Shad on Conway

I am new to the board, but have been watching the board for some time now, i decided it was time to contribute. I was walking the shoreline of Lake Conway while it was frozen a couple days ago, I have seen a very large shad die off, this should be good for the lake as it has had to many shad in it for a few years now, the fish wont bite well for a few days after the thaw, they r going to be full of these shad. In years past when there was a good freezing of the lake and die off of the shad the next couple of years after had some of the best fishing, because the fish had to eat, due to the lowered shad numbers. They took live and artificial baits really well till the shad population came back again. I have been fishing on Conway for the better part of 30 plus years. I have met a few of you guy up in the cove over the past couple of years I am sure. I may not know you by name or by sceen name but i have talked to you.

Haven't met you but welcome to the forum and thanks for the information. I'm sure your 30 plus years on Conway has taught you a lot and we sure appreciate your sharing that info and knowledge of the lake.:) Again, welcome to the site.

Nice to meet you ski trip

From what you saw, how long will it take to thaw?:confused:

The ice is thin now, and it should break under the presure of a boat, but i aint looked at it in a couple of days, its been dark when I drive by to go to work and its been dark when I drive by to go home, so I cant give a honest assesment of the ice. It was nearly two inches thich two days ago when it was super cold.

Welcome to the board and thx for the info.

Welcome to me board sladsntaters.

I'm too glad we're having a big shad kill this year,as you say they'll be gut full but also they should be fat and puffy.

Thanks wish4fish and turtlebait, nice to meet you guys

I've seen fish and shad die-offs in shallow lakes during periods of severe cold, but does that also happen in deep water lakes? Or, do the fish and shad just go deeper in deep water to find warmer temps?

Just curious.

In my experience any time the water temp get to around 37 degrees and lower shad will start to die off Shallow or Deep Lakes. Shad has to be one of the most delicate fish in the water. If you even touch a shad they will die 99.99% of the time. Shad are not to intelligent of a fish, they don't all know to dive deep for the warmer water in a lake. Most of the time Shad tend to work close to the surface, night or day, summer or winter. There are a great deal of shad that stay below the thermocline, and below the thermocline the water temp is usually stable and can be several degrees warmer than above the thermocline.