Catching Migrating American Shad Recreationally and Commercially in the Connecticut River

This video documents the full story of American Shad (Alosa sapidissima) migration in the Connecticut River. They are an anadromous fish, which means they are initially born in freshwater but will spend the majority of their lives in saltwater growing and maturing and then return to their original freshwater river to spawn.
The fish lift in Holyoke, Massachusetts, is shown where the fish are literally lifted over the dam. Then an operation on one of the commercial shad fishing boats is presented followed by some of the recreational angling methods. Helpful tips are given regarding how to catch these strong fighters and tasty fish. At the end, the processing of Shad and the art of filleting are documented.
This is an interesting process that is centered on the annual spring American Shad migration that occurs in the Connecticut River. In 2017, there was an estimated 535,207 American Shad that passed through the Holyoke Fish Lift, which is the second highest fish count since records have been kept dating back to 1955.