Yearly Spawn Run

Type: Nontidal
Region: Central
Location: Susquehanna State Park and at the Conowingo Dam

Every year I look forward to the Spring spawning run of hickory shad and American shad in the Susquehanna River. I was very excited to finally have the opportunity to travel 50 miles each way for three separate sessions this past week in Susquehanna State Park and at the Conowingo Dam. Unfortunately on my very first day I learned that the shad run is pretty much over, but I kept hoping and trying during the next two trips.

Well, no shad, but I managed to catch and release a few of their smaller cousin, the Blueback Herring. I also caught a particularly beefy White Perch, possibly a personal best at 10 1/2 inches. But the real surprise was hooking up a Chain Pickerel near the dam under almost lake-like conditions due to the minimal spill rates. It's kind of ironic, since for the past 18 months I had been totally skunked specifically targeting pickerel at my usually reliable home base of Loch Raven, under actual lake conditions.