South Carolina Spring Fish Runs: American Shad

On the Santee and Cooper rivers, usually in mid January through April. That timing comes from the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources. The day each year follows the water: the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says American shad spawn once it reaches about 55°F.

The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources gives 55°F for the runs on the Santee and Cooper rivers. A single figure is a mark: water at or above it means the spawn can be on.

4 USGS gauges on the Santee River and the Cooper River report the water temperature through the day. Each run card sets the latest reading against the spawning temperature: more than 5°F below the spawning temperature is Not yet, within 5°F is Getting close, inside the range is On, and above it late in the run is Winding down. The other runs follow their usual months.

No. The months are the usual window, and the water sets the day: a cold spring holds a run back, and a warm one brings it forward. In South Carolina, the gauge readings on the run cards show where the water stands now.

Shad live at sea and come back up the rivers they hatched in to spawn.

Water temperature is the main signal: each species waits for its own range. Longer days bring fish toward the rivers, and a warm rain that raises and warms the water often starts a push upstream. Walleye go first in cold water; white bass, herring and shad follow as rivers warm.