Cast netting Shad?

[DroptineJoe]

Has anyone ever used shad as bait for crappie? Several of the crappie that I have cleaned have shad in their stomach and I thought about getting a cast net and using shad for bait. Any tips, hints, suggestions are much appreciated!

Thank you,
Joe

[KAG]

Joe, there is a guy that runs a white Lund Tyee, that is all he uses.

Here is some info on it, it may be helpful
Crappie Live Bait

[zeepo]

Contact jayhawkcrappie he had a thread about wipers on LyCyne and how he cast nets for shad.

zeepo

[skinner80]

I have used shad for crappie but it has been when the young of the year shad shows up that are smaller. The best luck i have had with them is glen elder. The shad i have used on milford have always been swarmed by whites and wipers.

[Fish Taxi]

Shad are easy to catch, somewhat tricky to keep alive for very long. They need a lot of oxygen, and they will kill themselves swimming into the sides of a square tank. If you can find a big circular or oval tank they will live a lot longer and swim stronger.

Get a cast net with the smallest mesh you can find. The slippery little shad squirt right through the gaps in your average cast net. It is frustrating to net 50 of them, but have 45 slip through the mesh before you can get your net lifted into the boat! And I would assume you prefer the smallest ones for crappie fishing. They are so slimy, you will be shocked how quickly they can squirt right through the mesh.

I made my own shad tank out of a 55 gallon plastic barrel cut in half. I haven't used it in a long time, but it worked well at keeping them alive. I bought an aerator that mounted on the lid and churned up the water pretty well. You are welcome to try out my tank and see if it works for you. Might save you the expense of buying one (or the effort of making one) if it turns out that you can't catch crappie as easily as you thought on shad.

I've never tried shad for crappie. Just cats and wipers.

[skinner80]

For the keeping them alive thing I buy shad saver was able to purchase it at chapman creek but with it closing donno if other places in the area will have it other than that keeping them out of direct sunlight helps.

[drakewoodie]

For the keeping them alive thing I buy shad saver was able to purchase it at chapman creek but with it closing donno if other places in the area will have it other than that keeping them out of direct sunlight helps.

Ochlands in Junction used to carry it don't know if they still do though haven't been in there in a couple of years

[Blackdog40]

You can get the shad shad saver from cabelas bass pro, about any online tackle site.

[jayhawkcrappie]

I have experimented with live shad for crappie. From my experience, the biggest challenge is finding and then catching the right size shad for crappie. I am now throwing an 8' cast net with 3/8" mesh. For crappie size shad...which from my limited experience is 3" and less, a net with 1/4" mesh is needed. With 3/8" mesh, a lot of the smaller shad will get their head and gills stuck in the net mesh, injuring them. Shortly after shad spawn, this size shad can be relatively easy to find and catch...but they grow quickly and can be hard to find later.

Only other thing I'd mention is you need a good bait tank built for keeping shad; not only keep them alive, but alive and healthy. I use a thirty gallon Sunshine Grayline bait tank which has two pumps and mechanical filtration. I think you could get away with a 15-20 gallon tank for smaller shad and one or two fisherman. I add 1 quart of Morton Solar Salt and 1 tablespoon of Better Bait to my tank every time I fill it up. I also use tap water and add Prime water conditioner to remove chlorine.

To me it would be a big investment and a lot of effort just for crappie. If you are a multi species guy and will use shad for stripers, wipers and other gamefish, it's a nice option to have available in the boat.