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View Full Version : Shad Run In VA



troutslayer05
04-08-2009, 12:41 AM
Was over in VA visiting the parentals this past week and had a chance to do some shad fishing on the potomac. We were throwing orange and green shad flies into the fast current and bringing them back into the slow rip currents closer to shore. Only landed two shad but they are indeed the poor mans salmon. These fish fight like crazy. Shame there only around for about three weeks of the year in the Potomac. If you ever get the chance I would def reccomend going out and shad fishin. I will try to load the pics when i get them. We had been planning a guided trout trip for about three months in the Shanadoh valley for brookies but recent rain made the river unfishable the guide told us. BUMMER! All in all a good trip back east though.

Ifishtoolittle
04-08-2009, 02:24 AM
Did you get a chance to eat them I hear that the shad taste pretty good.

troutslayer05
04-08-2009, 10:05 AM
Did you get a chance to eat them I hear that the shad taste pretty good.

nah on the Potomac there C&R only, Although i did see some people across the river keeping them. I also found bags of them scattered along the shoreline, Which really pissed me off. If your gonna keep them and kill them at least eat them dont just catch them put them in bags and then leave them on the shore line. How hard is it to put them back into the water?

Ifishtoolittle
04-08-2009, 10:19 PM
nah on the Potomac there C&R only, Although i did see some people across the river keeping them. I also found bags of them scattered along the shoreline, Which really pissed me off. If your gonna keep them and kill them at least eat them dont just catch them put them in bags and then leave them on the shore line. How hard is it to put them back into the water?

I totally agree with you there.

FISHNCHIPS
04-09-2009, 06:05 AM
Way to go on the shad. I've caught them on the Tuolumne and Sacramento Rivers and what a blast and addictive. They are the poor man's tarpon because of their color and aerial action. They run here in May but since the curtain was put in Shasta Dam to lower the river temperature for the salmon,it killed the shad run. Now,no salmon or shad to speak of in the Sac.
They can still be found in the Feather and a few in other rivers in the West.
They are good smoked or pressure cooked,canned and made into patties. The roe is very good also.I really miss them at Woodson Bridge around Memorial Weekend. Too bad these inept agencies wouldn't just keep their hands off,save us billions and let nature do a better job.

spartafish
04-09-2009, 01:02 PM
Too bad these inept agencies wouldn't just keep their hands off,save us billions and let nature do a better job.

youre right. but lets not forget that shad arent even native to the west coast so theres no need to justify not sustaining their needs.

and salmon, thats just an impossible scenario now. things are too far screwed up to jest let everything be and have nature run its course

FISHNCHIPS
04-09-2009, 09:31 PM
Sadly,the true goals of fisheries management concerning anadromous species in the Sacramento River watershed have nothing to do with improving the numbers or viability of the species. These hogs at the trough are immensely rewarded for lower and lower numbers of returning fish by way of attracting huge amounts of money to their continually failing programs. Over one hundred million dollars was just approved to dump into a short stretch of Battle Creek which should have been nothing more than opening a fish barrier gate at the Coleman National Hatchery.
Any honest fisheries employee will tell you,the bigger we can get the budget,the more easily we can justify a larger salary.
And keeping this on the shad,they have been a wonderful addition to our sportfishing these past hundred years or so as are most of the sportfish species now in our state.
The salmon will be back in historically record numbers someday,but I think it will be after human extinction

FISHNCHIPS
04-09-2009, 09:41 PM
Sadly,the true goals of fisheries management concerning anadromous species in the Sacramento River watershed have nothing to do with improving the numbers or viability of the species. These hogs at the trough are immensely rewarded for lower and lower numbers of returning fish by way of attracting huge amounts of money to their continually failing programs. Over one hundred million dollars was just approved to dump into a short stretch of Battle Creek which should have been nothing more than opening a fish barrier gate at the Coleman National Hatchery.
Any honest fisheries employee will tell you,the bigger we can get the budget,the more easily we can justify a larger salary.
And keeping this on the shad,they have been a wonderful addition to our sportfishing these past hundred years or so as are most of the sportfish species now in our state.
The salmon will be back in historically record numbers someday,but I think it will be after human extinction