Thread: 2010 New Year's Shad Swap

Atticafish,
Please put me in the fish bowl. Sounds like a good theme. Can this one be judged somehow. Might make it more interesting. Tanks a lot.........Ifish

Ifish - You are in the fishbowl with the other shad.

Not sure about the judging thing..... Maybe after it's all said and done, each tier can PM me their top 3 choices, keep it PM so no feelings are hurt. I could tally them up - 3pts. for top pick, 2pts. for 2nd pick & 1pt. for 3rd pick. I could post the top 3 point winners if the numbers actually work out to something other than a 10 way tie. Would that be fair?

Here's some inspiration and research for ya all.....

Gizzard Shad

Description:
Dorosoma is Greek for "lance body", referring to the lance-like shape of young shad. The species epithet cepedianum refers to the French naturalist Citoyen Lacepede. Gizzard shad are usually easily distinguished from threadfin shad by the fact that the upper jaw projects well beyond the lower jaw. Amateur ichthyologists can run a finger underneath the mouth forward, and if the fingernail catches on the upper jaw and opens the mouth, in most cases the fish is a gizzard rather than a threadfin shad. The anal fin usually has 29-35 rays, as opposed to 20-25 rays found in threadfin shad. The upper surface is silvery blue, and grades to nearly white on the sides and belly. Fins do not have the yellowing tint present in threadfin shad. Unlike threadfin shad, the chin and floor of the mouth in this species is not speckled with black pigment. Although the species commonly grows to lengths of 9-14 inches, some have been reported to exceed 20 inches in length. In Texas the record (taken with a spear gun) is an 18.25-inch specimen that weighed in at 2.97 pounds.

Distribution:
In Texas, gizzard shad are found in all major streams and reservoirs. The species is native to eastern North America. In the north the range includes the Saint Lawrence River and the Great Lakes (except Lake Superior), and extends west into North Dakota. Gizzard shad are found as far south as eastern Mexico, and as far west as New Mexico. The species is not found in New England, south Florida, or through most of the Appalachian Mountain chain.




Threadfin Shad

Description:
Dorosoma is Greek for "lance body", referring to the lance-like shape of young shad. The word petenense refers to Lake Peten in the Yucatan, the species type locality. Threadfin shad are usually easily distinguished from gizzard shad by the fact that the upper jaw does not project beyond the lower jaw. The anal fin usually has 20-25 rays, as opposed to 29-35 rays found in gizzard shad. The upper surface is silver-blue and grades to nearly white on the sides and belly. All fins have yellow tint except the dorsal. In this species, unlike gizzard shad, the chin and floor of the mouth is speckled with black pigment. Adults are considerably smaller than gizzard shad adults, rarely exceeding 6 inches in length.

Distribution:
Threadfin shad naturally occur in waters west of the Appalachian Mountains, north to Kentucky, west to East Texas, south to the Rio Grande drainage, and east to Florida. The species has been widely introduced in California and Arizona, as well as Appalachian and southern Atlantic states. Threadfin shad are common in all East Texas streams and have been introduced as forage fish in many reservoirs statewide.

Info & pics pulled off of Texas Parks & Wildlife website.

Hey AtticaFish,
Sounds fair and square to me. I have already been looking at patterns and this is going to be tough coming up with something a little more natural. We call the thredfin shad around here yellowtail. Thanks for the shad info.......Ifish

Ifish - Doesn't have to be a "natural color" pattern, you can go with any color combo you want. There are some other types of shad too... these are the 2 I am familiar with. Saw some that live in saltwater and use freshwater rivers to spawn. Never knew that before....

I like to look at picts (bugs too for fly patterns) to mostly get the profile down. I fish alot of clear water, so end up with natural colors alot of the time, but that might just be me. Just have fun with it.

Cool Daddy O Thread Finners Work 4 Me!

Sign Me up I like shad designs

TxRebel - You are on the list.

Looking good, almost at 10 tiers.......