Quote Originally Posted by fishingtim View Post
Craig - I was out fishing Harvey Co East yesterday and couldn't help but notice the large number of dead or dying shad around the lake. Some of them you could tell had been there for a while and others were on the surface still kicking...kind of, all of them were 10+in long. I was thinking the shad kill offs where more in the dead of winter than the warming of early spring. I saw no small dead shad, but these could of been gobbled up by the birds or predator fish. The fish don't have to eat my lure because the dying shad are easy pickings? What are your thoughts.
Otherwise, weather corporate beautifully yesterday but not so much the fish.
Tim.
Tim,

Sounds like you witnessed the aftermath of a typical Kansas winter shad kill. Depending on conditions, the duration of the shad kill can be spread over a long period of time. Some times it is the 'ice out' conditions and warming temps that push the already stressed shad over the cliff resulting in the kill.

Some anglers anxiously await these shad kills, especially at reservoirs. During windy conditions the dead and dying shad are concentrated along downwind shorelines which concentrates fish like channel catfish and blue catfish which gorge on the abundance of forage. This can equate to some great catfishing action. Like you mention, this abundance of easy prey may make fishing difficult for other species but this all depends on the size of the shad that have died.

Thanks for the question!