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[RalphH]

"There is a new king of the Columbia. Each spring, a chrome tide of fish native to the East Coast floods the Northwest's mightiest river by the millions. Shad, not salmon, are thriving in the warm, still water created by hydroelectric dams throughout the Columbia River Basin.

Some years, they make up more than 90% of fish migrating upstream. "

https://phys.org/news/2024-07-fish-columbia-river-doesnt-mind.html

[dennisK]

Do Chad taste good?

[Wiseguy]

The shad are a coming. I shad you not!

[Fish Assassin]

Do Chad taste good?

Bony

[RalphH]

Do Chad taste good?

https://honest-food.net/how-to-cook-shad/

"The meat of a shad can be better than that of the finest salmon. Seriously. Big hen shad lay up a huge store of fat: Some have as much marbling as the fattest farmed salmon. And if you bleed the fish when you catch it, the flesh is ivory white. The closest analog to it I can describe to you is a white king salmon or a sablefish — also called butterfish here in the West because they are so silky. And I am not even talking about the roe, which, among fish eggs, is second only to sturgeon caviar in flavor."

I've also read that due to the bones, shad got a bad rep because people tried to cook it until the bones were soft. Over 100 years ago it was considered a delicacy but the craft of deboning it seems to have been lost.

[Dave]

I used to see a few shad in the Fraser every summer while sampling sockeye. They look like they could be a good sport fish on the proper tackle and it would be interesting to learn if they are increasing here.

[DanL]

I used to see a few shad in the Fraser every summer while sampling sockeye. They look like they could be a good sport fish on the proper tackle and it would be interesting to learn if they are increasing here.

How long ago did you see shad in the Fraser? I had no idea they made it up here.

Some quick googling suggests shad can average 1-3 kg, and from some vids they look quite scrappy and catchable with a variety of techniques.

One thing our local fisheries don't have a lot of is something that is readily accessible and super easy for total beginners to catch lots of that's even somewhat desirable (maybe chum or pinks?). Not to say that we want shad up here, but an easy, no-limit fishery of some edible invasive would probably end up being pretty popular

[Dave]

How long ago did you see shad in the Fraser? I had no idea they made it up here.

That would have been 15,20 years ago now. They were caught in 4” mesh gill nets so perhaps check Fraser sockeye test fisheries for incidental catches.

[DanL]

That would have been 15,20 years ago now. They were caught in 4” mesh gill nets so perhaps check Fraser sockeye test fisheries for incidental catches.

According to the article linked by RalphH, apparently shad prefer warm, slower moving water so maybe the Fraser isnt ideal for them (yet).

Also the article says they apparently run in the spring so OTOH maybe they are migrating when no one is really looking for them...

[RalphH]

Shad may have a higher tolerance for warmer water than salmonids. However on the east coast shad range from Northern Florida to New Brunswick and Nova Scotia. There are even populations in Newfoundland and Labrador. In it's Southern range fish enter the rivers in Feb and March. April May is prime in New England while in the Maritimes it's May and June. Water temperatures then are likely on par with what trout prefer. A couple of things are different for the Fraser and Columbia. Intense introductions of shad were made in the Columbia and tributaries about 100 years ago. Sizable populations  have existed for decades.   The Columbia & major tributaries have a large number of mainstem dams and large impoundments. These are used for flood control as well as power generation. The Fraser has neither of these factors. Perhaps the large spring time water volume and low temperatures in the Fraser have impeded the few strays from entering the river from establishing any sort of presence.