Shad Fishing

[Nick Adams]

Interesting article about Shad fishing on the East Coast. With all @snagged in outlet 3 and his Shad Spawn posts, I thought it was timely.

A Fish, Yes, but Also a Forgotten American Hero

[snagged in outlet 3]

That’s right in @Johnsfolly wheelhouse!  

[Nick Adams]

7 minutes ago, snagged in outlet 3 said:

That’s right in @Johnsfolly wheelhouse!  

My thoughts exactly. I eagerly await his reply.

[Ham]

I’m in the preliminary stages of planning a Shad Run trip with @Johnsfolly in 2027. We’ve been talking about it for years, but I let life get in the way too many times. 

[tjm]

When I lived in RI there was an American shad run in a river about 4 miles from my house, I never heard about it from locals but read about it in a national magazine. I went several times over the next few years, but catching the run is kinda like finding the white bass run. "shoulda been here next week" or "shouda been here last year". I talked to guys that had caught shad on fly rod darts, heard tall tales of the runs they made, but never saw but one shad. That river had once supported a "Shad Factory" where they processed shad for export. 

Interesting enough, the shad was USA's major export to Europe for decades, either dried or pickled. Apparently every east coast river had huge populations of shad until the mid 1800s, but like market hunting of ducks and passenger pigeons, unregulated over harvest almost caused extinction. I read once that the importing and stocking of German Carp was an attempt at replacing the shad as a food fish.  I believe that the founding of the US Fish Commission was the result of the shad decline.  

[snagged in outlet 3]

1 hour ago, tjm said:

When I lived in RI there was an American shad run in a river about 4 miles from my house, I never heard about it from locals but read about it in a national magazine. I went several times over the next few years, but catching the run is kinda like finding the white bass run. "shoulda been here next week" or "shouda been here last year". I talked to guys that had caught shad on fly rod darts, heard tall tales of the runs they made, but never saw but one shad. That river had once supported a "Shad Factory" where they processed shad for export. 

Interesting enough, the shad was USA's major export to Europe for decades, either dried or pickled. Apparently every east coast river had huge populations of shad until the mid 1800s, but like market hunting of ducks and passenger pigeons, unregulated over harvest almost caused extinction. I read once that the importing and stocking of German Carp was an attempt at replacing the shad as a food fish.  I believe that the founding of the US Fish Commission was the result of the shad decline.  

Happy birthday, @tjm!

[Quillback]

Columbia river is the place to go, estimated run of American shad in 10-20 million.  No limits.  They are spreading in the PAC NW, showing up in the Cedar River which is a tributary to Lake Washington which borders the east side of Seattle.  They are also showing up in the Skagit river.  

 

[Ham]

4 hours ago, Quillback said:

Columbia river is the place to go, estimated run of American shad in 10-20 million.  No limits.  They are spreading in the PAC NW, showing up in the Cedar River which is a tributary to Lake Washington which borders the east side of Seattle.  They are also showing up in the Skagit river.  

 

I could spend a month fishing the Columbia River 

[Quillback]

3 minutes ago, Ham said:

I could spend a month fishing the Columbia River 

Yessir, you could start in April when the spring chinook come in and keep going until November on the anadromous fish runs.  Plus the resident fish.