where

Question
at the beach where do the majority of stripers and blues hold: right on shore, 50-100 yards out(jeddy length), or about 300 yards out(out of casting range from jeddy).

also when the shad and other bait fish come up the delaware how far do they go.  i live in north east pa, but travel down near philly to fish the delaware.  

Answer
Hi Scott;
 Bass and blues go wherever they feel like it in the surf.  You can find them within a few feet of the beach and at other times well beyond anyone's casting range.  The reason they move in or stay out is simply a matter of food.  If there is sufficient food sources a distance beyond the surf, then the fish will remain out of range.  But when the food is in close, so too will be the bass and blues.  There have been instances where bass and blues have accidentally beached themselves while chasing baitfish right up to the sand.  More often, bass and blues will chase baitfish in the wash, the area between the breakers and the sand.  It is not unusual for surf casters in chest waders to actually find that the fish are at their feet, or even behind them.  Of course, most of the time the fish are not this close to the beach.  But when seeking food in the surf, blues and bass are not at all shy about going in close.

Shad go quite a ways up the Delaware.  I know that Dingmans Ferry has a shad run.  I believe they even go beyond that, but cannot say so for certain.  Shad also make a regular migration in the Hudson River and travel as far up as Catskill.  Considering this is about 100 miles from the ocean, it seems reasonable to expect that the Delaware run would be similar.

-Rich