Okay it’s spring and that means many West Coast rivers are getting invaded, at this very minute, by big waves of jumbo-sized, fresh from the sea mutant herring…American Shad.

If you’ve never caught these scrappy bad boys, you owe it to yourself to give it a try this year! You won’t find too many 1- to 6-pound fish that fight any better. Here’s a super basic look at how to get in on the fun…

Tackle

One of the true beauties of shad fishing is the simplicity. Grab a light-action spinning rod (I like 7 footers) and a reel with a smooth drag system and load it up with 4-pound mono. All you really need for shad fishing in the terminal gear department is a few different sizes of shot, some 1/32-ounce jig heads and a few colors of 1- to 2-inch grubs. Keep it simple!

Take a look at my personal shad box and you’ll get the idea…

Keep 'er simple...don't over-think shad too much!

My all-around favorite shad rig…

Just add enough splitshot to get near the bottom and you're good to go.

Technique

From an anchored boat or the bank, the down-and-across swing is the best method:

As your lure drifts, give the rod tip an occasional “pop” just to give the bait a little extra action.

Where to look

Shad aren’t big fans of whitewater, so try fishing below any sort of barrier in the river — dams, rapids and falls. They also really like nice slow flats that are 6-12 feet deep.

Fish here!

Generally, shad fishing is best early and late in the day, but you can also whack ‘em pretty good in the afternoon too. For the most action, hit the river in the late afternoon and fish right until dark.

Read the articles below for more detailed shaddin’ info….

Spring’s here and that means it’s time for American Shad! Here’s a quick crash course on just exactly what these things are…and how to catch ‘em:

For the uninitiated, shad are over-grown members of the herring family that spend most of their life in the ocean and then return to freshwater rivers to spawn (like salmon, only most shad don’t die after spawning).

Native to the East Coast, shad were transplanted to the West in the 1800′s and have flourished since. Out West, the Columbia River plays host to the largest runs followed by the Sacramento River and her main tributaries, the American, Feather and Yuba rivers.

The first waves of these jumbo herring arrive sometime April and fishing can last through June and into July in some streams.

Herring on Drugs

Don’t write off shad just because they’re related to herring. They’re great fighters when hooked and often make long runs highlighted by some impressive aerial work. Shad are such highly-regarded opponents that anglers have dubbed them “poor man’s tarpon” — a cliché I’ve heard far too many times, but an apt description none-the-less. I prefer to call them “herring on steroids.” Whatever name they go by, shad are a blast to catch — males average 2-3 pounds, while the females run 4-6 pounds and slightly larger on occasion.

Single File, Please

Shad are a schooling fish and usually where you find one, you find a whole bunch. The interesting thing about these jumbo herring is they school up in long, almost single file lines rather than tightly-bunched packs like other fish. That means you need to really cover a piece of holding water thoroughly before moving on.

There could be a school of 500 fish in front of you but you’d swear that the pool’s devoid of fish because you’ve been making casts a foot or two on either side of the narrow band of shad. I rarely catch shad in water that’s deeper than about 12 feet, and they usually sit in water with a moderate flow to it. Shad aren’t big fans of running up rapids and other obstructions, so they often get concentrated below such areas.

Other places to fish include current seams below rocks and islands, current edges where fast water meets slow, tail-outs and, especially…flats.

Match the Hatch?

When they run upstream to spawn, shad aren’t programmed to feed, so there’s no natural food source to match when fishing for them. Spin anglers do very well with 1/2-inch chartreuse, pink, yellow and red/white mini grubs fished on 1/32- to 1/16-ounce lead head jigs. To get the jig down, splitshot is often needed about 20 inches above the lure. You can also run the same rig with small Dick Nite Spoons in the same color schemes.

Cast slightly upstream and let the jig sink down to the bottom. You’ll know you have the right amount of lead when the lure lightly “ticks” the bottom. Too much lead and you’ll hand up; too little and you won’t get down where the fish are. A good outfit for shad fishing is a 6-foot ultralight rod rated for 4- to 6-pound test line and a spinning reel with a quality drag system.

Shad are also a great fly rod species. I like a No. 6-8 rod with a shooting head to get my offering down to the bottom. Sparsely-tied bead-chain eye patterns with silver mylar bodies and pink or chartreuse hackle work well. Use about a 4-foot leader and fish them on-the-swing.

Change is Good

One little annoying trait that shad have is they can shut off without warning. You can be happily plucking a fish per cast out of a spot for two hours and then, suddenly, nothing. Change lure or fly color and — PRESTO! — they’re back on the bite. The moral of the story: feel free to switch around until you find a color that works.

Other Tips

When your lure or fly is drifting along, near the bottom, give your rod tip a light jerk every couple of seconds. Shad really seem to be attracted to erratic motion, so adding some “jigging” motion to your lure will help increase the amount of strikes you get. Also, pay attention when you’re reeling in a shad. If it’s a female, it will often be accompanied by 1-4 males. The males will follow a hooked female right up to the boat or your feet and are extremely aggressive. If you’re fishing with a buddy, have him/her drop their jig or fly in right next to your hooked fish, and 9 times out of 10, one of the males will slam it. Instant double-hook-up!

Every year at this time there seems to be quite a bit of confusion about shad fishing – and shad in general – and I often have to field a million questions like: What the heck is a shad? and Shad are just small baitfish…why would anybody fish for those things? So, I figured it was time to clear a few things up. With that in mind, here’s my graduate crash course on shad and shad fishing. You will not be tested.

