Gizzard Shad in Ct.

[Rip-Plugger]

some info about recent invaders that are feeding many of our gamefish.they have invaded many rivers and lakes,the good thing is if there is an outlet,they leave!

http://www.fws.gov/r5crc/Fish/zc_doce.html


R-P

[jimmy z]

That's good to know. Especially with the numbers of Alewife have gone down over the years.
What I find interesting is that they are finding their way into the Ct. river watershed.

[Rip-Plugger]

Hi JZ,

I have found them in the niantic and other rivers during the fall.I collected 2 samples and sent 1 of them to the Ct. biologist to see what they were.
I caught several bass and choppers that were full of them 3 and 4 years ago.seems that they come out of the rivers after the peanuts are gone.
I found them in the west river in west haven Ct.
niantic river in Niantic Ct and the housatonic river.I saw them in the housatonic river about 20 years ago,they move with the shad and alewives.
I'll tell ya,I snagged one under the lip and man do they fight,kinda like hooking a truck.they give drag screaming blasts of speed and will go in circles like lightning.
I wish they hit like the american shad.
if you fish bait for bass or choppers they work like nothing else!!
1 adult gizzard will keep 2 guys fishing for hours,the bad thing is they stink and are oily as hell,maybe 3 times more than a bunker.great bait but,wow they stink.

R-P

[DarkSkies]

RP, I did feel guilty about how we used to fish for gizzards. Big gizzards and carp would come to the bottom of a waterfall area in NJ in the spring. The couldn't make it to the top part of the water, yet you could seee them trying. So we used to snag them with small trebles, and hold on for the fight. The gizzards were from 3-5lbs, sometimes you would get one around 7 or 8, fat and healthy brownish colored fish. The carp were like diesel locomotives, especially when you hooked into one around 10 lbs or more. I haven't fished this way for a long time, did it mostly to bring some kids fishing and let them have a blast.

That article you posted talks about how invasive they can be, thanks. Sometimes they're overrunning the other fish. So maybe now I won't feel so bad.

[DarkSkies]

if you fish bait for bass or choppers they work like nothing else!!
1 adult gizzard will keep 2 guys fishing for hours,the bad thing is they stink and are oily as hell,maybe 3 times more than a bunker.great bait but,wow they stink.

R-P

I used to use the ones that got snagged badly and died for bait. You're right they are very oily and stink. I can't imagine anyone eating one. But they are tough to cut through. Their scales and skin dulled my knife, and I eventually started using a serrated knife to chop them up.

[Rip-Plugger]

Mornin' DS,

I wish guys could get them for bait,if you have ever fished a chunk of bunker,throw a chunk of gizzard out there,the fish freak out!
they will not leave the area if they can smell them.
I and a friend tried them one night anf I'll tell ya what,we caugt bass/choppers for an entire tide,big snotty nosed alligator choppers,snorting and thrashing around,I never saw anything like it.you get hit set on the fish and if it came off,it got hit again before it settled back on bottom.

[dogfish]

The carp were like diesel locomotives, especially when you hooked into one around 10 lbs or more.

We did this when we were kids, snagging weighted trebles into the carp that were coming upriver. There was this one place, hundreds of them would be thrashing around at a time during the spawn, snag and hold on, good times.

[gjb1969]

well if its that bad just let guys use some of them as bait i will chunk the heck out of them big bass big blues

[Rip-Plugger]

RP, I did feel guilty about how we used to fish for gizzards. Big gizzards and carp would come to the bottom of a waterfall area in NJ in the spring. The couldn't make it to the top part of the water, yet you could seee them trying. So we used to snag them with small trebles, and hold on for the fight. The gizzards were from 3-5lbs, sometimes you would get one around 7 or 8, fat and healthy brownish colored fish. The carp were like diesel locomotives, especially when you hooked into one around 10 lbs or more. I haven't fished this way for a long time, did it mostly to bring some kids fishing and let them have a blast.

That article you posted talks about how invasive they can be, thanks. Sometimes they're overrunning the other fish. So maybe now I won't feel so bad.

DS,

in this case don't be guilty,there are thousandsof these things around,something needs to make a dent in their numbers.I wonder if they cross paths with choppers whie they are in the saltwater.

