The first thing many of us think about when we hear the word shad is bait.
Especially in the cooler climates of the Midwest, shad are a common prey item in large lakes, and the bass, catfish, pike, and other predators are really keyed-in on them.
That said, there are many types of shad, and knowing the differences between these species can help you select the right ones to catch the species you're after.
In this article, I'll discuss the various kinds of shad you might run into, and I'll cover which ones are the best options for live bait.
Shad have a deep, rich history not only in North America, but also throughout other parts of the world. With close to 30 recognized species of shad recognized globally, they have long been considered a viable commercial food source and excellent game fish.
Every species of shad is part of the herring family. They're all anadromous, meaning that they spend the majority of their life living in salt water but enter freshwater to reproduce. And while overfishing and the construction of dams on many coastal rivers led to a steady decline in shad populations, they can still be found in numbers not only in saltwater but in many freshwater lakes and rivers across North America.
Depending on their age and size, shad will feed on photo and zooplankton, insect larvae, fish eggs, insects, crustaceans, and even other small fish, and unlike most other anadromous fish, they will continue to feed during the transition from salt to freshwater and through the spawning period.
Easily grouped together as a single type of fish, each shad species has distinct features and habits.
Commonly referred to as a mud shad, Dorosoma cepedianum, the gizzard shad is found in freshwater lakes, rivers, and reservoirs across North America, as well as in the brackish waters of coastal rivers up and down the east coast from Canada to Florida. They've also been introduced to many freshwater bodies of water as a food source for other gamefish.
Small but mighty, the gizzard shad have an insatiable appetite for zooplankton. Couple that appetite with its ability to tolerate many different environments and their rapid reproductive rate, and gizzard shad can negatively impact the biome where they've been introduced as they quickly reach unsupportable numbers.
Growing to an average size of 8 to 14 inches, the gizzard shad’s plump, oblong body and silver-green color make them easy to identify, and they are the shad that most of us think of when we consider of using shad for bait.
For me, gizzard shad are among the very best choices for live bait for everything from bass to catfish and pike to lake trout.
Dorosoma pentenense, or the threadfin shad, is another well-known bait for sport fish like largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, and even catfish.
A native to warmer climates than the gizzard shad, these little fellows inhabit much of the southeastern United States. And because of their intolerance for lower water temperatures (below 43 degrees will often result in die-off), their range isn’t nearly as wide as their cousin - yet.
While native to natural lakes and rivers in the southeast, the damming of those rivers has created reservoirs that threadfin now call home, and the increasing water temperatures in more northern lakes means that threadfin shad have a wider range than ever before.
Averaging 4 inches in length the threadfin shad can reach lengths of up to 8 inches, although fish that size are rare. With silver sides, a blue-gray back, and a dark spot on their shoulder, threadfin have similar colorations when compared to other species of shad. The easiest way to distinguish a threadfin shad is by their yellow, split tail fin.
Threadfin shad are simply excellent small- and largemouth bait, and there's a reason threadfin shad patterns are so common on hot lures.
The American shad, scientifically known as Alosa sapidissima, is referred to as “the fish that fed the nation’s founders." Once plentiful, since the early 20th century, the population of American shad has been steadily declining due to the one-two punch of overfishing and dam construction on the coastal rivers that this anadromous fish uses to reproduce.
While their silver sides and blue-green backs may not immediately separate them from other shad or herring as far as looks are concerned, what does is their size. One of the largest shad, these fish can range anywhere from 3 to 8 pounds, with the world record American shad weighing in at a whopping 11.3 pounds.
The size, power, and incredible acrobatics make these fish a highly sought-after sport fish, and John has spent more than a few mornings catching and releasing American Shad.
To this day, they're considered outstanding table fare, their meat having a subtle, pleasant taste that requires little seasoning. On top of their light, delicious meat, an American shad’s roe (eggs) is considered a delicacy in many areas along the east coast.
