The Shad Return, Pictorial Gazette

• The forsythia is in bloom and we hear the first shad of the season have been caught in Old Saybrook.
• Gary Rutty, a veteran commercial fisherman, netted 27 shad his first night out - a modest haul to be sure, but things should pick up later in the season.
• Old timers used to say it just wasn't spring until the shad returned to the Connecticut River. These schooling ocean fish, the largest of the herring family, make their annual spawning run up the river about the time the forsythia and daffodils bloom in brilliant yellow profusion. The trees show a hint of green and the air is suddenly warm and fragrant. You will also see, here and there along the river and at the margins of the woods, the fresh white flowers of the shadbush, a species of Amelanchier, given this name by the early colonists because it flowers about the time huge schools of shad begin to swim up New England tidal rivers.
• Fifty years ago, shad season was a time of intense excitement. From Old Saybrook alone, two dozen boats went out on the river at night to lay their nets for shad, with a dozen more heading out farther up the river. During the season, which runs from April 1 to mid-June, a number of women were employed de-boning the fish for local sale. Shad was also packed on ice in 100-pound boxes and shipped to Boston and New York markets. From under Old Saybrook's Baldwin Bridge, a truck loaded with shad left for Fulton Market twice a day. Connecticut River shad and shad roe always fetched the highest prices.
• Those days are long gone. Shad fishermen are disappearing faster than old soldiers. Today, just three or four boats go out to fish for shad along the entire lower river. Smaller shad runs and dwindling markets are partly to blame, but mostly prosperity is killing this ancient seasonal business. These days, there are easier ways to make a living than going without sleep for six weeks during shad season.
• The news is not all bad. As shad fishing fades into folklore, interest grows in keeping the tradition alive through exhibits, talks and demonstrations. The Connecticut River Museum in Essex has done a wonderful job promoting Alosa sapidissima, our new state fish. The museum's annual shad festival, coming up May 14, features talks and demonstrations, including one on the dying art of shad boning. And if you are as passionate about shad as we are, you will surely want pay a visit to the Shad Museum up in Haddam. This shad shrine is full of fascinating displays and artifacts on the history of Connecticut River shad fishing. The little museum, in Bill Maynard's old shad shack, sits behind Jasper's Citgo Station at 212 Saybrook Road in Higganum. Admission is free. Happy shad season!