Shad

I collected 98, 4-6 inch shad from a die off the other day. I broke them up into 16 individual ziplocks with 6 in each bag and froze them. When I go out I can now grab 1 package for a couple hour outing depending on how the fish are biting. I have always used sucker minnows for bait as I have never had the chance to come across a shad die-off. Do you guys use the whole shad, cut the head and tail off, or what? I was planning on using just the body section. I can’t wait to use them. I figure this will same me about $80 in suckers and I am hoping it is much better bait being that it is more natural.

Keep that warm weather coming
Mike T.

Score! I’m still getting used to paying for bait. In Texas we used to cast-net in the saltwater to get all kinds of bait. I’m going to get some minnow traps this year, or make my own.

down here in iowa i have heard people prefer to use the guts. i’ve tried it with fresh ones and the only thing that will stay on the hook is the gizzard. with fresh shad, a chunk of midsection with some guts in it is where i start. if the fish are bigger, the head and 1/2″ or so of body works good sometimes. once again, some guts are hanging out of it.

You may find that salting them is better than freezing. Especially dead ones get really soft. If you put them in a pail and salt them they get harder. They will work really well for channel cats. You would do just as good with some Sonny’s stink bait.