I went shad today and got 24 fish and lost a about that many , about 11 boats .

Thanks for the report.

What was the hot lure today? dick nite, grubs, siwash with beads?

Does anybody eat shad?
Is there a good recipe?

I love to catch em but I've never tried eating them.

They are excellent for crab bait. Other than that I don't think they are good for much.

Shad is very well thought of and very popular as table fair on the east coast, where they are native. But who knows? I know it is supposed to be a hassle because of the large amount of fine bones. The Sacramento and American Rivers in CA support massive shad runs and very popular fisheries. Years ago a magazine called California Flyfisher ran a short feature called "How to Filet a Shad in 39 Easy Steps."

Beerbelly what depth were you hitting the shad at??
Keith

Gottago this is an old post but here it is again.

Clean the shad like normal and butterfly it open. Marinate over night in your favorite terryaki style marinade, (note go heavy on the ginger & garlic). Next day place fish in a shallow baking pan and cover with foil. Bake at low temperature @225 degrees in an oven for approximately 3 hours or until the bones are soft. Remove foil and give the fish about 10 minutes under the broiler until golden brown. Remove from oven and allow to cool about 15 minutes. Carefully place fish in garbage and go out for Mexican food.

Beezer

Went out and did the shad/sturgeon thing... We managed to boat a 8-8.5 footer.. Lots of fun and one hell of a bite... But that was from 5-8:30... I'd think if a guy put a whole day in he could catch a few more but your arms will be tired...
Keith

I like eating shad. Slow baked in cream of mushroom soup. 275 degrees, about 4 hours, seal tight inside tin foil. Even the back bone will melt in your mouth.

8 foot shad! j/k

BeerBelly, I fished Shad today along Gov Island.... I only got 12 to the boat in 2 hours but had numerous take-downs and long releases.... I was really missing seeing my rod dip in a violent manner so i had to do something. I used only Wee Dick Nites in silver with orange or chartruse buttocks'. They are running rather large to me...gonna have to check out that state record that was set last year...i think.

I was in 21ft of water....3 foot dropper.... backbouncing into shallower water.

Louis F.

I'll be giving this a go on Sunday, going out for an extravaganza which will include shad, sturgeon (oversizers or just general catch and release), squawfish, and perhaps steelhead. Will report on how things go. Louis, you see anyone catch any steelhead along Gov't? Thanks and tight lines, FC.

FishinClinician, Nope, no steelhead...Remember that above I-5 Steelhead and Chinook Jack Salmon retention is closed until June 16.

Have fun,

Louis F.

I have a friend who says he smokes shad, then cans them using a pressure cooker , using a mustard sauce with the fish. The bones are softened in the pressure cooking.

He claims they are great, but so far I've never received a sample to verify the statement.

I fished in about 15ft water and used a weedick nite red head. I use some crab bait and some I pickle. You cant find any bones when you pickle. I put in mushrooms, carrots, onions anything you can think of. Its good.

I went out Sunday to the Bonneville dam fishing from the bank, Me and my father didnt do too well I caught two and lost one guy two peoples down from us left with aobut 25-30 of em he made two trips to his car. Most of the people we saw there who were keeping em left with round 10 or so. Most people were juss casting the them dart jigs, from what a few people told me the white and red or pink head ones were doin better. Im planning on heading there agian this weekend and I plan on doin alot better catching only two fish for a 2 hour drive didnt feel very good, anyways good luck to ya guys

It should be better,40.000 a day over Bonny now.

Went out yesterday and got about 50 shad 15ft of water redhead dicknite , but most all the boats got a lot of fish. I did C&R all day because I got all I need, Lots of fun for the kids they don't have time to get bored. :p

Juss checked the count for thursday and Friday and supposedly they had over 100,000 go over so im goin to head back down tommorow. got some more jigs painted up hopefully I do better then 2 fish for a 2 hour drive, goin to be fishing up at bonneville dam joining the crowd that fishes down there, i need to find a new stretch of water there to fish that aint crowded, couple years ago I did pretty well down by where the guys Sturgon fish from mayb eI need to head there agian, anywys ill post how I do tommorow if I dont sleep the whole time when I get back