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Spring fish runs in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Spring Fish Runs: American Shad

American shad run the Delaware River as far as the West and East Branch confluence, spawning in spring as the dogwood blooms, at the mid 50s to 60 degrees.

Pennsylvania at a glance

Read October 13, 2026
1
Run
on 1 water
1
Species
American shad
60 to 65°F
Spawning water
for American shad
2
USGS gauges
on the Delaware River

Months, temperatures and places are the agency’s own, quoted on each run below. The verdict on each card is worked out in your browser against today and the latest reading at the gauge on that river.

Is the run on?

Every Pennsylvania run, and where it stands today

American shad

American shad on the Delaware River

When
Runs in spring; the water temperature tells you when.
Spawns at
60 to 65°F Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission
Shad run upriver from salt water into fresh water on their spring spawning migration when the water temperature is in the mid-50s to 60 degrees, with peak spawning activity occurring at about 65 degrees.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
The rules on this water (2) and notes
Rule2026 regulations
American Shad is catch and release in all Delaware River tributaries including those above tide.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Closed to harvest2026 regulations
River Herring (Alewife and Blueback Herring) has a closed year-round season with zero daily limit applied to Susquehanna River and tributaries, Lehigh River and tributaries, Schuylkill River and tributaries, West Branch Delaware River, Delaware River, Delaware estuary and Delaware River tributaries upstream to the limit of the tidal influence.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Note
the only major waterway completely accessible to the natural shad migration in Pennsylvania is the Delaware River. Adult shad travel at least as far up as the confluence of the West Branch and East Branch of the Delaware, in extreme northeastern Pennsylvania.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
Note
In mid-Atlantic states, spawning occurs in springtime, usually coinciding with the bloom of the dogwood.
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission, read October 13, 2026. Read it at the source
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Sources

Where the Pennsylvania runs come from

Every month, temperature, place and rule on this page is quoted from these pages, read October 13, 2026. Rules change every year, so check the current regulations before you fish.

Pennsylvania fish run questions

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Spring fish runs in other states

Every spring fish run, state by state

Runs, months, spawning temperatures, places and rules read October 13, 2026 from the pages listed under sources. Where a state gives no temperature for a species, the figure is the species figure its publisher gives, and the card says so. Water temperatures are the latest reading at a USGS gauge on the run’s own river, fetched when the page opens; a run without one goes by the months.