by Gabe Silver, JRA's Education & Outreach Manager
Spring temperatures bring migratory fish like shad and herring up the James River to spawn. An extraordinarily warm start to 2012 meant soaring water temperatures and had us speculating that fish spawning activity would come early. It is as hard to overestimate the importance of the shad to early Americans as it is to exaggerate the excitement at the prospect of shad season among a certain sect of fishermen. (See John McPhee’s excellent book on the subject). So, in the last full weekend of March, we joined a growing contingent on the water and riverbanks to enact a spring rite that goes back thousands of years on the James, we went shad fishing! Here are some scenes from the James this spring ― just another season of loving America’s Founding River.
This Hickory Shad shows how beautiful these silvery travelers from the sea can be. Conservation of migratory fish species is critical, please see the Virginia Marine Resources Commission site for regulations.
Boats of all kinds can be seen on the James near the fall line during the shad run. The rain clouds in the background and many more like them upriver have since caused a flood that will shut down the shad fishing for a few days.
No, this is not a snag. Though very rarely exceeding 5 lbs., shad are incredibly strong fish. Their migrations of many thousands of miles take them as far north as the Bay of Fundy several times in their lifespan.
American Shad like this must be immediately released. More on this great fish in JRA’s archived article.
One of the busiest stretches of interstate in the country, I-95, is part of the scenery during the shad run.
No comments:
Post a Comment