R-P

[Rip-Plugger]

well if its that bad just let guys use some of them as bait i will chunk the heck out of them big bass big blues

GJB,

they really do make great bait,not many guys even know they are around since they hug the bottom.
I tried tem onec and they really work,jst that damn stink of them,kinda like a greasy herring smell.wash your hands and still you stank!

R-P

[bababooey]

GJB,

jst that damn stink of them,kinda like a greasy herring smell.wash your hands and still you stank!

R-P

I went to school with a girl like that, her name was Pam. Fast, loose, and stinky.

[Rip-Plugger]

I used to use the ones that got snagged badly and died for bait. You're right they are very oily and stink. I can't imagine anyone eating one. But they are tough to cut through. Their scales and skin dulled my knife, and I eventually started using a serrated knife to chop them up.

DS,

you fished with them?
how'd you do with them?
when we fished with them te fish would not stop,nearly 6 hours of slamming hits and lots of runners.


R-P

[Rip-Plugger]

I went to school with a girl like that, her name was Pam. Fast, loose, and stinky.

was it warm inside or cold/clammy?

R-P

[bababooey]

was it warm inside or cold/clammy?

R-P

Sometimes a little bit of both. I think she might have been seeing a few guys at the same time, she was a really funky girl. Some things from your past are better when you speak in general terms, and try not to remember too much. You just gave me some nasty flashbacks.

[DarkSkies]

DS,

you fished with them?
how'd you do with them?
when we fished with them te fish would not stop,nearly 6 hours of slamming hits and lots of runners.


R-P

Hey Rip-plugger, what's up. We used to snag them as early as April. if memory serves me right. Right when the herring run was starting to get slower in the Delaware, the gizzard shad would start their spring run in some NJ rivers. So we jumped over and started snagging. Soemtimes the run was later or earlier by 2 or 3 weeks. I remember fishing gizzard shad chunks in RB right before the bluefish come in, when it's cold and most bass are caught on clam. So we didn't do too well with the chunks.

Now that I know they're not endangered, I'm going to take the kids fishing again in April, snag some up, and chunk like I mean it. Or I'll snag some up, and bring over to SI when the adult bunker hit over there, and do a side by side chunking test. You should come down from Ct in April; the SI fishing is off the hook. PM me around that time, I'll send ya in the right direction. It's all about bait at that time of year.

Thanks for the info, I learned something new.

[DarkSkies]

I think she might have been seeing a few guys at the same time, she was a really funky girl.

Was she freaky, super freak?

[baddog23]

i was drivin by the housey in the derby area an the gulls were diven in the water and it looked like fish breakin. some big splashes, i didnt have time to investigate (damn gps on work van) could have been bass

[Rip-Plugger]

i was drivin by the housey in the derby area an the gulls were diven in the water and it looked like fish breakin. some big splashes, i didnt have time to investigate (damn gps on work van) could have been bass

Uh Oh,,the man is in the hizzy!
whassup Chris?
ya know those were bass beating up on shad/bunkers.today would have been nice temps to fish.

I hope you put up some of your wood in the show your wood section!

R-P

[DarkSkies]

i was drivin by the housey in the derby area an the gulls were diven in the water and it looked like fish breakin. some big splashes, i didnt have time to investigate (damn gps on work van) could have been bass

Shad, bunker, or herring? Don't you guys have herring that winter in the housatonic? I read an article here that said the bass stack up in an unnamed place up there, you can catch em in the coldest weather by drifting the channels, or something like that. Nothing huge, but you can catch double or triple digits if you hit the right spot, boat is needed.

[Rip-Plugger]

Shad, bunker, or herring? Don't you guys have herring that winter in the housatonic? I read an article here that said the bass stack up in an unnamed place up there, you can catch em in the coldest weather by drifting the channels, or something like that. Nothing huge, but you can catch double or triple digits if you hit the right spot, boat is needed.

thats right DS,
if you remember my buddy[Steve Franco] thats like a brother to me that caught the CT. record bass back in 92,he has caught them through the ice on that river many times.
I believe there is a fully functional spawning population there.you can catch fully pregnant females there in early april and very late march!

R-P