American Shad

Name:

American Shad

Other Names:

American Shad

Scientific Name:

Alosa sapidissima

Fish Habits:

The shad spends most of its life at sea, but swims up fresh rivers to spawn. The fish survive breeding and can return to the sea; they do not inhabit fresh water except to spawn. At sea, shad are schooling fish; thousands are often seen at the surface in spring, summer, and autumn. They are hard to find in the winter, as they tend to go deeper before spawning season; they have been pulled up in nets as deep as 65 fathoms (119 m).

Like other herrings, the American Shad is primarily a plankton feeder, but will eat small shrimp and fish eggs. Occasionally they eat small fish, but these are only a minor item in their general diet.

The sexually mature fish enter the streams in spring or early summer when the river water has warmed to 50 to 55 °F (10 to 13 °C). Cooler water appears to interrupt the spawn. Consequently the shad run correspondingly later in the year passing from south to north along the coast, commencing in Georgia in January; in March in the waters tributary to Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds; in April in the Potomac; and in May and June in northern streams generally from Delaware to Canada.

In large rivers they run far upstream especially in the open rivers of the southeast. The apparent longest distance is in the St. Johns River of Florida, an extremely slow (1" drop per mile, 1.5 cm per km) river that widens into large lakes; shad have been found 375 miles (600 km) upriver.

The fish select sandy or pebbly shallows for spawning grounds, and deposit their eggs mostly between sundown and midnight. Females release eggs in batches and produce about 30,000 eggs per batch, though as many as 156,000 have been estimated in very large fish. Total annual egg production is 200,000–600,000 eggs per female with larger fish producing more. In rivers north of Cape Fear the spent fish, now very emaciated, begin their return journey to the sea immediately after spawning. In southern rivers, most shad die after spawning.

The eggs are transparent, pale pink or amber, and being semi-buoyant and not sticky like those of other river herrings, they roll about on the bottom with the current. The eggs hatch in 12 to 15 days at 52 °F (11 °C), in 6 to 8 days at 63 °F (17 °C), which covers the range characteristic of Maine and Bay of Fundy rivers during the season of incubation.

The larvae are about 9 to 10 mm long. The young shad remain in the rivers until fall, when they move down to salt water; they are now 1½ to 4½ inches (70 to 110 mm) long, resembling their parents in appearance.

World Record:

The current world record is listed by the IGFA as 11 pounds 4 ounces (5.1 kg), set at Holyoke Dam, Massachusetts, on 19 May 1986 by Robert A. Thibodo.

Fishing Tactics:

Anglers use both spinning and fly fishing tackle to pursue shad. Spin fisherman use a shad dart or a flutter spoon. Typically a downrigger is used to place the artificial lure at the desired depth and location. This is usually in the channel, or deepest part of the river. Much of the shad's migration places them in the lower potion of the water column which makes this the typical depth of choice for fishing.

Except in unusual conditions, shad stay fairly deep, requiring weight on the line or fly. Many fly fishermen use an unusual 1/64 oz. "micro-jig", that resembles a tiny casting bass jig, although it commonly has short nylon feathering to the rear. Shad can be taken either by slow trolling or drift casting, i.e. casting upriver and letting the lure drift with the current. Most fishermen use a Y-shaped "shad rig", consisting of two lures spaced one to two feet apart, with a weight on a swiveled line between them or in front of them. The two lures are either two "shad darts" -- a very small bright jig (as small as 1/64 oz., but usually 1/4 oz. and about one inch long) -- or a shad dart in front and a spoon spinner in back. Sometimes a live grub is threaded onto the dart. The shad stay near the bottom unless the water is unusually high, so the rig is designed to keep the lure a foot off the bed.

In the north, April through June is when shad spawn in coastal rivers and estuaries once water temperatures have reached 58 degrees. Fishing conditions typically improve as water temperatures warm and flow decreases.

West Coast

California: The Sacramento River provides the best-known shad water in the state, and is ideally suited to spin fishing. The water is large, quite deep and is best accessed via boat. There are smaller, more accessible waters suitable for wading fly anglers along the Sacramento's' tributaries.

Oregon: Most of Oregon's coastal rivers have shad runs, but there are some standouts. East of Portland, the Bonneville Dam poses a significant obstacle to the Columbia River's shad run. As a result, the most popular areas are just downstream from the dam, though shore fishing can be dicey depending on water levels.

Washington: The Columbia River delineates the border with Oregon, so some of Washington's best shad fishing is to be had in the Bonneville Dam area. There is a small non-Indian commercial gill net fishery several miles downstream from Bonneville Dam. There is also a tribal commercial fishery. The tribal fishery is composed of a dip net/hoop net fishery from platforms primarily in the Bonneville Dam pool and a live trap fishery at The Dalles Dam.

East Coast

New York, Pennsylvania and New Jersey: There is a shad run over 300 miles along the Delaware River. Most of the better wading fly water are above Port Jervis, New York.

Connecticut: Unlike the Delaware, shad on the Connecticut River have to pass a number of dams, each one thinning the numbers that push farther upstream. The river is big to fish without a lead line and a boat, so waders have to look for confluences like that of the Farmington River near Windsor. The Hammonasset River around Clinton has some good fly water.

Massachusetts and Vermont: Holyoke Dam — perhaps the state's most famous spot — is where the current world record was set in 1986. Some coastal rivers like the Palmer and the North have less crowded conditions. Shad go all the way up into Vermont as far as Bellows Falls, though the Vernon dam has significantly decreased the run by this point.

Maryland and Washington, D.C.: Hickory shad, smaller cousins to American shad, are found here. They have a predilection for small bait fish imitations. The Potomac is sufficiently narrow in places to afford shore fishing opportunities. Spinfishing has been the historical norm, but flyfishing has been very popular recently. American shad populations are recovering in the Potomac and Susquehanna rivers.

Virginia: The James River's tributaries offer a variety of opportunities, as do the York River tributaries like the Mattaponi south of Aylett and the Pamunkey.

North Carolina and South Carolina: Try Cape Fear River at the Lock & Dam No.1 and the Tar River upstream of Rocky Mount railway bridge. The Cashie River is wadeable hickory shad territory. The most notable South Carolina runs occur in the Santee and Cooper Rivers. Bank and boat angling opportunities are available below St. Stephen Power House on the Santee Re-diversion canal. Boat, bank, and wade fishing opportunities occur below Lake Marion Dam.

Georgia: Shad rivers include the Ogeechee, Woodbine River|Woodbine, Satilla, Altamaha and the Savannah River at Bluff Lock dams near Augusta.

Florida: The St. Johns River meanders through swamps and savannas, a completely different shad river from the Delaware’s stony rapids and draws. Some excellent fly water can be accessed from Route 46 between Sanford and Titusville. In times past, the St. Johns held an annual shad tournament in February, and an estimated 1,000 boats could be seen trolling the river north of Sanford. Today, there is a bag limit of 10.