American Shad story #21b........~50 years ago.

[Bill Kiene semi-retired]

I grew up in south Sacramento a block from the Sacramento River.

A few miles south of my house was the "Minnow Hole" which we later found out was the sewage outflow for that part of the town.

We would catch Shad there off the bank on spinning rods with Shad darts.

My friend and class mate Jim Silva and his folks had a special love for the old Frank Fats restaurant in down town in Sacramento.

One day we took about a dozen Shad down to Frank Fats showing up in the alley behind the restaurant. We brought in the freshly caught Shad and they seemed very interested in them.

There were some male Chinese immigrants squatting on the floor with only loincloth on.

They took us out front and we got a special Chinese dinner that night.

I guess it was illegal trading Shad for food but back then nobody really cared about Shad...

.

[Joe Mateas]

Good story Bill, we had a chinese food restaurant that we would trade fish for dinners when I was a kid too. I still know a burger joint owner that will trade me a big ol fat greasy bacon cheesburger meal for fresh caught fish. I don't do it anymore but everytime I go get a milkshake or a burger he always reminds me the offer is on the table.

[JAWallace]

I commercial fished for a season in the San Juans. We were fishing for sockeye, but on occasion we'd get a King in the nets. They averaged about 40#. We would always sell those to the local restaurant, and we got a buck a pound. Sometimes that would be half our take for the day. Fishing is godawful hard work. I would not wish that on anyone except for some of the Alaskan fisherman who make so much in a season it's worth it.

We have a restaurant in Elk Grove that would love to buy your fish.