We paid a visit to the village of Lambertville, NJ, on the Delaware River, where you can hook, cook, and decorate your house with all things American shad during the annual Shad Festival. These brawlers are definitely one of the hardest fighters you can catch on rod and reel, and arguably one of the most historic fish in American history.

For information of the festival, visit lambertville.org, and if you want to try your hand at fighting one of these silver speedsters, book a charter with local captain Dieter Scheel of Big D Riverguide. He can be reached at (610) 574-7519 or by email.