# Finding Shad



## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

I figured I would ask and share both.

So far this year I have been lucky enough that I have been able to dip net large shad in the newly exposed shallows of the lake from my kayak on the way to my fishing spots. Now the lake is full and the shad are gone. The hunt is on. 

I live next to lake white and the scioto river my best bets to get and keep live shad. I know they are in lake white but nothing like some other lakes like Dillion and Rocky Fork are a couple that come to mind. Any tips on finding shad that you know are there but not running in big dark schools. I may just have to take a trip elsewhere and catch a cooler full. 

One trick I have found for when times get tough. I know some of you guys can get hundreds of shad a day and will laugh at this, but its not always that easy everywhere. All you need is one live shad. Put it on a small hook without hurting it under a small bobber shallow enough you can see it in the water. Toss it out and let it swim around. Most of the time if there are other shad around they will find this one and swim around with it. Then toss the cast net at them. It can be a pain to untangle your line from the net, but hard times are hard times and its well worth it. This will not give you a freezer full of shad, but if all you need is doz or a half to get you through the night then this might do the trick.


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## Flathead King 06 (Feb 26, 2006)

Shad should be spawning right now, or at least they are around CJ Brown. Should be fairly easy to follow the bank lines and find schools of them. Then just throw the cast net.


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

Score! Shad in the tank. Thinking the same thing you said I stopped a buddies house on the lake. Walked strait to the boulders lining his bank and there they were. Could have got more but I want to try and keep them alive. Half made it and the other half went to the freezer. For now that is, never had much luck keeping them in anything not round. These ones my end up in the freezer too.

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## City fisher (Jul 12, 2012)

Do you have an aerator in there with them? They will eventually suck all the oxygen out of the water and will die. I've kept minnows in a minnow bucket alive for a few days doing this. Just a thought.


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## rustyfish (Apr 27, 2004)

Yea there is a blue air bar in the bottom left hand corner kind of hard to see from the pic. Also have an air injector power head in the tank so O2 should be fine. I am just hoping they continue to hang out in the middle and not bash thier faces off the walls. I should have put them in one of the 55Gal tanks but one was full of chubs and the other had gills and I didnt feel like moving everything.


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## ztmdodge (May 10, 2013)

The best time to catch them is at night. They will be up right along the shore line and you can catch tons with a cast net.


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## SeanStone (Sep 8, 2010)

That's a pretty neat idea with the shad and bobber. I know that guys use umbrella nets will cast a swim bait to get some followers and literally swim them into thier nets. It's a very similar concept.

Good thing you had those shad last night. Lol. We headed out again for round two.....hopefully without the rain.

Oh yea and ill be getting shad on the way.

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## Vince™ (Sep 20, 2011)

I fished the peninsula at Alum Creek Marina today and there were literally THOUSANDS of shad along the whole stretch of bank on the lake side. I've never seen anything like it.


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