Los Angeles herald., 1891-04-23


The fly fisher will find much sport in
fishing for shad during his upward run
in the spring, with powerful trout rod,
long line and a big bright fly. The
eastern man no doubt has the advantage
as yet over his western and southern
brethren The Florida shad, which is
very early, never grows large, and his
flesh remains inferior, while the pro-
tective hand of the government is held
so firmly over her proteges of the Missis-
sippi, Ohio and Missouri rivers that
sport there endures scarcely two weeks.
The Delaware, the Hudson, the Connec-
ticut and Merrimac rivers at the pres
ent time offer the most glorious sport
with the least restriction. In the Poto-
mac river and its tributaries about tho
Little Falls the shad season opens with
the first of May.
In the Taunton and Merrimac rivers
the season is open from March 1
to June 10, and in the Connecticut
river, fishing by hook and line only
allowed, the law is off the catching of
this fish from March Is to July /. In
the upper part of the Delaware, as far
up as Milford, in Pike county, Pa, the
shad is taken in great perfection; and
it may be set down as maxim in shad
fishing that the higher up he runs the
more readily he takes the fly and the
better and gamier fight he shows.
The Carolina shad are larger than
either those of the Delaware or the Hud-
son river, and in quality are not excelled
by either The first North river shad are
looked for about the 18th of March by
New York fishermen, but no great catch
is expected by the sportsmen or fishers
by trade before the 25th, and nets are
not set in the vicinity of Staten island
before that time. Then shad are plenti
full and fishof large size are caught, often
weighing nine pounds apiece. When a
sportsman gets one of these big fellows
on his hook then look out for sportl The
shad in some cases has shown almost the
game qualities of the salmon. 1t re-
quires smart hand at the tackle and a
quick wrist at the oars in order to follow
his leaps, dashes, twists and deubings.
Shad fishing in western rivers begins
ldUcI, rarely DelOIe luo loGu VI April
but while it lasts the sport is good. In
1874 a commission appointed by con
gress set free the Matched shad in rivers
in different parts of the United States
Previous to that experiments in small
way had been carried ON in the narrows
of the Chesapeake bay. The eggs and
milt in the spawning season, which
varies according to different tempera-
lures, hardly meet before young fish are
seen swimming in the cans where the
union takes place, and these young fish
live in the cans ten days, or just the
length of time required to take them
across the continent, where they are de-
posted in rivers.
The shad no sooner find themselves
free in this running water than they i'm
mediately start toward the sea, and do
not return until three years have gone
by. Then they are ready to spawn, and
some wonderful and mysterious instinct
enables them to find their way back from
the sea to the very river and place where
they were set free. 1t is this longing
to ''see the old home" persevered in and
carried out against almost insurmount-
able obstacles that afford our friends in
Natchez, in st. Louis and in Covington,
all the towns in fact along the line of the
Ohio, Mississippi and other rivers, the
opportunity to fish for shad.
FRANCIS LIVINGSTON.