# Finally Some Shad Roe (w-Bacon & Eggs)



## Bearcarver (May 23, 2021)

*Finally Some Shad Roe *(w-Bacon & Eggs)​



It’s been about 10 years since I’ve had any Fresh Shad Roe.
Shad, much like Salmon Swim up Rivers to their Birth place to Spawn every so many years (I believe it’s every 7 years).
So in the Delaware River, mostly between Pennsylvania & New Jersey, is one of the best places to catch Shad.
I won’t bore you with the Complete Life Cycle of a Shad, I’ll just tell you I used to catch Shad when I was a Kid.
I used to fish for them with my Dad, and we would fish all day, and we’d be lucky to boat 2 or 3 Shad.
In Our opinions, shad are one of the worst tasting Fish around, and also the Boniest. The only thing good to eat on a Shad is the “Goldmine” they carry in their Bellies during their Spring Run up-river. That would be the big Egg-Sacks that are growing inside them.

So about 12 years ago I bought about 20 sets from a Wholesaler near Lansdale, PA for $7 per set. 
Then a couple years later I got 7 sets from Giant Market for $10 per set.  Then for years I couldn’t find any anywhere.
Last year I called Giant, and they said, if they ever get any in, they would have to charge at least $20 per set.
So this year Bear Jr got the Low-down on how to catch Shad from the Best Shad Fisherman known. They call the old guy “Shad Pappy”, and he has Shad Catching down to a science.

So last Thursday Bear Jr & his Buddy went Shad fishing near Easton, PA, and they caught 7 Shad. Only one was a “Roe” (female), and the other 6 were “Buck” Shad. The limit is 3 per day, so they kept 6, because they had a plan for the Shad bodies themselves. Shortly after they got back, Bear Jr brought me a Nice Set of Shad Roe to play with.

So I gently cleaned them up & rinsed them a number of times & put them in a big bowl of Salt Water overnight, to draw the blood out of them. Then the next morning I Rinsed them off a number of times, changing the water as I went along, and leaving them in some clear water in the bowl for a few more hours to get the salty flavor out of the Roe.

Then to try something new, I put the Roe in a Vacuum bag & sealed it, and put it in my Sous Vide Supreme @ 140° for 3 hours to bring them all up to 140°. Then into a bowl of Ice Water & into the fridge until I was ready to use them.

So then I made a Whole Pan of Bacon, and saved the Bacon Fat to Fry my Roe in. Then I put the Roe in the bubbling Bacon Fat, and gave both sides a good hard searing.
Then I added a pair of Sunny-Side-Up Eggs to the plate, and the Bacon I cooked earlier to finish my Plate.

This Breakfast was Great, but next time I’m probably going to raise my SV to 160°, because I never did care for my Shad roe to be on the Rare Side. Also My Ninja may get involved next time, because the Eggs were exploding from the Pan, just as if they were filled with specks of C4.

More Experiments needed.  


Thanks For Looking,

Bear


Soaking in Salt Water. * Note *after overnight soak, the water turns Pink from the blood being drawn out of the Roe:







After Soaking in Salt Water:






Soaking in Cold Clear Water to remove Salt Flavor:






Ready for cooking:






Bagged & Ready for SV:






After SV @ 140° for 3 hours:






Ready for Frying Pan:






A Pan of Bacon & Saving Bacon Fat:






Shad Roe in Bacon Fat in Frying Pan:






Finishing in Pan:






Ready to Eat:    Millions of Eggs inside those Sacks:






Bear's Shad Roe, Eggs, and Bacon Breakfast:






Close-up.  * Note:* I slit the right side open to show the inside is somewhat Rare:






Another View of Bear's Breakfast:  *Note:  *A Double Yolker Joined the Party:


----------



## smokerjim (May 23, 2021)

Looks great bear ya can't buy that breakfast just anywhere.  Nice of your son to do that. Is he making mounts with the bodies.


----------



## sawhorseray (May 23, 2021)

Wow, piece of work Bear, and very informative. I used to catch shad in the American river close to my house, we'd just release them due to being so bony. RAY


----------



## Bearcarver (May 23, 2021)

smokerjim said:


> Looks great bear ya can't buy that breakfast just anywhere.  Nice of your son to do that. Is he making mounts with the bodies.




