FishwithJD

The web's best fishing magazine

Can I eat shad??

By 1 Comment

JD

Can a person eat shad? if so… how?

–Mike

Mike, well I must say that, though I’ve caught a zillion of them, I’ve never eaten one. On the East Coast (where shad originated) they are an important food fish and in fact, their scientific name, alosa sapidissima means “most savory.”

I don’t think there’s any question that the shad has some value as a food fish…after all, people eat other herrings all around the world. However, the big issue here is they’re full of bones — three rows of Y bones to be exact. In doing some internet searching for shad recipes, here are some of the quotes I found that may tell you all you need to know…

Jay Harlow at sallybernstein.com starts his article on cooking shad with this quote:

“Some foods seem to have been put on earth to challenge the ingenuity of the cook…”

Hank Shaw on about.com has this to say:

“From an eating standpoint, the American or White Shad is a mixed blessing. Shad are richly flavored thanks to a good bit of omega-3 laden fat, but they are among the boniest fish in the world. An old Indian saying has it that a porcupine fled into the water and was turned inside out to become the shad. It is not far off.”

So, I guess you can make your mind up from there…

What size diver should I use?

By Leave a Comment

JD,

We may actually get a salmon season here on the upper Salmon River in ID. I’m getting my gear ready and I want to try some back trolling with eggs and was wondering if you could give me some advice on the size of divers to try. The river should be running 5k to 8k cfs and most holes or runs will be 9-15 feet deep. I’ll run 30 lbs braid main line and 20 lbs leaders about 5′ from the diver.

Any help would be great, thanks for keeping up your web site.

–Eric T.

Hey Eric! Salmon? What do those look like? We’ve had two straight years of closures down here and I’m starting to forget!

Anyway, congrats for maybe getting a season! Believe me…enjoy every minute of it and don’t take it for granted!

As far as divers go, you can’t beat Luhr Jensen’s Jet Divers. You could probably get away with a Size No.
20, though it sounds like you have some pretty serious flow there, so I may bump that up to a No. 30.

Even in clear water, I don’t run anything lighter than 25-pound flouro for my leaders, so you may want to increase that as well. Kings don’t care about your leader in most cases!

For a detailed look at how to fish this technique, check out my article on Divers & Bait, which has some photos on how to rig up properly.

Good luck!

NOAA Fisheries: “Change CA water pumping ops”

By 5 Comments

nimbus-damWell, the Feds finally understand what we’ve all been saying for a looong time: The way the Northern California’s water is managed is a bad deal for fish like salmon, steelhead, sturgeon…and even, as it turns out, southern killer whales.

Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released its final biological opinion that finds (surprise, surprise!) the water pumping operations in the Central Valley by the federal Bureau of Reclamation jeopardize the continued existence of several threatened and endangered species under the jurisdiction of NOAA’s Fisheries Service.

Federal biologists and hydrologists concluded that current water pumping operations in the Federal Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project should be changed to ensure survival of winter and spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, the southern population of North American green sturgeon and Southern Resident killer whales, which rely on Chinook salmon runs for food.Click here to read more…

Where to go camping/fly fishing?

By Leave a Comment

JD,

For Father’s Day, my wife and mother-in-law wanted to organize a camping and fishing trip for my father-in-law and I.

We’d like to stay within a 4 hour drive of Granite Bay (near Sacramento, CA), and we’d like to camp in our trailers (so moms+kids can come along and play while dads fish).

We are both novice fly fisherman. Can you recommend a good spot at that time of year and also a good fly shop to hook up with on what to use? Thanks, Mike R.

Hey Mike,

I’d probably check out Martis Lake near Truckee. Good trout fly fishing and plenty of other stuff nearby to do. There’s no RV camping there, but you can stay nearby at the United Trails

For info: Tahoe FlyFishing Outfitters

Have fun!

Fly fishing for Kings?

By Leave a Comment

JD,

I am going to be in Juneau on the 28th of June 2009. I have been told that I can fish along Fish Creek for salmon. I am a very experienced fly fisherman, but my gear is geared toward trout. What do I need for gear, (flies, waders, etc) and is there anyplace that will rent it for a day? All I want is a king and I have to do it on the cheap. All I want to do, is catch one, take a picture of it and let it go.

Thanks, Scott R.

Scott,

When the kings are in Fish Creek, it’s a bit of a mob scene, particularly around the Pond area, where snagging is legal. In the creek itself, there’s no snagging or bait allowed and that’s where you should go. I’d head above the bridge to seek some peace and quiet.

Anyway, you’re going to need at least an 8-weight rod to wrestle a king out of that creek. Big, bright attractor patterns with chartreuse and hot pink as the main colors work, but honestly, I’ve done best in Alaska on kings with black leeches fished on the swing with short strips.

As far as rental gear goes, I’m not sure about that one. I guess in a pinch if you have a 7-weight you use for larger trout, you could get away with that.

Good luck!