It is nearly shad season and I'm looking forward to catching some. Though I don't eat them, many do. I use them for crab and oversize sturgeon. They run about 3-5 lbs. and are easily caught from the shore or from a boat. Dick Nite spoons in gold or chrome with red or chartreuse are classic lures. I've also caught them on crappie jigs and Sabiki rigs are my current favorite. I backbounce just as I would for salmon or steelhead in about 11-14 ft. of water at the head of an island while tied off to a wing dam. June is the best month and several million return up the Columbia annually. Over 500,000 went over Bonneville Dam in one day a couple years ago. For sturgeon a filet or a whole fish is great bait for the big ones, especially up near the dam. Because they are not salmon and oftentimes 10 or more are caught in a day, it is an excellent, low stress fishery for kids and those who like more action than just one or two salmon. Use light gear and have fun. The comments below are from the WDFW website. .http://wdfw.wa.gov/outreach/fishing/shad/shad.htm
C.W.
Shad Fishing in Washington
How and where to catch shad in the state of Washington, and what to do with them after you've caught them.
What's so great about Shad?
You might call shad the lottery fish of Washington. When you're talking shad, you're talking big numbers. But there's one major difference--shad are a lot easier to come by than those million-dollar lottery payoffs. Hit the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam from late May through June and you're likely to hook into a million-count shad jackpot.
You might also think of shad as the piscatorial Rodney Dangerfield--they don't get nearly the respect they deserve. The word is slowly getting out, though, that shad fishing is great sport. These stout battlers don't give up easily, and often put on a flashy aerial battle. Couple their strong fight with a tender mouth, and landing half of the shad you hook can be an accomplishment.
Add to this the fact that there is an abundance of this largest member of the herring family. The estimated size of the shad run, based on fish passage counts at Bonneville and The Dalles dams, first topped 1 million fish in 1978, and has stayed above that figure ever since. The peak was 1990, when over 3 million shad passed through.
A Little Shad Biology
Usually called just "shad" on the west coast, the correct common name for this introduced species is American shad. The scientific name is Alosa sapidissima, from the Saxon word allis (an old name for European shad) and the Latin word sapidissima (most delicious).
American shad are the only anadromous shad on the west coast. On their native Atlantic coast, they share the southern part of their range with hickory shad. Another close Atlantic relative is the alewife. Two other, mostly freshwater, shad species native to the eastern U.S. are gizzard and threadfin shad. Threadfin shad have been widely introduced in western lakes and reservoirs (but not in Washington) as a forage species. Native west coast members of this family (Clupeidae) include Pacific herring and Pacific sardines.
On the east coast, American shad reportedly grow to 30 inches and more than 10 pounds. Maximum size in the Columbia River is about 24 inches and 8 pounds. (As of the date of this publication, no state sport-caught record has been established or even applied for in Washington.) Average size here is 17 to 19 inches and three to four pounds. Females run an inch or two longer than males, and are correspondingly heavier.
The back is metallic-blue to greenish, shading through white to silvery on the belly. A row or rows of dark spots decreases in size toward the tail. These spots are not always visible, but show up when the fish are scaled. A very distinctive characteristic is the saw-like serrated edge along the midline of the belly.
Like salmon and steelhead, shad are anadromous. They enter freshwater rivers in the spring to spawn. Unlike Pacific salmon, they do not necessarily die after spawning. Many shad continue to spawn annually.
Spawning takes place at water temperatures between 50 and 60 F, primarily at night, with the eggs being extruded in small numbers near the surface. The average female bears more than 50,000 eggs, sometimes as many as several hundred thousand.
After fertilization, the eggs slowly sink as they drift downstream, finally becoming lodged in crevices or on aquatic vegetation. After the fry hatch in five to 10 days, they gradually work their way downstream, usually spending their first summer of life in the river. Males usually mature at three years of age, females at four.
Shad History
Shad have a colorful history. Long before being imported to the Pacific side of the country, they were getting a name for themselves. As far back as the Revolutionary War they helped the cause of the future United States. After suffering through a tough winter, General Washington's undernourished troops at Valley Forge welcomed the bounty of a large shad run on the Delaware River. The volunteers filled out their diet with smoked shad.
C.W.
Shad Fishing in Washington
How and where to catch shad in the state of Washington, and what to do with them after you've caught them.
What's so great about Shad?
You might call shad the lottery fish of Washington. When you're talking shad, you're talking big numbers. But there's one major difference--shad are a lot easier to come by than those million-dollar lottery payoffs. Hit the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam from late May through June and you're likely to hook into a million-count shad jackpot.
You might also think of shad as the piscatorial Rodney Dangerfield--they don't get nearly the respect they deserve. The word is slowly getting out, though, that shad fishing is great sport. These stout battlers don't give up easily, and often put on a flashy aerial battle. Couple their strong fight with a tender mouth, and landing half of the shad you hook can be an accomplishment.
Add to this the fact that there is an abundance of this largest member of the herring family. The estimated size of the shad run, based on fish passage counts at Bonneville and The Dalles dams, first topped 1 million fish in 1978, and has stayed above that figure ever since. The peak was 1990, when over 3 million shad passed through.
A Little Shad Biology
Usually called just "shad" on the west coast, the correct common name for this introduced species is American shad. The scientific name is Alosa sapidissima, from the Saxon word allis (an old name for European shad) and the Latin word sapidissima (most delicious).
American shad are the only anadromous shad on the west coast. On their native Atlantic coast, they share the southern part of their range with hickory shad. Another close Atlantic relative is the alewife. Two other, mostly freshwater, shad species native to the eastern U.S. are gizzard and threadfin shad. Threadfin shad have been widely introduced in western lakes and reservoirs (but not in Washington) as a forage species. Native west coast members of this family (Clupeidae) include Pacific herring and Pacific sardines.
On the east coast, American shad reportedly grow to 30 inches and more than 10 pounds. Maximum size in the Columbia River is about 24 inches and 8 pounds. (As of the date of this publication, no state sport-caught record has been established or even applied for in Washington.) Average size here is 17 to 19 inches and three to four pounds. Females run an inch or two longer than males, and are correspondingly heavier.
The back is metallic-blue to greenish, shading through white to silvery on the belly. A row or rows of dark spots decreases in size toward the tail. These spots are not always visible, but show up when the fish are scaled. A very distinctive characteristic is the saw-like serrated edge along the midline of the belly.
Like salmon and steelhead, shad are anadromous. They enter freshwater rivers in the spring to spawn. Unlike Pacific salmon, they do not necessarily die after spawning. Many shad continue to spawn annually.
Spawning takes place at water temperatures between 50 and 60 F, primarily at night, with the eggs being extruded in small numbers near the surface. The average female bears more than 50,000 eggs, sometimes as many as several hundred thousand.
After fertilization, the eggs slowly sink as they drift downstream, finally becoming lodged in crevices or on aquatic vegetation. After the fry hatch in five to 10 days, they gradually work their way downstream, usually spending their first summer of life in the river. Males usually mature at three years of age, females at four.
Shad History
Shad have a colorful history. Long before being imported to the Pacific side of the country, they were getting a name for themselves. As far back as the Revolutionary War they helped the cause of the future United States. After suffering through a tough winter, General Washington's undernourished troops at Valley Forge welcomed the bounty of a large shad run on the Delaware River. The volunteers filled out their diet with smoked shad.
