Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[chris gadsden]

A good friend sent this information to me about Shad, that I thought others might like to read as well.


http://www.wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/fishing/shad/shad.htm

[Sam Salmon]

Thanks for that Chris!
I know we have a few of them here from time to time but I have never seen one m'self.

[Fish Assassin]

I hear they make great crab bait

[Randog]

Chris,   
   I fished for Shad last year at the Bonneville dam on the Columbia river. If you think the line ups on the Fraser are bad... you ain't seen nothin'.

  We got to the spot late in the afternoon after fishing the Klickatat river for summer run steelhead. Mrs Randog found a comfy spot on the rocks and I started to fish. I received plenty of funny looks from the other fishermen around me as I was using my 10 1/2' drift rod with my centerpin reel. Everyone else was using ultralight spinning outfits. I heard mumbles of "he's using a mooching reel" ......

  Every one around me was catching these little fiesty silver fish that weighed about 1 1/2lbs, every where you looked someone had a fish on. So heres this crazy Canuck float fishing roe and ghost Shrimp for Shad and never even got a sniff . Finally after around 2 hours of not connecting, this friendly Russian dude and his wife took pitty on me and gave me their last green rubber jig which I quickly lost after the first few drifts. As there is no limit of how many of there fish you can keep, people were walkin' out with coolers FULL of shad, apparently the taste great smoked.

   The Russian couple could see I was in dispair not catching one Shad, stared talking with Mrs. Randog on shore and offered her some of their Shad, but we didn't want to keep any, just c&r some. The Russians couldn't understand why we would be fishing for Shad if no retention was planned. I was staring to wonder the same thing.

  Anyways, it got to be dark out and all of the 400+ fishermen had left, but not The Randog, I was staying to the bitter end, with Mrs. Randogs patience wearing thin, I perservered through the lets go, lets go, lets go.... (I know you married guys know what I'm talking about) I was the lone fisherman standing on a rock at the base of the Bonneville dam NOT catching one stinkin' shad.

 Not to worry, I'll be back with a whole truck load of those little green rubber jigs and then LOOK OUT SHAD!!!!!

I'll dig up some pictures and post them

[chris gadsden]

Nice report even though you did not get a shad. We have all had days like this and I most likely may experience that as will be making our annual  2 to 3 day trip with the Master to some Interior lakes in the next few days.

[Uncivil]

I have heard that they are not the best tasting fish?  I wonder if they compete for territory and food from the local anadromous population ( Read Salmon)?  Were they transplanted to the Columbia or did they migrate?  IS it possible they could colonize the fraser systems? Enquiring minds want to know .

[Fish Assassin]

  IS it possible they could colonize the fraser systems? Enquiring minds want to know .

Don't say that too loud. Next thing you know the bucket brigade will be out colonizing the Fraser like they do with bass on local lakes.

[Sam Salmon]

I have heard that they are not the best tasting fish?  I wonder if they compete for territory and food from the local anadromous population ( Read Salmon)?  Were they transplanted to the Columbia or did they migrate?  IS it possible they could colonize the fraser systems? Enquiring minds want to know .

If 'enquiring minds' took a tiny amount of time to read the link as given then they would enlighten themselves as to the taxonomic details of this fish.

[joshuag232]

ive caught a shad at londons landing(2 road) When it was in my bucket it coughed up all these scales it was nasty

[kellya]

Lol bringing up all these oldschool posts

[buck]

Chris,

Once all the salmon have been removed from the Fraser , maybe they can introduce Shad as an alternative species. Oh, I forgot, they'll have to build the dams first. Didn't they do that already ?

[Sterling C]

Shad are already present in the Fraser and have been for quite some time. However, for whatever reason they have not been able to established themselves the same way have in the Columbia.

[Spudcote]

We think we may have got one at the Fishing for the Future week end thing last year, pretty little fish, swallowed the hook deep, and the guy wanted to keep it anyway.

[GoldHammeredCroc]

Shad are already present in the Fraser and have been for quite some time. However, for whatever reason they have not been able to established themselves the same way have in the Columbia.

Wonder if its because of the lack of dams that they aren't as heavy here    The shad run well in to the millions on the Columbia System and use the ladders to head upstream.  Anyone have any insight as to how and where they spawn?

[Sterling C]

I suspect that the increase in population of the shad and the creation of the dams are spurriously connected. I lost my fisheries handbook a while ago but to the best of my recollection shad release eggs into the current and let them float off. When the Columbia was dammed it would have lessened the effects of spring runoff thus increasing survival rates. Southern and eastern seaboard rivers typically do not have the same magnitude of freshets as the northern rivers such as the Columbia and Fraser hence the greater populations. Of course this is just my personal hypothesis.