Thank You Jim!!
No mounting---Shad aren't anything pretty, and they all run about between 19" and 26". They actually look like Giant "Shiner" Minnows.
I think he's going to finally do a pair of Replicas of the Big Trout he caught years ago in NY. It was a Buck @ 31 1/2", and a Roe @ 29 1/2". We have a lot of close-up pics of them, and he's going to get his Wife Bethany to do the painting.
And Thanks for the Like.

BTW: He froze the bodies, to be thawed & cut into chunks for bait for the Huge Flathead Catfish that are taking over in PA.

Bear


----------



## SKade (May 23, 2021)

Great looking breakfast. Informative and mouthwatering as always.


----------



## smokerjim (May 23, 2021)

I'm sure with bethany's skills they will come out great, where they catching those flatheads been years since I went for channel cats, I used to up the susquehanna for them. Dont Those flatheads get pretty big.


----------



## Bearcarver (May 23, 2021)

sawhorseray said:


> Wow, piece of work Bear, and very informative. I used to catch shad in the American river close to my house, we'd just release them due to being so bony. RAY




Thank You Ray!!!
The main fun with Shad was the great Fights they would put up!!
We used to keep & eat the Roe, and give the Bodies to my Grandfather. He'd rototill them into his garden. Now Bear Jr plans on using the bodies for Flathead Catfish Bait.
And Thanks for the Like, Ray.

Bear


----------



## MJB05615 (May 23, 2021)

Looks great, John.  I've never had Shad roe before, I'm wondering how it tastes, and if it compares to anything.  Great write up as usual.  Makes it so easy to follow, especially for a Shad novice like myself.  When it's something interesting, I need all of the info I can get.


----------



## Bearcarver (May 24, 2021)

SKade said:


> Great looking breakfast. Informative and mouthwatering as always.




Thank You SKade !!
I gotta work on this. It was Too rare for me, & too much egg explosions.
Next time I'm going to try 160° in the SV, and maybe Air Fry to finish.
I'll get it right eventually.
Appreciate the Compliments.

Bear


----------



## Bearcarver (May 24, 2021)

smokerjim said:


> I'm sure with bethany's skills they will come out great, where they catching those flatheads been years since I went for channel cats, I used to up the susquehanna for them. Dont Those flatheads get pretty big.




It appears as they are now in ALL PA Rivers, and some reservoirs.
The PA State record was broken not long ago, with a Flathead over 56 pounds.
The Delaware is the newest to be invaded by these beasts, so I believe 40 pounds is as big as theirs get right now. However they keep getting bigger every year & the numbers keep growing.
They are considered an "Invasive" Species, and they are telling everyone to either Eat them or Kill them, but don't throw them back in, however those who are enjoying the Hell out of catching them have different ideas.
Bear Jr has caught a lot of Channel Cats & Bullheads, but this will be the first year for him to try for the Flatheads. They say they are the best eating of all Catfish, but I have never had any as of yet.

Bear


----------



## Bearcarver (May 24, 2021)

MJB05615 said:


> Looks great, John.  I've never had Shad roe before, I'm wondering how it tastes, and if it compares to anything.  Great write up as usual.  Makes it so easy to follow, especially for a Shad novice like myself.  When it's something interesting, I need all of the info I can get.




Thank You Mike!!
You have to really like Fish to enjoy Shad Roe.
It's like "Fishy tasting" X 10, but I love it.
This one wasn't perfect, but I enjoyed it.
It was a little rare for me, and a little too salty.
After soaking it in saltwater a long time, I didn't soak it in clear water enough to get rid of the Salt Taste. I'll fix that next time!!
This was the first set of Shad Roe I made in almost 10 years!!

Bear


----------



## GonnaSmoke (May 24, 2021)

Bearcarver said:


> The main fun with Shad was the great Fights they would put up!!
> We used to keep & eat the Roe, and give the Bodies to my Grandfather. He'd rototill them into his garden. Now Bear Jr plans on using the bodies for Flathead Catfish Bait.
> And Thanks for the Like, Ray.
> 
> Bear


Our American Shad run usually occurs in February and yes, they are loads of fun to catch. Will bite any color jig as long as it's green . They make great catfish bait, as well.


