Shad are strong fighters that hit hard, jump high and have potential to be one of Virginia's most exciting game fish. The key word here is potential. Shad are anadromous, meaning they live in saltwater, then swim up freshwater rivers to spawn. The spring runs of American shad in Virginia once were amazing, with millions of the fish showing up in the Chesapeake Bay in early spring, then swarming into rivers such as the James, Nottoway, Potomac and Rappahannock. Catching shad during the spring run, then nailing them to oak planks to be roasted over campfires, became a Virginia tradition that remains to this day.
Shad roe is considered a delicacy.
Both shad species provide excellent sport for hook and line fishers. Though shad are plankton feeders, they strike a variety of spoons, jigs and flies when they're making their spawning runs. When the runs are thick, even novice anglers have little problem getting in on the fun. Unfortunately, Virginia's runs of the more desirable American shad have fallen on hard times. When the Chesapeake Bay Foundation recently rated the health of the state's population, the fish earned a score of three out of 100.