In the early years of the United States, shad would approach the east coast every spring to swim up a freshwater river to their spawning grounds. These fish were delicious and bountiful, if only for a short season, so everyone would drop what they were doing and cast their nets for shad. Much of it was sold, some was preserved, but there was always enough fresh shad for community shad bake. In the 19th century, these became a tradition, an annual community event, which politicians would attend and press the flesh -and the fish, too! Shad were cooked for a crowd in a unique manner. Cooks would clean them, nail them to a hardwood board, baste them with butter, and set the boards up around a roaring fire until the fish were baked. The was called planking. The board was them served to a table of people who ate the fish directly from the board.
The shad population crashed when the industrial revolution brought hydroelectric dams and factories polluted rivers, but some New England communities still carry on the annual shad bake. Still, you can try the cooking method of planking yourself, with shad if you can get it, or other species of fish. Atlas Obscura has complete instructions, along with a history of the shad bake.
(Image credit: Mark Warner)