Hickory shad at the dam
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G
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·Cat is outta the bag now. Let the madness begin! Boat guys slinging hooks at the banks.....bank guys slinging hooks towards boats. Don't forget your safety glasses
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That's a gizzard shad aka mud shad.
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the smell
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Good one!
Fly fishing for mud shad is like shoveling manure in a tuxedo.
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457 Posts
The stink is a pretty good start! That is a gizzard shad, or locally mud shad, which is kinda what I thought when I heard there were shad at the dam this early. Years ago, before 9/11 they would be so thick in there you would snag dozens of them in the fall while fishing at night for walleye.
http://dnr.maryland.gov/Fisheries/Pages/fishfacts-index.aspx
A story for you. I was fishing up there at the base of the dam one night in the fall and it was so cold that I was the only one out there fishing (read as dumb enough to be out there fishing). I happened to look down river and there was a huge raccoon coming up the shore line straight for me. I didn't really think too much about it until he got within less than ten feet of me and I decided that was plenty close enough. I kicked a bunch of rocks at it and it ran back into the boulders. Well, I went on fishing and pretty much forgot about the raccoon. About every two or three casts, I would snag a mud shad but fortunately, most of them came off before I got them out of the water-which was absolutely all right with me. Well, I finally had one that stayed on long enough to get it out to where it was laying on the gravel in the wash before it came unhooked. I thought to myself, I'll kick that dude up on shore and the raccoon will get him when I leave. So, I flipped him up on the bank a couple of feet behind me with my foot. No sooner had it hit the ground than the **** was all over it. It grabbed the mud shad and made a bee line back into the boulders. I have often wondered if that was a once in a lifetime occurrence or if that blamed **** had learned to lie in wait for a free meal. Had that been a walleye, I might have had to fight him for it, but ***** are pretty tough customers in a scrap. But there again, I really do like walleyes!! I had to quit fishing soon after that because the guides on my rod kept freezing up so bad that I couldn't even cast.
http://dnr.maryland.gov/Fisheries/Pages/fishfacts-index.aspx
A story for you. I was fishing up there at the base of the dam one night in the fall and it was so cold that I was the only one out there fishing (read as dumb enough to be out there fishing). I happened to look down river and there was a huge raccoon coming up the shore line straight for me. I didn't really think too much about it until he got within less than ten feet of me and I decided that was plenty close enough. I kicked a bunch of rocks at it and it ran back into the boulders. Well, I went on fishing and pretty much forgot about the raccoon. About every two or three casts, I would snag a mud shad but fortunately, most of them came off before I got them out of the water-which was absolutely all right with me. Well, I finally had one that stayed on long enough to get it out to where it was laying on the gravel in the wash before it came unhooked. I thought to myself, I'll kick that dude up on shore and the raccoon will get him when I leave. So, I flipped him up on the bank a couple of feet behind me with my foot. No sooner had it hit the ground than the **** was all over it. It grabbed the mud shad and made a bee line back into the boulders. I have often wondered if that was a once in a lifetime occurrence or if that blamed **** had learned to lie in wait for a free meal. Had that been a walleye, I might have had to fight him for it, but ***** are pretty tough customers in a scrap. But there again, I really do like walleyes!! I had to quit fishing soon after that because the guides on my rod kept freezing up so bad that I couldn't even cast.
LOL! Good one!
Oh yeah guess you guys are right. I've never caught gizzard shad intentionally before so I had no idea they got so large. I thought it was early for hickories too and I guess it is! Thanks for clarifying. At least I was catchin something. I'll take that over a day with no fish
G
Guest
·Hickory shad have a major under bite with a decent size mouth as compared to a gizzard shad and their tiny mouths with a little bit of an over bight. Gizzard shad are local freshwater and never leave. They are shorter but wider. Gizzard also are very sharp on the bottom from belly to tail. Hickory are longer and a bit more slender. Gizzard will never hit a spoon, dart, or fly. U snag them fishing for the other ones. Hickory and American shad hit such lures because the lure or fly poses a threat to the billions eggs that are laid. The colors and marking differ too and very somewhat so I learned to identify by their mouths. U should learn the difference especially if keeping any for bait. The dnr here in va will eff ur day up if u keep the Americans or alewifes. We are only allowed to possess hickory (seasonal) or the gizzard shad (local,... Hense the stink)
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