Eating Shad

I use small shad often Catfishing and had never caught one other than Cast
Netting until last week. I was fishing in the Tennessee River for crappie
using minnows and jig when I noticed as I was bringing my line in, bright
shiny larger fish that werent crappie were chasing it to the top, flipping
up and diving. I slowed down bringing my line in and started catching Shad,
average about 10 inches long. I asked someone if they ate Shad and they said
Shad was a junk fish, good for nothing but bait. But I recalled that General
Pickett and F.H. Lee were at a Shad Bake when their units were attacked at
Five Forks. I googled it and found out that Shad Bakes are and have been a
big deal in the southeast US for hundreds of years. So, has anyone HERE ever
eaten a Shad? What is your opinion of it?