----------



## Bearcarver (May 24, 2021)

GonnaSmoke said:


> Our American Shad run usually occurs in February and yes, they are loads of fun to catch. Will bite any color jig as long as it's green . They make great catfish bait, as well.




Thank You GS !!
Yup---It's the Water Temp that triggers the run. Down there it gets warm earlier.
Up here they start the Run upstream at 54°. They have even found that if the temp drops below 54° during the Run, they will actually turn around & head downstream. They say Medium size Live Bluegills & Perch are the best bait for Flatheads, but he's gonna try Hunks of Shad too.
And Thanks for the Like.

Bear


----------



## GonnaSmoke (May 24, 2021)

Bearcarver said:


> Thank You GS !!
> Yup---It's the Water Temp that triggers the run. Down there it gets warm earlier.
> Up here they start the Run upstream at 54°. They have even found that if the temp drops below 54° during the Run, they will actually turn around & head downstream. They say Medium size Live Bluegills & Perch are the best bait for Flatheads, but he's gonna try Hunks of Shad too.
> And Thanks for the Like.
> ...


Flathead's diet consists predominantly of live fish, they are not bottom feeders like other catfish varieties. That's why they taste better, but they will feed on fresh cut bait. I have caught many in the 50 lb. range back in the day.


----------



## Bearcarver (May 25, 2021)

GonnaSmoke said:


> Flathead's diet consists predominantly of live fish, they are not bottom feeders like other catfish varieties. That's why they taste better, but they will feed on fresh cut bait. I have caught many in the 50 lb. range back in the day.




We never had Monster Cats in PA before.
If we got a Channel Cat @ 15 or 20 pounds that was a Big thing in PA.
I think these Flatheads snuck in here about 10 years ago, and have been growing & Multiplying ever since. I was always envious of some of the Giants caught in the South, back when I was still able to Hunt & Fish. I'm glad to see my Son having fun with these things!!!

Bear


----------



## GonnaSmoke (May 25, 2021)

Bearcarver said:


> We never had Monster Cats in PA before.
> If we got a Channel Cat @ 15 or 20 pounds that was a Big thing in PA.
> I think these Flatheads snuck in here about 10 years ago, and have been growing & Multiplying ever since. I was always envious of some of the Giants caught in the South, back when I was still able to Hunt & Fish. I'm glad to see my Son having fun with these things!!!
> 
> Bear


Because of their diet of live fish, flatheads in an ecosystem where they're not native can decimate a local fishery of small fish such as bream. And of course, the bigger they grow, the more they eat. Here in SC, we have the Edisto River which is known for it's redbreast, a very tasty and colorful relative of the bream. Flatheads were introduced into the river many years ago and the redbreast fishery has suffered to the point where our DNR relaxed the rules to encourage more people to catch them. Problem with that is that our Department of Health and Environmental Control, which monitors the chemical levels in our fish and issues consumption advisories based on them and the various bodies of water in our state, has issued a consumption advisory on flatheads out of the Edisto River of "Do Not Eat Any".

By the way, my personal best flathead was 70 lbs caught in the Wateree River close to 30 years ago.


----------



## Bearcarver (May 25, 2021)

GonnaSmoke said:


> Because of their diet of live fish, flatheads in an ecosystem where they're not native can decimate a local fishery of small fish such as bream. And of course, the bigger they grow, the more they eat. Here in SC, we have the Edisto River which is known for it's redbreast, a very tasty and colorful relative of the bream. Flatheads were introduced into the river many years ago and the redbreast fishery has suffered to the point where our DNR relaxed the rules to encourage more people to catch them. Problem with that is that our Department of Health and Environmental Control, which monitors the chemical levels in our fish and issues consumption advisories based on them and the various bodies of water in our state, has issued a consumption advisory on flatheads out of the Edisto River of "Do Not Eat Any".
> 
> By the way, my personal best flathead was 70 lbs caught in the Wateree River close to 30 years ago.




