We have an American shad run on the Delaware River usually in April and early May. There's even a Shad Festival in Lambertville, NJ. They run up the river to spawn and you can fish for them as north as the East and West branch at Hancock, NY. All the fishing with rod and reel or fly rod is done in fresh water. They can be baked, broiled, smoked though I've never heard of them being fried. The real delicacy is the shad roe. The roe sacks are removed rinse, floured and fried in butter. Very, very good. They are a blast on a fly rod. The one RHenn is holding is about the average size for a male fish, 2 to 3 lbs. The females are a larger and can run 5 to 7 lbs. In the fall, when the juveniles are heading downriver back to the ocean, smallmouth, walleye and muskie fishing really turns on.