Bhox Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 I fish a big pond that has a ton of shad in it but I don't have a cast net. Does anybody have a different method of catching shad or do bait shops sell them? Quote
Super User Darren. Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 You can buy little shad darts, Walmart has them, as do the big shops. 1 Quote
Super User roadwarrior Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=bait+fish+traps&qpvt=baitfish+traps&qpvt=baitfish+traps&qpvt=baitfish+traps&FORM=IGRE 2 Quote
Super User WRB Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 I doubt if you have Shad in Michigan! In Calififornia it's illegal to use a cast net in fresh water, we use long handle dip nets made for netting Shad. Tom 1 Quote
Super User Choporoz Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 2 hours ago, Darren. said: You can buy little shad darts, Walmart has them, as do the big shops. I use these for shad, but I suspect there's some confusion.....the shad that I catch with these are 13-17 inch American and Hickory shad....not fish that I'd be trying to net with a cast net...not to say that they won't catch smaller threadfin or gizzard shad....I've never tried, so may be the ticket...idk 3 Quote
Super User J Francho Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 38 minutes ago, WRB said: I doubt if you have Shad in Michigan! American shad and hickory shad are common on the Great Lakes, not to mention other herring from Alosa genus, like bluebacks and alewife. They get quite large, and many anglers target them at certain times of the year. The shad darts pictured above work well for them. 1 Quote
IndianaFinesse Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 If you're trying to catch gizzard shad for bait, the best time is during the shad spawn using a big treble hook jerked through the visible schools. Another good time is in the very late fall when the shad die off happens, sometimes you will find an entire school doing the death swim on the surface. Quote
Super User WRB Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 I believe Hickory Shad and Gizzard Shad are the same fish and would die off in ponds that freeze over. American Shad we have on the Pacific coast in rivers and are game fish that reach 5 lbs, too big for bass and don't believe they live in ponds that freeze. Could be herring, not sure if they can survive a frozen pond? Tom Quote
Super User J Francho Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 1 hour ago, WRB said: I believe Hickory Shad and Gizzard Shad are the same fish and would die off in ponds that freeze over. They are not. Gizzard shad: Dorosoma cepedianum Hickory Shad: Alosa mediocris The latter survive in large ponds just fine, if it deep enough. 2 Quote
Super User WRB Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 1 hour ago, J Francho said: They are not. Gizzard shad: Dorosoma cepedianum Hickory Shad: Alosa mediocris The latter survive in large ponds just fine, if it deep enough. Your are right agian! Looked up Hickory Shad before your reply and they are similar to American Shad, live in the ocean and run rivers to spawn. Not sure a land locked pond would have a population of Hickory Shad? Tom 3 Quote
Burtonxj Posted January 30, 2017 Posted January 30, 2017 3 hours ago, Choporoz said: I use these for shad, but I suspect there's some confusion.....the shad that I catch with these are 13-17 inch American and Hickory shad....not fish that I'd be trying to net with a cast net...not to say that they won't catch smaller threadfin or gizzard shad....I've never tried, so may be the ticket...idk Lotta fun at Fletchers! 2 Quote
Super User J Francho Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 22 minutes ago, WRB said: Not sure a land locked pond would have a population of Hickory Shad? There's plenty of "land-locked" ponds with them. They probably got there when a creek flooded. Many of our smaller waters are interconnected, as well. There's even a filled ore bed near me that has them. You can watch them in the crystal clear water, schooling on the steep bluff faces from the old mine. I first learned about them as a kid, casting off the piers on Lake Ontario for trout in spring. Ended up foul-hooking quite a few over 12". An old timer told me what they were. Quote
