Gizzard Shad in Ct.

[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]

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]

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

[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.