Baitfish vs. Gamefish

The first thing we need to set straight is there are several types of shad. In California, we have two varieties: threadfin and American and this is where most of the misunderstanding begins. Threadfin shad are small baitfish that live in most of our lakes and reservoirs and rarely top 4 inches. American shad, on the other hand, run anywhere from 2 to 7 pounds and spend their lives in the ocean and then come up freshwater streams to spawn in the spring of each year. Aside from the size difference, the two species look similar to one another – deep bodies, big eyes, large silver scales and forked tails. Neither is native to the West Coast.

Westward-Ho

American shad are native to the East Coast and first made the trip west on the newly-completed transcontinental railroad in 1871. An immensely popular fish along the eastern seaboard, they were transported across the country in milk jugs by Seth Green of the New York Fish and Game Commission. He dumped 10,000 little shad into the Sacramento River south of Redding and hoped for the best.

The shad took well to their new digs and over the next 20 years, they established strong spawning runs on the Sacramento, Feather, American, Yuba, San Joaquin and Mokelumne rivers. They also spread out up the coast and found their way into the Russian, Eel and Klamath rivers and some streams in Southern Oregon as well. Now days, the Columbia River on the Washington-Oregon border hosts the world’s largest run of American shad.

The Spawn is On

As I noted earlier, American shad spend 2-3 years in the ocean and then swim up freshwater streams to spawn. On the West Coast, the shad run usually takes place anywhere from early April until late July. While a certain percentage of shad die after spawning like salmon do, some are able to make the downstream trek back to the Pacific.

Good Sport

When shad enter freshwater, they often do so by the tens of thousands. Their numbers, combined with their well-documented ability to bend rods and make reels scream, have made shad a very popular gamefish.

In the ocean, American shad are plankton eaters and they don’t feed when they hit freshwater. They are, however, a curious lot and will happily strike a variety of lures. Most anglers throw small red/white lead head shad darts at them or 1/32-ounce curly-tailed jigs in colors like hot pink or chartreuse.

Good Eating?

The scientific name for American Shad is alosa sapidissim, which translated means “most savory.” They are an important food fish in their native range (the East Coast), but West Coasters have not yet taken too whole-heartedly to the concept of “shad is food.” I’ve tasted smoked shad and it was okay – though you could probably also smoke a old Nike and make it edible. The main problem with shad is they are full of fine bones. Supposedly, pressure-cooking them helps to dissolve some of the bones, but I’m not sure it’s worth the effort. Shad roe is also a popular delicacy, though I think I’ll stick to chicken eggs, thanks.

So, there you have it: the life and times of the American shad in a nutshell. Hope that helps!

Just as George Washington and his Continental Army were on the verge of starving to death in Valley Forge in the spring of 1778, an amazing thing happened.

 Sometime in March, the ice melted and the Schuylkill River, along which Washington and the boys were camped, began flowing again. In April, the first wave of alosa sapidissima, otherwise known as “American shad” arrived to spawn in the river like a gravy train from the heavens.

Soon, there were hundreds of thousands of shad in the river and the Continental Army netted them by the ton and gleefully fattened their retched selves up on them.

Now, I’m not going to say that American shad saved America or that they are going to have quite as much of an impact when they return to our rivers this year. But I will say this: we’ve got a high water season going on in the American, Yuba, Feather and Sacramento rivers and that should mean some awesome fishing is forthcoming.

Close to home, there are already plenty of fish in the lower American up to Watt Avenue and I’d expect to see them all the way to the Sunrise Flats by next week.

If you’ve never fished for American shad, you’ve been missing the boat. They’re great fun on light tackle and, though I’ve never eaten one, Washington and the fellas seemed to think they were great table fare as well. After all, alosa sapidissima translates to “most savory.”

American shad will generally run from 2 to 6 pounds and it’s not uncommon to hook into 20 to 50+ fish in day.

Since they don’t feed when they’re in freshwater (shad are plankton eaters in the ocean), why they’ll bite a fly or lure is not completely understood.

 But who really cares why they bite anyway? The fact of the matter is they do and you can have some epic days throwing curly-tailed plastic jigs ranging in size from 1/64 to 1/16 ounces.

Red/white and solid yellow were the staple color schemes back in the 1970′s and early 80′s, but chartreuse and hot pink are the two favorites now.

Of course, it’s a good idea to keep a variety of colors and sizes on hand in case the shad are in a “retro” mood.

 Deep, slow pools are good places to begin your quest. Shad tend to hold throughout the heat of the day in such spots, where they’ll often wait for evening to fall before they continue upstream. Long, uniform flats with slow to moderate current below white water will also attract shad, as will current seams and soft current edges.

Shad aren't bigs fans of water falls, so fish below anything that creats a barrier!

Position yourself upstream of the water you want to fish and cast slightly down and across the current. Allow your offering to sink near the bottom and swing in a downstream arc.

As it drifts, give the jig some action by raising the rod tip 12 inches or so every 3 to 5 seconds. This jigging motion seems to really appeal to the curious nature of the fish and will draw strikes when a simple “dead drift” approach doesn’t work.

So, get out there and take a shot at the fish that perhaps saved the United States in its infancy. Maybe they call them “American” shad for a reason…