Super User fishballer06 Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 3 hours ago, IndianaFinesse said: If you're trying to catch gizzard shad for bait, the best time is during the shad spawn using a big treble hook jerked through the visible schools. Although it is ethically (and sometimes legally) frowned upon, ripping a rattle trap through a school of shad can usually snag you one or two. If you are in Northern Michigan and you're seeing "shad" in a pond this time of year, there should be some dead one's floating around. As the two guru's above mentioned (WRB and Francho), shad die off once the water gets cold in the northern states. The only way they can survive is if the body of water they are in is deep enough to maintain some warm enough water for them to survive the winter. Like WRB said, it's very doubtful that they are shad in a pond in your neck of the woods, but it's not totally impossible. I know whenever I was in New York salmon fishing in late October this fall, one of the rivers we were fishing (that was connected to Lake Ontario) had big schools of 3-4" shad swimming up stream and some were dying off as they went. I was shocked to see it, but I saw it with my own eye's. Quote
Super User J Francho Posted January 30, 2017 Super User Posted January 30, 2017 3 minutes ago, fishballer06 said: I know whenever I was in New York salmon fishing in late October this fall, one of the rivers we were fishing (that was connected to Lake Ontario) had big schools of 3-4" shad swimming up stream and some were dying off as they went. I was shocked to see it, but I saw it with my own eye's. Those are alewife. I've seen it too. Bajillions of them. You don't notice them at first, until you see the flicker - one or two randomly rub their sides on the bottom, which creates a flash, and alerts your eye to them. Quote
IndianaFinesse Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 3 hours ago, fishballer06 said: Although it is ethically (and sometimes legally) frowned upon, ripping a rattle trap through a school of shad can usually snag you one or two. If you are in Northern Michigan and you're seeing "shad" in a pond this time of year, there should be some dead one's floating around. As the two guru's above mentioned (WRB and Francho), shad die off once the water gets cold in the northern states. The only way they can survive is if the body of water they are in is deep enough to maintain some warm enough water for them to survive the winter. Like WRB said, it's very doubtful that they are shad in a pond in your neck of the woods, but it's not totally impossible. I know whenever I was in New York salmon fishing in late October this fall, one of the rivers we were fishing (that was connected to Lake Ontario) had big schools of 3-4" shad swimming up stream and some were dying off as they went. I was shocked to see it, but I saw it with my own eye's. In Indiana it is legal and encouraged to kill gizzard shad in any way possible, including snagging them. It's actually illegal to release a gizzard or threadfin shad alive after capture. I don't eat them, but I like to stock up on them to use as cut bait for catfish. 1 Quote
Super User soflabasser Posted January 31, 2017 Super User Posted January 31, 2017 In South Florida people tend to mostly use cast nets to catch gizzard shad and threadfin shad since these fish rarely bite a lure or hook. Its 100% legal to use cast nets for shad in Florida, as long as you have a Florida Freshwater fishing license. Make sure to keep your live well properly oxygenated since shad are very sensitive and die quickly if you don't take care of them in the live well. 10 hours ago, Bhox said: I fish a big pond that has a ton of shad in it but I don't have a cast net. Does anybody have a different method of catching shad or do bait shops sell them? 1 Quote
bassguytom Posted January 31, 2017 Posted January 31, 2017 I wonder is the smallest sabiki rig you can get would work. We would catch bigger Shad all the time in the river when we would get herring to live line for stripers. If I was trying to catch shad for bait I would give that a try. 1 Quote
Super User RoLo Posted February 11, 2017 Super User Posted February 11, 2017 On 1/30/2017 at 2:29 PM, J Francho said: They are not. Gizzard shad: Dorosoma cepedianum Hickory Shad: Alosa mediocris The latter survive in large ponds just fine, if it deep enough. Exactly. When I lived in Jersey, we waited with bated breath for the annual run of American shad up the Delaware River. They're sea-run fish that migrated from the Atlantic ocean into Delaware Bay and north to Pennsylvania. The lure of choice for American shad is the "shad dart" pictured in an above post. Shad darts are designed to loft in river currents. Roger 1 Quote
Super User slonezp Posted February 12, 2017 Super User Posted February 12, 2017 PB&J mop jigs work Quote
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