Shad and Roe

With spring now with us, recreational fishermen flock to North Carolina coastal rivers for the annual shad run. American Shad, Hickory Shad and other herring making their way hundreds of miles up the Atlantic seaboard's coastal rivers are highly prized for both their flesh and the sacks of roe carried by the females. Shad are anadromous (salt water fish that spawn in fresh water), the young are hatched and reared in freshwater rivers during the summer and juveniles they make their way downstream to the ocean in the autumn. The American Shad prefers to spawn in the larger, more open waters of a river system, so they are not generally found in the smaller tributaries. Hickory Shad prefer the smaller systems, though they can be found mixed in with American Shad runs. The spawn runs vary from year to year. Sometimes starting as early as mid-February, other times as late as March. They begin as the waters warm over 54 degrees Fahrenheit, the peak spawn occurs at about 64 degrees and concludes as waters warm to over 68 degrees. The males or “bucks” make their way upstream first, followed shortly by the females or “roe” shad.

American Shad can be difficult to distinguish from Hickory Shad. The American Shad generally attain a larger size with most weighing in at 1 to 4 pounds. The Hickory Shad is smaller in size, coming in at about 1 pound. Both fish can be caught using light spinning or bait-casting tackle. Fly Fishermen like to target American Shad as well. Their fighting and acrobatic ability has earned them the nickname of “freshwater tarpon”. Both are considered quite tasty, though a bit boney. The roe (egg sacks) are highly prized and considered very much a delicacy.

When cooking shad, just keep simple. Don't bother trying to filet. Scale, remove heads and guts, save the roe sacks if it is a female. Clean with water, dry with paper towels. Roll your shad body in flour, give it an egg wash, sprinkle with salt and pepper. Then roll in cornmeal. Set prepared fish on a plate and place in the refrigerator for one hour. Deep fry in hot oil, remove from oil when it is a yellow-brown. Set on paper towels to soak up excess fat.

The roe can be cooked several ways. - The simplest being scrambled eggs and roe to dishes geared to the more sophisticated palette. To prepare with scrambled eggs, just scramble a number of eggs in a large frying pan, puncture your roe sack and empty contents in the scrambled egg. To jazz it up even more, add other items to your omelet. A Western and roe omelet would work or a cheese omelet with roe could be another option. The main piece of advice for this dish with roe is to cook slowly. Roe cooked too quickly can take on a gritty texture.

Roe cooked as a main dish as opposed to an addition can be done simply as well. Fry your roe sacks in butter or bacon fat. Start with your heat on medium-high. Cook roe sack for one minute, then turn heat down to medium and continue cooking for two to three minutes until golden-brown. Turn and cook the other side for another two to three minutes. Do not over cook. You do not want to dry these creamy morsels out. When cooked properly, the roe sacks should be slightly springy to the touch. Garnish with lemon and serve on a bed of crispy fried bacon.

On April 23^rd of this year, the Cape Fear River Shad Festival will be held at the Lock and Dam #1 in Rieglewood, North Carolina. The festival is slated to begin at 9:00 A.M. Fishing contests and historical demonstrations and activities are planned. Fried Shad and Steamed Roe will be available. More information is available at 910-685-6735 or 910-655-2801.