Elijah.Loves.Fishin
6/1/2010 10:24:00 PMyes you sure can! i don't really like to eat fish but from what i hear, there are a lot of people who will not eat this fish because they are really boney fish. not trying to be racist in any way whatsoever when i say this, but word is that a lot of american people don't like to eat these fish but asians and russians seem to love them. my parents love to eat shad because they say that no matter how you cook it, the meat is delicious. they'll do anything from fry it, to make a stew out of it, to even slicing it up thin and eating it like sashimi.
Jay K
6/1/2010 11:14:00 PMThe sashimi part is surprising... I know you can eat gizzard shad as nigiri, but I'm not certain these shad are the same (as gizzard shad are quite small). I'm guessing these shad are anadromous and acceptable to be eaten raw, but I'd be careful as "freshwater" fish tend to have parasitic worms which can be detrimental to humans. I know on the east coast there are shad festivals/roasts which are annual events and shad roe is an American delicacy - shad are probably more popular on the east coast. Thanks again for sharing your post; I always like reading posts of less-traditional game fish. I tend to skip over the trout and largemouth posts from parts of the state non-local to me, cause reading yet another rainbow trout fishing story can be quite boring.
Elijah.Loves.Fishin
6/2/2010 12:19:00 AMyes, i believe they are anadromous. i've watched my dad gut and clean these fish as well as fillet, etc. the meat is really clean and lean. my parents and their friends have eaten it as sashimi thinly sliced and dipped in hot pepper paste for years and have never gotten sick from it. so just from what i've seen, they seem safe to eat raw :D
MotoBoat
6/2/2010 3:43:00 PMWhen fishing Shad, do you use trout or light steel head gear to toss Shad darts? What is the fight like? The size of the fish you and your dad caught are bigger than I had imagined. When hooked, the Shad look built for speed and perhaps a ariel show as well.
jens
6/3/2010 9:14:00 AMFrom your pic, looks like you guys were below from where I was fishing Sunday. These fish are a total blast!! Thanks for the report-
Elijah.Loves.Fishin
6/8/2010 1:31:00 AMhey motoboat, wen fishing for shad you will see people along the riverbank using all sorts of gear from trout gear to salmon gear. personally i prefer a longer rod when fishing for shad to help in casting father. usually i use an 8 1/2 ft ugly stick when i go shad fishing but i left that at home and was using my new rod i bought for bass fishing. it's a 6 1/2 foot daiwa medium action rod. i would recommend 10 lb test + for shad because they do put up a very good fight. they pull hard and in addition to their strength they have the strong current to assist them in trying to run down river. my reel happened to be spooled with 30 lb power pro but i was using a 15 lb mono leader to play it safe because when using 10 lb leaders i've had big shad break my line.
jens
6/8/2010 8:21:00 AMWhat brand name leader are you using? Just curious. There should be no way a shad can snap 10lbtest unless it was a faulty knot or knicks in your line. Are you using Flurocarbon? These fish fight extremely well, but to feel the strength of these fish, I suggest no more than 8lb main and 4lb to 6lb leader.
Elijah.Loves.Fishin
6/18/2010 2:19:00 PM@ jens it probably was a nick in the line that ended up being the snapping point. the rod i was using was spooled with 30 lb braid because it's the pole i use when i fish for bass. i was using berkley trilene 10 lb test last year when a few snapped my line.
returnofthefish
6/18/2010 10:03:00 PMI was using 6 pound line and lost 2 before they got to shore. My buddy used 10 pound line and caught some. It was a very long and dissapointing ride back to Seattle.