Fishing Craze

In my English class, we read an article by Stutz called Ancient Lives. The selection we read involved the migration of horseshoe crabs and shad fishing. The author describes the excitement of shad fishing on the Delaware River.
I have gone shad fishing on the Delaware, and it is certainly an experience. I went fishing by the forks, where the Lehigh and Delaware Rivers meet. There is a waterfall there, so the noise becomes quite annoying after awhile. One method used to catch shad is to use a lot of split shot on the line to get the lure to the bottom of the fast-flowing water. The bottom of the river is rocky, so it is a common occurrence for your lure to get hung up. Another method is by using a downrigger. A downrigger is a large weight that is lowered to the river bottom. The line and lure is fixed to the weight so that when a fish grabs the lure, the line releases from the weight. But in my opinion, that kind of fishing is rather boring.
Salmon fishing in Alaska is something really worth trying. Depending on the week during the summer run, one can catch nice sized pinks, silvers, and reds. I caught about 40 fish in a couple hours during the run. But the ultimate challenge is fishing for king salmon. These monstrous fish can grow easily to four feet. They are also strong fighters. They can snap 80-pound test line like it is twine. Plus, the streams they swim in are normally fast flowing glacial streams. Alaskan fishing definitely is extreme.
Shad fishing in the Delaware is fun, but Alaskan fishing is so much more intense. The fish are more abundant and fight for longer. The shad may be fun, but salmon make or break a fisherman.