American shad were once so plentiful in Atlantic coastal rivers that colonists spread the fish on their fields for fertilizer. By the early 1900s shad numbers were in decline due to pollution, dams and overharvesting. Thanks to restoration efforts over the past 35 years, American shad are making a considerable comeback in the Connecticut River offering some exciting fishing opportunities. Host Lawrence Pyne fishes the Connecticut river with local angler Forest Woodruff to learn how to catch these strong fighting fish. He then meets up with Ken Cox, a fisheries biologist, to learn how fish ladders in dams along the river have brought the fish back north.

• American Rivers: Shad
  information page
• Connecticut River Joint Commissions
• Connecticut River Watershed Council

• NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office
  Fisheries: Shad information page
• Silvio O. Conte National Fish
  & Wildlife Refuge

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