Baby Shad At Milford

Craig,
There seems to be a lack of the schools of small shad rippling the surface at Milford this year. The shad that I have seen are either big(4-5 inches) or huge(6" to about 12"), did the strange weather patterns this Spring effect the shad spawn or is it the zebra mussels wiping out the plankton that the baby fish need to survive?

Thank you,
Joe Kitchens

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Originally Posted by DroptineJoe

Craig,
There seems to be a lack of the schools of small shad rippling the surface at Milford this year. The shad that I have seen are either big(4-5 inches) or huge(6" to about 12"), did the strange weather patterns this Spring effect the shad spawn or is it the zebra mussels wiping out the plankton that the baby fish need to survive?

Thank you,
Joe Kitchens

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Joe,

I sent an email to John Reinke, District Fisheries Biologist at Milford, and asked him about the current status of shad at Milford. He said that over the last week he has been seeing many schools of 3/4 to one-inch shad with more being seen in the creek arms than the mainlake. Some years shad may stay in the upper reaches of the lake longer than other years before dispersing or they may just prefer certain areas over others and remain there most of the growing season.

We normally don't sample for young of the year (YOY) gizzard shad until mid-July so should know more at a later date.

I have not noticed a lot of surfacing shad at Pomona this year either. Maybe it is too early or they just are not where I am.

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Originally Posted by crappieslinger

I have not noticed a lot of surfacing shad at Pomona this year either. Maybe it is too early or they just are not where I am.

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I've been noticing the same out this way also. Kanop I haven't seen any yet and Glen the numbers aren't what I'm used to seeing. At Wilson I believe there's been a white perch explosion this year. Last year up at Glen Springhill and I saw entire shoals lining the shore, or at times they were up on it. Pretty cool watching 1000's of shad jump up on the bank avoiding predators. But so far, they haven't been to visible. Interesting year this one, guess we'll just have to wait and see.

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Originally Posted by Craig Johnson

Joe,

I sent an email to John Reinke, District Fisheries Biologist at Milford, and asked him about the current status of shad at Milford. He said that over the last week he has been seeing many schools of 3/4 to one-inch shad with more being seen in the creek arms than the mainlake. Some years shad may stay in the upper reaches of the lake longer than other years before dispersing or they may just prefer certain areas over others and remain there most of the growing season.

We normally don't sample for young of the year (YOY) gizzard shad until mid-July so should know more at a later date.

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Thank you Craig!

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Originally Posted by Craig Johnson

We normally don't sample for young of the year (YOY) gizzard shad until mid-July so should know more at a later date.

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This should have said 'mid-August'. Our YOY gizzard shad sampling occurs during mid-August. Too much sun on the ol' melon yesterday! :Doh: