American shad are one of the great seasonal events of Northeast freshwater. The largest member of the herring family, they spend their lives at sea and surge back up our rivers each spring to spawn, drawing anglers to the same riverbanks their grandparents fished. Shad do not feed on the run, but they will slash at a small lure reflexively, and pound for pound they pull and jump like fish twice their size.
How to identify them
Shad are deep, thin and brilliantly silver, with a dark shoulder spot (often followed by a faint row of smaller spots) behind the gill and a deeply forked tail. They look like a giant, chrome-plated herring, which is exactly what they are. Females (roe shad) run larger than the males (bucks).
Where and when: the spring run
Shad fishing is all about the spring spawning run. As the water warms, fish push up coastal rivers, the Connecticut and Merrimack are the classic New England shad rivers, along with other coastal systems. Timing shifts with water temperature and river flow each year, so the run is a moving target that is worth chasing down. Fish stack in current seams, tailouts and holding water as they move upstream.
Tip Shad hold in the current and want the lure down near them. Use enough weight to get your dart or fly ticking near the bottom in the seam, and swing it through slowly, most strikes come as the offering swings across the holding water.
How to catch them
Because shad strike reflexively rather than feed, small, bright, flashy offerings are the ticket:
- Shad darts and small flutter spoons in bright colors, the traditional and deadly choice.
- Small jigs bounced through the current.
- Fly: weighted, flashy shad flies swung on a sink-tip or with split shot, a genuinely fun way to fish the run.
Handling
Handle shad gently and release them quickly to protect the run, they are here to spawn and rebuild the population. Keep them wet, support them, and let them continue upriver.