70 pounds!!! Unbelievable!!!
Like I said earlier, here we're supposed to "Eat them or Kill Them", but DO NOT Throw them back!!  Hard to get the Hard-Core Guys to do that. LOL

Bear


----------



## GonnaSmoke (May 25, 2021)

Bearcarver said:


> 70 pounds!!! Unbelievable!!!
> Like I said earlier, here we're supposed to "Eat them or Kill Them", but DO NOT Throw them back!!  Hard to get the Hard-Core Guys to do that. LOL
> 
> Bear


Flatheads, in my opinion, are the best tasting catfish variety around and that's due to their diet of live fish. I don't get many opportunities to catch them anymore, but when I did, they ALWAYS went home with me.


----------



## Bearcarver (May 26, 2021)

GonnaSmoke said:


> Flatheads, in my opinion, are the best tasting catfish variety around and that's due to their diet of live fish. I don't get many opportunities to catch them anymore, but when I did, they ALWAYS went home with me.




I heard that----And "Catfish" has always been my favorite eating fish.
I'm Anxious to get my chance at one of these "New to PA" Flatheads.

Bear


----------



## Bearcarver (May 26, 2021)

SecondHandSmoker
 ---Thank You for the Like.

Bear


----------



## Bearcarver (May 26, 2021)

9
 912smoker
 ---Thank You for the Like, 912.

Bear


----------



## Bearcarver (May 27, 2021)

DanMcG
 ---Thank You for the Like.

Bear


----------



## Bearcarver (Jun 29, 2021)

big t bbq
 ---Thank You for the Like on my Shad Roe.

Bear


----------



## Hijack73 (Jan 4, 2022)

Bearcarver said:


> Thank You Jim!!
> No mounting---Shad aren't anything pretty, and they all run about between 19" and 26". They actually look like Giant "Shiner" Minnows.
> I think he's going to finally do a pair of Replicas of the Big Trout he caught years ago in NY. It was a Buck @ 31 1/2", and a Roe @ 29 1/2". We have a lot of close-up pics of them, and he's going to get his Wife Bethany to do the painting.
> And Thanks for the Like.
> ...




Side note - those big flatheads are the BEST tasting catfish on the planet.  10lb and up are the ones I prefer.  The meat is so clean and not fishy at all.  I've had people swear that I was feeding them some kind of flaky chicken, not fish.  To get the REALLY big ones, a live shad or hand sized bream is the ticket!!!!


----------



## GonnaSmoke (Jan 4, 2022)

Bearcarver said:


> It’s been about 10 years since I’ve had any Fresh Shad Roe.
> Shad, much like Salmon Swim up Rivers to their Birth place to Spawn every so many years


It'll soon be time to catch some shad. We get a shad run every year...


----------



## bauchjw (Jan 4, 2022)

Informative and fun read as always Bear, the thread is a fun read too! Ive never had Shad before, but grew up eating a lot of Sheep Head row from Lake Okoboji. The roe looks very similar and my dad always fried it up on a CI in butter, I cant say that I ever developed a taste for it though!


----------



## Bearcarver (Jan 5, 2022)

Hijack73 said:


> Side note - those big flatheads are the BEST tasting catfish on the planet.  10lb and up are the ones I prefer.  The meat is so clean and not fishy at all.  I've had people swear that I was feeding them some kind of flaky chicken, not fish.  To get the REALLY big ones, a live shad or hand sized bream is the ticket!!!!




Thank You Hijack!!
GonnaSmoke told me those things too, about Flatheads.
Bear Jr is just getting started on them, because they're relatively new to PA.

Bear


----------



## Bearcarver (Jan 5, 2022)

GonnaSmoke said:


> It'll soon be time to catch some shad. We get a shad run every year...



Yup---Every year, when the water Temp is just right !!

Bear




bauchjw said:


> Informative and fun read as always Bear, the thread is a fun read too! Ive never had Shad before, but grew up eating a lot of Sheep Head row from Lake Okoboji. The roe looks very similar and my dad always fried it up on a CI in butter, I cant say that I ever developed a taste for it though!



Thank You Jed!!
My Dad was the best Hunter & Fisherman I ever knew, so we 4 kids got introduced to these types of things very early in our lives, and even my Sisters loved it!!

Bear


----------

