Nov. i, 1913- 
FOREST AND STREAM 
557 
The Golden Shad or Skipjack 
A Mississippi River Game Fish of the First Magnitude 
T RANSPLANT an Eastern or Northern fly 
fisherman to the middle Mississippi Valley 
and let him confine himself to fishing the 
Fathers of Waters exclusively, and you have in 
short order a thoroughly disgusted fisherman, 
for it is an incontrovertible fact that such fishes 
as the bass, both large and small-mouth, the 
pickerel and others lack the vim and dash, when 
hooked, of the same species from colder, clearer 
streams tributary to these waters. 
For the benefit of those who like myself 
have been accustomed to fishing for the small¬ 
mouthed bass in its proper element, those clear 
cold streams to the eastward of the Mississippi 
Valley and in the north, where it reaches its 
greatest development as a game fish, it is here 
my purpose to draw attention to a little known 
fish which possesses all the fighting qualities of 
the small-mouth and even approaches the land¬ 
locked salmon in its ability to keep the angler 
on the qui vive when once hooked. Reference 
is here made to the hitherto despised skipjack 
(Pomolobus chrysochloris) . While it is a true 
herring, it is seldom called such, but enjoys such 
local names as “nailrod” at New Boston, Ill ; 
“mackerel” at Keokuk, Iowa, and “skipjack” at 
various points on the Mississippi and along the 
White River in Arkansas. The name skipjack 
is misleading, as it is applied to two other mem¬ 
bers of the Isospondyli, the moon-eye ( Hiodon 
By THADDEUS SURBER 
alosoides ), and the gizzard shad ( Dorosoma 
cepedianum). LTnfortunately this fish is con¬ 
sidered worthless as food, as it is very generally 
poor and lean during the spring and summer, 
but in the fall it is decidedly fat and should be 
as palatable as any of the other herrings, yet 
it is not in its food qualities in which we are 
most interested, though this is unfortunate, it 
must be admitted, but its qualities as a fighter 
in which we are most interested. 
My attention was first drawn to its game 
qualities when I took up my residence within 
its area of abundance in 1910, but I had not 
then become disgusted with the Mississippi bass 
as a fighter, and it was later, when this disgust 
had become accentuated, that my attention was 
so directed and that a determination was made 
to give this fish a trial at the first opportunity. 
A professional fisherman living at Clarendon, 
Ark., declared to me last winter that when he 
went fishing for sport he always selected a time, 
usually in the March or April run, when these 
fish were ascending White River, and with his 
light bamboo rod and either live minnows or a 
spoon, fished till satiated with the sport. Per¬ 
sonally my opportunity came last August (1913) 
while making a collection of these fishes for 
scientific study. The big power dam at Keokuk, 
Iowa, retarded the upward migration, and they 
were very abundant in the swift water immedi¬ 
ately below the dam during the entire summer. 
Equipped with my old lancewood bass rod (fly), 
some live minnows and artificial lures as acces¬ 
sories, I spent an entire afternoon, and the fol¬ 
lowing forenoon in such enjoyable sport as I. 
have not had in years. 
Tying our boat fast to one of the old piles 
over water about ten feet deep, where it was 
a boiling current of swift water, we proceeded 
to catch in the course of about two hours and 
twenty-three minutes very fine specimens, fifteen 
of them falling to my rod. The best fishing 
was between 5 p. m. and dark, and the follow¬ 
ing morning we found them rising less freely, 
and none at all after 9 a. m. In fishing, it was 
found necessary to keep the bait, minnow or 
spoon right at the surface, for if allowed to 
sink even a few inches below, they failed to 
strike. In striking, they often missed, and in 
doing so described a circle by jumping fully two 
feet in the air. When hooked, the fight was 
swift and earnest, the fish jumping repeatedly 
into the air, fully three feet in several instances, 
and then going to the bottom to reappear with 
incredible swiftness as it again leaped. The 
leaps performed by various fish differed of 
course, but averaged ten, and in some cases as 
many as fourteen times, and never less than 
eight even in the smallest individuals. With a 
lighter rod the pleasure would be much greater. 
During these two days the favorite lure seemed 
to be minnows, but 1 also took them with the 
Caledonian minnow, a No. 2 skinner spoon, and 
one on a coachman lake trout fly. 
When fresh from the water I know of a 
no more beautiful, symmetrical fish, as it is built 
like a thoroughbred, and the rich steel blue back 
and cheeks, with the purplish and golden irides¬ 
cence of the sides arouses enthusiasm in even 
the most phlegmatic temperament. 
The accompanying photograph was made 
from a fall run fish taken near Fairport, Iowa, 
Sept. 25, and represents a fish twelve inches in 
length and in the pink of condition. The average 
length is about fifteen inches. 
The geographical range of this fish is given 
as the entire Mississippi from the Gulf of 
Mexico at least as far as Lake Pepin, the Ohio 
River and (introduced) into the Great Lakes 
through the canals. While it has been considered 
by our best authorities as a resident throughout 
its entire range, this needs confirmation. It 
makes its appearance in the White River at 
Clarendon, Ark., during late March, and arrives 
at New Boston, on the Mississippi, early in May, 
but in greatest abundance during the first week 
in June. Apparently it is an erratic wanderer 
