I’ll unleash a storm of precise imitation, a half dozen tell-all manuscripts, and turn both coasts of fly fishermen on their collective ear…
… and I’ve always wanted to do that, just once …
Having fished for American Shad for many years I’d always subscribed to the “attractor” theory; they smack flies out of spite/anger/curiosity but they didn’t feed in freshwater…
Conventional wisdom said, “Shad feed on krill and plankton in saltwater, but don’t feed while migrating…” This is “fishing wisdom” talking and after you get a similar response from the first nineteen fellows that know more than you – you stop asking.
A recent article in the American Fisheries Journal suggests Shad do feed in freshwater, but neither regularly or with much gusto..
(Extract follows – the article body is available only for purchase)
We evaluated the feeding habits of American shad Alosa sapidissima on spawning grounds in the St. Johns River, Florida. Feeding intensity in freshwater was generally low but highly variable. The items consumed were mainly pelagic (cyclopoid copepods and woody debris), although benthic (mollusks and sand) and surface (adult insects [Coleoptera, Hemiptera, and Odonata]) organisms occurred occasionally. The stomach fullness index varied by location for males, suggesting that ingestion is related to prey availability. Feeding by females also varied by location and continued during final oocyte maturation and active spawning. Egg cannibalism was suggested by the presence of some eggs morphologically similar to American shad eggs in the stomachs of males and females collected when females were running ripe. The results from diel sampling suggested that individuals consumed approximately 1.727 kJ/d in freshwater, which represents only a small fraction of the estimated daily energetic expenditure during the spawning run. Unlike iteroparous populations, Florida’s American shad probably do not conserve energy for out-migration. While this low incidence of freshwater feeding did not maintain fish weight, it may increase available energy and thereby increase fecundity.
Gives us something to think about. Shad don’t feed much and when they do eat mollusks, wood, shad roe, moths, damsel/dragonflies, and midges.
…which neatly explains why Shad are attracted to florescent flies with eye-watering vibrancy and dripping shiny … after completing a thousand mile journey to an exotic locale they’re sampling the local cuisine – same as we would.
Before you run out for eleven dozen egg flies of steelhead vintage, shad eggs are about a size 20.
Calf liver would be a close approximation to an egg sack – but the bait issue would send you mincing about gashing yourselves in mock horror – so I’d go for a couple packs of rubber dogshit and shape it with a paring knife…
… that shouldn’t offend them delicate sensibilities too terrible much.
First, yesterday you write about bead chain, something I’ve been looking for. Second, today, you write about how a fly that looks nothing like a natural anything i still being eaten by fish….something I was just talking about for the last 2 days. Someone was looking at one of my orange and green foam predators and said it doesn’t look like anything normally found in a pond. I got thinking, it looks close enough to be edible. Then I likened it to my fat self. When I walk up to a buffet of fine crafted foods, I might see something that doesn’t look like anything I’ve tried before, but there it is, on a buffet table, so it must be food, and it looks close enough. Fortunately for me, I’ve never been surprised by a hidden hook in any of my adventures. A foam predator looks close enough, and it’s on the fishes buffet table, so BAM, fish on!
The dining habits of us colonials have been well documented in the Hall of Shame.. Fly 3000 miles to France and the first thing we try is a “Royale with Cheese” (Big Mac) – and only then do we think about the local fare.
I figure the Shad are doing the same thing – they slam the first thing that looks like Ronald McDonald cooked it – and after a painful tussle (or two) decide the local chow might be less arduous.
I have caught zero Shad on every bait I have tried. Maybe the dog poo will work.
And next weekend you won’t have to buy the artificial stuff – you’ll be swimming in the real McCoy.