American Shad is a pretty cool fish. They are an anadromous fish which means that it is born in freshwater, migrates to saltwater, and then returns to freshwater to spawn. These fish are super fun to catch, and we’re here to help you learn a little bit about them in order to make your experience more successful and a lot more fun.
Shad are part of the herring family, basically just an over-grown version. They’re pretty similar, in behavior, to salmon, but they don’t die after they spawn as salmon do. You’ll find a lot in the Columbia river out west, and they’re also in the Atlantic from Florida up to Nova Scotia. Fishing for Shad in freshwater isn’t as easy as in saltwater because they won’t eat when they are in the freshwater. They like to eat plankton in the ocean, and that isn’t possible to find in rivers. Sometimes you can catch them by fishing small insects, and they’ll bite just out of curiosity. Those catches are likely going to be happy surprises, though, and not necessarily predictable. The great thing about Shad is that they are a schooling fish, so once you locate them, you’ll find a ton.
The great thing about Shad fishing is that it’s fairly simple, and you don’t need to pour out a ton of money to catch them. You can successfully fish for Shad from the shore. We’ll learn where to look for Shad in the next article of this series. Head over to Castaway Rods and check out the best saltwater fishing rods that will give you success when Shad fishing. If you’re having a hard time locating what you need, chat with the team over at Castaway Rods. They’ll be able to get you set up in no time.
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