Spring means the return of shad
Technically, spring doesn’t start until Tuesday, specifically at 11:06 p.m. for those of you keeping score. We get the term from the Latin words aequus (equal) and nox (night), as in the length of day and night is nearly equal in all parts of the world.
And while this will mark the astronomical beginning of the spring season in our half of the globe, as anglers we’re more attuned to the return of many of the Chesapeake Bay’s visiting fish. Whenever I’m asked what’s my favorite spring fish (in fact there are two) I never waffle: the American (white) shad and its smaller cousin, the hickory.
Both fight hard on light or ultra-light tackle and pound-for-pound each is about as feisty as most larger bay fish. Called hickory jacks or tailor shad, hickories are sheer delights. They’ll sky out of the river when hooked, earning their nickname “poor man’s tarpon.”
I’m scheduled to fish for hickories next week, so I’ll fill you in as well as share tips and tactics.
Fueled by some magical DNA imprint, adults return from the Atlantic Ocean to the serene waters in which they were spawned. In a typical spring, the first wave of herrings and shads begin showing up in bay’s rivers around St. Patrick’s Day. The past two years their arrival has been earlier.
George Washington made huge bank harvesting these valuable “founding fish,” hauling in thousands of pounds from his home waters of the Potomac River.
Historically, shads and other herrings were so abundant they were among the most valuable commercial fisheries on the Chesapeake Bay. By the turn of the 20th century, the harvest peaked at about 17 million pounds. Old timers still recall riverside landings jammed with people buying fresh shad roe.
As with many bay species, the demise of the shad and herring stocks follow a familiar pattern. Decades of overfishing kicked off the downward spiral, then combined with degraded spawning habitats and blocked river passages these important forage fish were pushed to the brink of collapse.
The 2020 coastal stock assessment found shad populations to be depleted and in the 2022 “State of the Bay” report issued by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, shad got an “F,” through no fault of their own.
Maryland’s Conowingo Dam, research suggests, blocks as much as 96% of spawning habitat for these ocean run migrators. We sure have a penchant for “loving” our natural treasures almost to death, don’t we?
Today, Mid-Atlantic region sport fishing for shad is exclusively of the sporting nature done with rod and reel with either an outright ban on keeping any (Maryland) or a limit on the number you can keep (10 in North Carolina). In Virginia, however, the recreational fishery for hickory shad is virtually unregulated, both for gear type and creel.
That’s why the northern Virginia chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association has launched a campaign asking the Virginia Marine Resources Commission to consider measure that would protect hickory shad, and likely by extension white shad, by capping the creel and managing the use of recreational netters.
This would not affect Native American tribes’ ability to harvest shad in the Commonwealth.
On the James River, concerns about the dwindling American shad population have been brewing for several years. In 2021, the James River Association petitioned the Youngkin Administration to fund an emergency American shad recovery plan that would address the problem.
The funding “ask” became reality a few months ago, and the coalition of groups have hit the ground running. Supporters point out taking action to help American shad in the James River could benefit other important fish species in the James River, including rockfish and sturgeon.
Key takeaways from the American shad recovery plan include identifying factors likely responsible for the fish’s decline in the James such as habitat access, impacts from invasive species and challenges with surface water intakes. Climate change is also likely a contributing factor to the fish’s long road to recovery, as it is with other wildlife.
A task as complex and mountainous as restoring shad will, as the JRA points out require a “strong and unified effort from partners and agencies.” Same can be said about just about every other restoration and conservation effort undertaken on the Chesapeake, with mixed results.
Time will tell. The current is strong, and the upstream swim an arduous one. If human effort can even slightly match the will of shad to reach their spawning waters, then there’s a chance.
Calendar
NOTE: Targeting of striped bass is prohibited from April 1 to May 15. No trophy rockfish season. On the Susquehanna Flats, targeting of striped bass is prohibited through the end of May.
March 20: Annapolis Anglers Club monthly meeting (7 p.m.) at the
American Legion in Crownsville.
March 26: Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board webinar (1-3 p.m.). Review and consider approval of Addendum II state implementation plans. Visit asmfc.org to register.
April 3: Free State Fly Fishers Club (7-8:30 p.m.) featuring Mike Slepesky, fly fishing guide specializing in fly fishing for trout in central Maryland. Davidsonville Family Recreation Center (behind Ford Hall).
April 4: CCA Eastern Shore “Bridge to Bridge” get together (5:30 to 7:30 p.m.) at Island Tackle Outfitters in Chester. Free and open to the public.
April 12-14: Bay Bridge Boat Show, held at Bay Bridge Boat Marina in Stevensville. This spring powerboat show marks the beginning of the boating season. Tickets: annapolisboatshows.com.
Through May 14: Targeting of striped bass is prohibited from April 1 to May 15; No trophy season. In the Susquehanna Flats, targeting of striped bass is prohibited through the end of May.