Shad Fishing on the Nine Mile

Just when I figured I was going to have to travel back in time and fight some big fat Scottish guy to get my “fishing mojo” back, I finally got into some fish.

Today dawned with a grey and overcast sky, perfect for shad fishing. I knew they were there because Brad “Fish Hawk” McCaughan and I had been out earlier in the week. We saw lots of fish but didn’t connect.





Today I managed to get six Shad, all of them big. There were more there to be caught but I was content and headed for home.

For a change everyone hooked was brought to hand. Usually I loose one or two for everyone landed, especially these big six pounders. What a battle they put up. It really is as Brad says, “Arm aching action”. Maybe it was because I was fishing faster water than I normally fish but all of the takes were perfect and I was able to play the fish confidently.




Oh yeah, for those of you locally, green seems to be the preferred fly colour, today anyway.

American Shad, Traditional Recipes for The Poor Man’s Salmon

Here is a picture of me with a big fish I caught a few seasons ago. It is an American Shad. You can see from the picture why a Dobson Clip can come in handy.

In the last few years, I have started to look forward to the Shad run with the same excitement as opening day for Trout. These fish are truly awesome on light fly gear. In fact, the Shad run is a great tune-up for the Salmon season.

Most fly anglers I have encountered on Shad water practice catch and release for Shad, me included. There was a time though when the Shad and Shad roe were an important food source. Here are a couple of the traditional recipes, one for Baked Shad and the other for broiled Shad roe.

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Traditional Baked Shad:

· One whole shad (at least three pounds but the bigger the better) scaled and cleaned.
· One cup of chopped onions.
· Two strips of bacon

Place the fish in pan large enough for the length of the fish. Stuff the fish with chopped onions. Make a few cuts in each side of the fish. Then, lay the strips of bacon on the fish. Add salt and pepper freely. Bake at 350 degrees until tender and cooked through -about a half hour, give or take.

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Broiling Shad Roe

· Wipe and dry the roe well on a paper towel or cloth
· Add salt and pepper freely
· Place on greased cookie sheet
· Broil for five minutes, turn and broil the other side for five more minutes.
· Serve with melted butter