Chesapeake Light Tackle

White shad are an anadromous species that spend the vast majority of their life at sea, but enter the Chesapeake region in the spring to spawn. They are highly sought-after for both their flesh and their roe. It is delicious. White shad are also an important species in American history. The Native Americans fished for them extensively and used the left-overs to fertilize their crops. George Washington was known as a prolific white shad angler and caught thousands near his home on the Potomac River. It was the spring shad run in Pennsylvania’s Schuylkill River that saved Washington’s army from starvation at Valley Forge. Read More!