30 inches long and weigh up to 12 pounds, but most measure 16 to 20 inches long and average two to three pounds. Female shad tend to be larger than their male counterparts.
The official Washington state record for shad is 3.85 pounds. Tom Magnuson caught the record fish on the Columbia River in Clark County on June 21, 2005.
Anglers have also encountered shad in other locations, including Grays Harbor, Hood Canal, the Skagit River, and Lake Washington, where shad numbers more than doubled from 2021 to 2024.
The effects of their distribution into new waterways such as Lake Washington are unknown, but state and tribal fishery managers are monitoring this to see if there could be any ramifications to native fish populations.
Other West Coast locations where shad occur include the Willamette, Umpqua and Siuslaw rivers in Oregon, and the Fraser River in British Columbia.
Fishing for Columbia River shad
Shad retention is permitted under permanent regulations after May 15 in the mainstem Columbia River. There is no size or daily limit. Anglers typically begin targeting shad when counts across Bonneville Dam reach 20,000 shad per day (single-day counts climbed to 25,738 on May 28, and 25,950 on May 29). Refer to the Columbia River Fish Passage website for shad migration tracking information.
Shad prefer to hug the bottom of fast-running current and it’s not unusual to catch the bulk of them as close as 25 to 30 feet from the shoreline in waters as shallow as six to 20 feet, depending on the flow. Casting your presentation any farther will likely result in fewer hookups with fish.
Shad darts are the most popular lure choice, but red-and-white-colored flies with a small hook, colored beads in red or metallic silver or gold, and small crappie-like jigs, along with small wobbler spoons will also land their decent share of shad.
Most anglers use a lightweight, eight- to nine-foot salmon-style rod with a spinning or level-wind reel loaded with eight- to 10-pound-test mainline to an 8-pound-test leader. Be sure to bring along a long-handled net, and be careful while standing along the rocky, swiftly moving river.
The most popular shad fishing areas are along the Columbia River shoreline below Bonneville Dam and Beacon Rock, although you can find shad congregating farther downstream in the Camas Slough, Washougal downstream to Kalama, and in the Willamette River above and below the Interstate-205 bridge. There are some areas above Bonneville Dam that are productive for shad too.
In recent years, WDFW and our partners have encountered significant amounts of litter — including fishing line, bait containers, and beverage cans — left behind along popular shad fishing areas. Pack out all garbage, respect access points, and help protect the riverbanks for visitors, fish, and wildlife.
While very abundant, shad are fished mainly for the sport or fish food. Shad are bony; they can be fileted, and if you choose to eat them, most prefer to pickle, smoke, or cook them in a pressure cooker. Shad roe, however, is considered a delicacy.
Anglers should review the Washington Sport Fishing rules pamphlet or Fish Washington® mobile app for all permanent rules for the waters they plan to fish, as well as check for any emergency rule changes before heading out.
For more information, refer to the American shad webpage on WDFW’s website.
