# New to cast netting



## Shaggy (Oct 24, 2008)

I'm trying to catch my own bait for the first time. I read that shad are extremely fragile and am looking for some tips from you experienced guys. What size netting is right for our SW Ohio lakes and tips for keeping them alive for at least 4 hours? Is it even worth the investment in a quality net and any other devices needed compared to the cost of live minnows?

As always, looking for good advice from those who know!!!


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## Salmonid (Apr 14, 2004)

Any 5 ft radius / 10 ft diameter net from wal mart is fine. About 40$. This will allow you to catch them but keeping shad alive is the hard part. They require a lot of circulation, cold fresh water and oxygen. If your in a boat the livewell will keep them alive for several hrs. If not id suggest a round baittank like the "bait jaccuzi" or something similar.


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## sherman51 (Apr 12, 2011)

if you don't have a boat livewell then I recommend the marine metal products bait saver 10 or 20 gallon livewell from academy.com. I use the 10 gallon for saltwater bait and it works great. the 10 gallon is 89.99 and the 20 gallon is 99.99. if you have room for the 20 gallon it would be better than the 10 gallon. the aerator that comes with the tanks can be replaced if they go bad.
sherman


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## UFM82 (Apr 6, 2004)

I've read that shad emit large quantities of ammonia when they are stressed and if the water is not kept fresh they will die even faster. I've never even tried to keep them alive once I've netted them.


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## Pooch (Jun 16, 2014)

My friend has a large tank, About 40 gal, in his boat and a huge tank, at least 100gal, on the dock. Both are round. Both are insulated, have a filter to get out the scales, and a spray bar to keep the water rotating around. Adds a small amount of salts and something else, can't remember. Water must stay cool and has to be exchanged every so often.


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## triton175 (Feb 21, 2006)

Don't know much about shad, but here's a good video on how to throw a 5 ft castnet. This kids method is the easiest that I tried


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## whiskerchaser (Mar 13, 2013)

That's way I've been throwing my castnet for 16 years.. Tried every way and it's still the easiest... Keeping shad alive is a pain
. I freeze Gatorade bottles with water and put in baittank.. I made my own baittank. Consist of Rubbermaid toat with lid and two small areators from Wal-Mart less than 20 bucks and hold a lot of bait


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## Foremanscotty (Aug 15, 2014)

When you first net the shad put them in a bucket with non iodized salt this will 'condition' the shad Harding the scale and they will release their poop. After a few minutes use a net and transfer them to a cooler a round one (igloo drink cooler)the key is to over not over fill the tank with bait 1-3 per gallon. short trip I will catch 10 shads bout 6in put in a square cooler and some will last 3 hrs. Hope this helps


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## Lazy 8 (May 21, 2010)

I bought a 4 foot cast net when I lived in FL and caught wild Golden Shiners. Spent a couple of hours in the back yard learning how to throw the net. If the net hits the water in a figure 8 pattern, you ain't catching nothing. They make a little plastic doohickey that you can load the net into or do like me and learn the hard way. What if you lose your little plastic doohickey? The kids method is the one I used. Only, I didn't have the internet to shoe me how to. Just a small, little, pamphlet. I did say small...didn't I? 

After I learned how to get it to open into a circle each time, I hit the water. I made my own chum using oatmeal, cat or dog food and some cracked corn, all mixed up together. After they'd get in a feeding frenzy, I'd let the net fly.

Good luck.


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