The alewife, or Alosa pseudoharengus as it’s known to biologists, shares much of the same water as the American shad. Although it is an anadromous fish like its bigger cousin, there are known populations that survive exclusively in freshwater, most notably the population that now thrive in the Great Lakes.
Not native to those waters, the alewife migrated up the St. Lawrence river, using the Welland canal to bypass Niagara Falls. Once in the Great Lakes, populations exploded, and alewife are considered an invasive species now. In response to this invasion, Pacific Salmon were introduced to help keep that population under control.
Not only do alewives share the same water as American shad, but they also share the same characteristics and often get confused for juvenile members of A. pseudoharengus.
The biggest distinction between the two is their size. Where the American shad is one of the biggest, alewives average between 8 and 10 inches in length, measuring considerably smaller than their larger cousins.
Alosa aestivalis, the blueback herring, is commonly referred to as the "blueback shad" or "summer shad" and is found along the east coast from Nova Scotia to Florida.
The blueback herring can sometimes be hard to distinguish from the alewife, and because of that, the two are often lumped together and called river herring. Despite the similarities, there are some subtle differences that can help a keen eye tell the difference. Mostly silver like the alewife, a blueback herring - as you'd expect - features a blue sheen to its dorsal side that the alewife lacks.
But perhaps the easiest way to tell the two apart is their eyes: the blueback herring has much smaller eyes than the alewife.
Typically known as a baitfish, most notably for the lobster industry in the northeast, blueback herring also make great table fare and are usually caught during their spawning migration, where large dip nets are used to haul fish out of their shallow spawning areas in coastal rivers and streams.
"Bonejack,""fall herring," and "freshwater taylor" are common nicknames for hickory shad. What they are not, however, is American shad, a common misconception because of the size and color similarities between the two.
Found on the east coast from Florida to the Gulf of Maine, it’s easy to understand whow the hickory shad and the American shad often get mixed up, since they share much the same habitat.
Size can be a major factor when trying to differentiate the two, as hickory shad tend to only grow to about half the size of American shad.
Unlike some of the other larger shad on this list, the hickory shad has very little commercial value. But their size and fighting power make them a sought-after sport fish, especially through the mid-Atlantic states where surveys suggest that it’s the fourth most popular species to catch.
Scientifically known as Alosa alabama, the Alabama shad is one of the rarest shad on our list.
It has witnessed a steady decline in population, due in part to the construction of locks and dams that have cut them off from their river spawning grounds.
The Alabama shad is another relative that shares many similarities with the American shad, with the major difference being that they're native to the waters where you find them. And as its names suggests, the Alabama shad is found along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, where it uses rivers like the Mississippi and Suwannee for spawning.
Alabama shad were once prevalent enough to support a healthy commercial fishery but have become very rare. They’re now completely missing from some of the areas they used to call home, most notably west of the Pascagoula River in Mississippi.
And while this fish's future is a concern for government agencies, there's not enough information to list them on the Endangered Species Act.
Another shad exclusive to the Gulf of Mexico, the skipjack shad, or Alosa chrysochoris, is sometimes referred to as the "Tennessee tarpon" because they leap out of the water when feeding.
As with many other migratory fish, the skipjack has seen some of its original habitat become inaccessible, thanks to the construction of dams. While this, along with overfishing, is a concern, the skipjack population remains stable in many of their native areas.
Like most other shad, skipjack will feed on zooplankton, insect larvae, and small fish. As they get older and larger, it’s common for them to prey upon other shad like gizzard and threadfin. And with this healthy appetite, it’s possible for skipjack to grow over 20 inches, but the average size is between 12 and 14 inches.
Skipjack are not popular as table fare but instead are caught by many to be used as cutbait for catfish.
The shad we talked about here are just a few of the many species throughout North America and the world. But these are some of the most well-known and popular, be it for sportfishing, consumption, or use as bait.
Do you fish for shad? Have you used any of these as bait?
Let us know your thoughts by leaving us a comment!
