[rottal]

Ive been seeing alot of big shad lately in some of the lakes i fish...they appear to be spawning and sometimes chase my flies or lures. In the carolinas i used to catch hickory shad in the rivers on spinners (people eat thier roe, it actually tastes pretty good fried up believe it or no)

my question is....can you catch them regularly, and how? i want a few for cut bait for catfishing. i thought they ate only tiny plankton or something like that, althought ive heard of people catching them by mistake sometimes...

 

[epic]

Casting nets always worked the best for me. > I've caught shad on shad rapalas but not regularly.

 

[da_teacher]

They occassionally hit my lures but netting them is the best way. We netted a bunch at Big Mac--now they're in the freezer waiting to be cut up into bait. CC has a lot that will actually hit on bait. Too boney to eat and too fishy.

 

[mista tuan]

i caught shad on my husky jerk the same size as the shad .... but i netted about 10 shad from big mac, keep them in the freezer for bait, but they smell like crap. oh and shad work for everything, even trout! well at union they do.

 

[k0diak]

I have had shad bump the blades on my spinnerbaits when i retrieve them throught the water...not only in Colorado but in Missouri...and Arizona too...maybe they want to school up with it or something LOL

 

[AZbassernco]

i used to have a video i took at pleasant in az of shad schooling with a spinner lol first it was one or two but in the end there were over a hundred lol i know cuz we threw a cast net over them lol and net about 95 shad

 

[Zman]

I have caught them on minnows ice fishing at Chatfield...

 

[lgombos]

I'm really interested in using shad as cutbait, or smaller shad whole for catfish.  Can anyone decypher the following text from the regs:

104(G). Take, Possession and Use of Fish, Amphibians, and Crustaceans for bait, personal or commercial use
     1. The seining, netting, trapping, and dipping of fish is prohibited statewide in all natural streams; springs; all waters in Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Clear Creek, Denver, Douglas, Gilpin, Elbert, Jefferson, and Park counties; and all public standing waters in Rio Grande, Saguache, Conejos, Costilla, Alamosa, Mineral and Hinsdale counties in the Rio Grande drainage.
          a. Fish handled or produced on commercially licensed aquaculture facilities are exempt fromthis regulation.

What exactly does this mean?  Can you use a castnet or sein in the metro area? Only on lakes/ponds and not rivers/streams?

Very confusing. :-\

 

[Don In Denver]

What exactly does this mean?  Can you use a castnet or sein in the metro area? Only on lakes/ponds and not rivers/streams?

It means you can't net or sein any fish for bait from any waters in the counties that are listed, including those in the Denver metro area. In the rest, you can't net or sein them from streams or springs, but ponds and other non-moving waters are okay.

 

[Pynkerton]

I know that back east they fish for shad on purpose. They use tiny "shad darts" or other of the same types of lures. From my understanding they get the shad to hit the best on an instinct bite, moving the shad darts through the water pretty fast so the fish cant take time to figure out what its snapping at. Im not a very good source for this information though, but it's deffinately something you can google to try and find out more. If the shad up there bite at it, maybe they will here too. I personally haven't intentionally fished for shad, but I have snagged a few on accident out of Chatfield. 12"+

 

[VolFan]

I can back up what Fiend said. We used to fish the shad run up the Rhappahannock (sp) with shad darts and small spoons spinners and grubs. The important thing seemed to be putting it right in the shad's face, almost like a spawning largemouth, and for the lure to be pretty bright and flashy. They're alot of fun on light and/or fly tackle. We'd also catch them in about the same manner below the dams on the Tennessee, Cumberland and Clinch Rivers in TN. Alot of fun, not so tasty.

 

[roadkill]

What exactly does this mean? Can you use a castnet or sein in the metro area? Only on lakes/ponds and not rivers/streams?

It means you can't net or sein any fish for bait from any waters in the counties that are listed, including those in the Denver metro area. In the rest, you can't net or sein them from streams or springs, but ponds and other non-moving waters are okay.

well put don

the shad back east and here are very different. out here they seem to be an incedental catch. if your in an area that netting is allowed the cast net works great the big cat i caught (24") this morning was on a good 5" live shad

 

[lgombos]

It means you can't net or sein any fish for bait from any waters in the counties that are listed, including those in the Denver metro area.  In the rest, you can't net or sein them from streams or springs, but ponds and other non-moving waters are okay.

That's what I was afraid of.  Frozen shad doesn't seem to work as well.