While searching for baitfish along the flooded banks of the Grand River, angler Sedrick Neinhuis spotted unusually large gizzard shad pushing up into the shallow shoulders of the river.
He landed one certified as a new Michigan record by Department of Natural Resources Fisheries Biologist Matt Diana, weighing 4.45 pounds and measuring 20.3 inches long.
“Most of these big gizzard shad are Lake Michigan fish or are living in the lower Grand River. This time of year, they tend to push up though as far as they can. So, they were congregated below the 6th Street Dam in Grand Rapids where they can’t get past that point because it’s a block for them on their migration.”
Gizzard shad congregate in large schools and are considered filter feeders with some unusual features…