Last year on the North shore the schools of Shad seemed to avoid the larger blues by mixing in with schools of ****tail blues until the water temps began to rise.
At one point, while working a school of fish that were feeding on sand eels, every other fish was a Shad, not a Blue. I even picked up a few on fluke rigs. I wonder if their increase in numbers is a sign of improved water quality. Then again, maybe they were a commercial bycatch that has benefited from one of the changes in commercial regulations over the past ten years.
Any thoughts?