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Shad

Introduction

The white shad (alosa sapidissima) and the hickory shad (Alosa mediocris) are North American members of the herring family.

Behaviour

The shad is anadromous, dwelling in the ocean until five years of age when it returns to 55ºF coastal rivers to spawn. White shad average seven or eight pounds during their ten-year life spans and spawn in large coastal rivers. The smaller hickory shad generally reach about five pounds and spawn in tiny tributary streams.

In fresh water, shad feed on microscopic plankton but they will strike small shiny darts, spinners, streamer flies, brightly coloured beads and other small shiny objects.

Newly installed fish ladders have improved the outlook for shad, whose migration routes were blocked or chemically changed by dams and water pollution.

Fishing Techniques

Basic shad techniques are the same for both the East and West coasts. Some anglers use fly rods and ultra-light spinning tackle, or medium weight spinning tackle and six to eight-pound test line. Set the drag to 'light' for the hard-fighting, soft-mouthed fish.

Begin with short casts and increasingly lengthen them until a school of shad is found. Cast the lure slightly upstream into a drift and let the lure move along in the current near the bottom. Move the rod tip to free the lure if it gets caught in bottom debris. Shad are sometimes incredibly gentle biters, and anglers must respond to every slight tug on the line by raising the rod tip. Where a shad strikes, continue to fish the same drift for other members of the same school.

Shad will take any shiny lure; the trick is to first find the schools. Shad darts are tapered jigs weighing one-eighth to one-quarter of an ounce. Buy blank jigs and paint them any combinations of bright nail polish for the dark days, or paint duller colours for bright days. Whichever darts are used, bring a sufficient number of them; anglers lose ten or more during an afternoon of shad fishing.

Fly and ultra-light fishing is most common from a boat anchored above a channel or over the edge of a deep pool. Use colourful lures on a No.4 gold hook or use weighted red and yellow silver-bodied buck tails. Simply cast the fly or lure across the drift and let the current work the lure, or impart a slight jigging motion with the rod.

With a fly rod, use at least fifty yards of monofilament backing and a six-pound test leader about five-feet in length. Lower the fly over the side of the boat and let the current take it downstream, twitching the fly back and forth over the drift.

When a shad strikes, do not set the hook; just hold the rod tip high and watch the spectacular acrobatics. Longer fly rods seem to tire the fish more quickly than short strong-backboned rods, but to land a fish by boat requires a net.

When fishing from shore, carefully drag the catch onto the bank.

Most anglers release the smaller males (bucks) and keep the tasty female shad (roes).

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Freshwater Fish Species

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