Skipjack Shad

The Skipjack Shad, also called the Skipjack Herring (Alosa chrysochloris), is a slender member of the herring family native to large rivers and tributaries of the Mississippi River basin and Gulf Coast drainages of central and eastern North America. Unlike many of its shad relatives, it spends its entire life in fresh water rather than migrating to sea, favoring large, free-flowing rivers with strong current. Named for its habit of leaping and skipping across the water surface while chasing prey, it is more predatory than most shad species. Populations have declined in some river systems where dams block the long-distance movements the species needs to complete its life cycle.

Skipjack Shad have a slender, streamlined, laterally compressed body built for fast swimming in strong river currents.

• Strongly forked tail and a noticeably protruding lower jaw, giving an upturned mouth profile
• Blue-green iridescent back fading to bright silver flanks, without prominent spots
• Large eye and a smoothly tapered, torpedo-like body compared with deeper-bodied shad relatives
• Typical adult length 30-45 cm
• Distinguished from Gizzard and Threadfin Shad by its more predatory jaw structure and lack of a trailing filamentous dorsal ray

Skipjack Shad inhabit large, free-flowing rivers and their major tributaries throughout the Mississippi River basin and Gulf Coast drainages of the central and eastern United States. They favor open water with strong current, often congregating below dams, at river confluences, and in the tailwaters of large impoundments. Unlike anadromous shad species, Skipjack Shad complete their entire life cycle in freshwater, undertaking upstream spawning migrations within river systems each spring rather than migrating to the sea. Long, unobstructed river reaches are essential to the species, and dam construction has fragmented or eliminated populations in parts of its historic range.

Skipjack Shad are active, schooling predators that feed on small fish, insects, and crustaceans near the water surface, often leaping clear of the water while chasing prey, a behavior that gives the species its common name. In spring, adults migrate upstream within river systems to spawn over gravel or sand in flowing water, with eggs and larvae drifting downstream to nursery habitat. The species grows quickly and has a relatively short lifespan. As an energetic surface predator, Skipjack Shad help regulate populations of small baitfish and invertebrates while themselves serving as prey for larger river predators such as catfish and bass.