where to get shad?
 

does anyone know where to get live shad around columbia ive been looking for a while just not having any luck finding them. or any good bait shops? Thanks!

I would think running shallow coves with your sonar would be a great way to find em right now. Saturday I noticed a +6 degree increase from the main channel opposed to the 3-12' flats off of the main channel. I don't know...so I'm just guessing!!

Throw a cast net almost any shallow cove, they are everywhere due to no die off this winter.

Live shad .. <'TK><
 

well alright then i think ill just try a cast nest a couple times and see how that goes never done it before but....practice makes perfect!! haha

A lot of times if you can catch them generating, the current will push them up next to a wall and you can use a dip net. If a place like that is available

Gen and Dip net <'TK><
 

Not talking about being in a boat... Didn't know I mentioned a boat in that post. I'm talking the walkway and rock banks most dams have. Maybe they are all completely different than cordell hull dam that I had in mind when posting that.

Think about it ... <'TK><
 

Your the one that said " you have to work for what you want " :)

I've had shad die instantly to under a minute, but i guess it depends on the conditions. At any rate they don't keep long. I use the live ones 1st and once they're all dead i cut them up and use them. I mostly fish for catfish.

Do like I did, use the dog for a target in the back yard for practice. Keeping them alive is another story. I have tried freezing shad, that doesnt turn out so well, maybe for some cats. But if you keep them just super cold on ice, they will stay fresh at least a couple of days, and most everything will still eat them with gusto. I have fished shad and skipjack this way with good results. I like to use smaller thread fin and alewife on a Walleye crawler rig, still have to keep them changed often to keep them fresh. The skipjack I would keep on ice until fish are located, then send them in and give them some action like fishing a big jig or plug, if not taken on the original fall.

Live shad .. <'TK><
 

If you are fishing below dams from shore, be prepared to loose your cast net. It might get hung up on the rocks. I have used piscator rigs to catch shad and skip jacks. I was in a boat; But if you can cast to the right places you can catch them from shore, too. I suggest keeping a rod rigged with the piscator and another for fishing the shad. You can catch a couple shad then fish with them. When you need some fresh shad your ready to catch some more. Here is what a piscator rig looks like. You will need a sinker on the bottom for casting.

http://www.academy.com/webapp/wcs/st...136+4294966969

I hope this will give you another option.

I learned how to throw one from a little boy in a youtube video. He really simplified it.

i need to check that out. I know I'm now throwing it the most simplest way. I went with Fred Mclintock after his heart surgery and he had to invent a whole new way to throw one. It was a slow motion 360 degree spin and toss. Funny looking but effective.

Piscator rig for shad? <'TK><
 

I have never heard that skippies were toxic to themselves, but it makes sense. I have a 40 gallon, round, insulated, filtered, oxygen infused bait tank and experience keeping fair amounts of bait alive, but have never been able to keep even one or two skippies alive for long. But I usually do not run the fill pump much, about 5 minutes an hour or so, other baitfish seem to do better with it off. I just thought 40 gallon was too small for them. What do you think?

Thanks TK..I would be more than happy with a two hour window. Would that be a couple of baits at a time, or more?

Friday, a friend and I caught about a dozen skipjacks, put six in each livewell. Set the timer to pump water, one minute on-three minutes off. We kept our skipjacks alive for over two hours, and we had a couple large ones over 14 inchers. Unfortunately we didn't catch any stripers, and only talked to one guy that did, but we had bait all day. We used sabiki rigs of multi-colored jigs and would triple and quadruple up on them. Bad thing was,we couldn't catch many 10 inch skippies, mostly big ones, some 15 inchers.
And these are square livewells in a bass boat, not the nice round ones that cost $400.00.

Well Agelessone, that settles it. I'm going to make some more attempts at keeping them alive longer. I had really given up on it.