May 23, 2019 — Call it a poor man’s salmon.
Every year from February to June, the American shad run like 20-inch silver bullets up the east coast, pouring in from the Atlantic and swimming up rivers from Florida to Maine to return to their spawning grounds.
Hordes of anglers hit the water to chase them — for many Garden State anglers shad fishing in the Delaware River is as good as fishing gets.
“I’d rather crank on these things than a thousand-pound tuna fish,” said Dominic Troisi, the owner of Full Draw Bowfishing.
The fish are fighters, bounding in and out of the water as anglers of all ages try to reel them ashore. Most shad are released after being caught — the flesh is oily and full of bones, not so easy to eat — but some people still enjoy shad as a local delicacy.
Yet just a few decades ago, this scene was the stuff of dreams — these iconic fish had all but disappeared from the Delaware River.