Excellent report.
As a former(many, many years ago)shad fisherman of the Enfield Dam area ( which I believe no longer exists), although we also did fish behind Bart's, it brings back many memories.
We used to go there two to three times a week, and when the shad were there, it was unbelievable. They would congregate below the dam, and on a good day, we had a fish on every two to three casts.
At that time we used shad darts. Are they used at all now? Actually I believe that I still have some.
Keep the reports coming after your trip. We always found that around Mothers' Day was peak fishing time for shad.