raritan and d&r canal 3/3

[Worksforjerks]

Me and my buddy decided to fish for a little yesterday even though it was pretty damn cold out. Fished the falls for a while and the lochs on the d&r. Nothing was biting. On our way out my friend spotted a dying shad in the canal. Netted him up took some pics and he almost swam away before going belly up. Thought it was kind of weird seeing a shad in the canal.I should have took a picture of the dirty side of the fish first but i was cold and wasnt thinking, It look pretty beat up like something bit it. Also saw some turtles so hopefully spring is on its way.. maybe thats what got to the shad.

[catfishonthelake]

It's a gizzard shad. The canal is loaded with them. I saw the loch by 287 practically filled with them one day last summer. They're not anadromous like the American shad.

[AndyS]

I was going to refer to what Catfishonthelake had told me last year, the canal is loaded with the them. They are a good sign as they provide a good forage base. I just wonder if they decide to dredge the canal if they are going to move the fish or not. The easiest and best choice would be to put all those fish in the Raritan river. Should that happen, I guess they would have to re stock the canal afterwords.
Reports on other sites are showing lots of crappie, perch and slime darts being caught in there.

[acabtp]

why would they need to move the fish to dredge? i didn't see anything in the plans about draining the canal sections, so it might get turbid, but the fish should be fine