SHAD talk ....

YES folks they actually TALK !
They tell a story every single time I find them .
Sometimes it isn't what you want to hear and sometimes ....
It's like OH MY ....really ?
Case in point , It's important to know about the life cycles of a major food source baitfish . To study a threadfin shad and the way it goes about life and death will make you a better crappie fisherman where they are the main baitfish present .
If you watch them closely and understand what they are doing and why , you will often find the main target species doing its best to consume them .
So Lets' start with the late fall/winter basics .....
Threadfin Shad are fragile fish and die easily , this coupled with a high food value and large numbers make them a sought after meal .
Threadfin Shad struggle in water temperatures below 60 degrees . When water temperatures hit 55 the die off begins . At 50 degrees it is in FULL all out tons of them dying mode . Literally tons of them i might add .
If you roll up to a lake when its really cold and see birds hovering and diving ,and lots of what looks like huge rain drops on the surface , you are seeing a die off .
The shad in this case are telling you loud and clear to go look under them .
What does not get eaten falls to the bottom for the most part .
Winter crappie love to eat large numbers of shad during the winter die off .
Its a crappies version of Thanksgiving and eating until you feel like you will pop .
Hopefully this tidbit of information will put you on a pile of crappie soon .
KABOOM is the word :highfive

Good info as always. Thanks Ketchn

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Good info as always. Thanks Ketchn

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You know my friend there are some that dont care for me due to my not bla bla bla ing about what lake .
we call them the internet spot seekers . they dont wont to go find fish they want you to do it for them .
then they get all sideways over me not posting it up on the internet .
so that part you can only have in a pm ....the rest of it is in my posts .
i aint actually selling nothing but a good time brother
i might not be actually able to help you or the next person ketch fish ....
but it is always my hope that some of the information is the ticket to someone having a great time the next time they visit the lake :fish

The way I look at anything is taking it as little bits and pieces of knowledge to apply to my fishing skill. How they respond to certain situations, what to look for, depths, time of year, etc. All hopefully absorbed in my brain for applying to my current situation. Every trip is different and the more knowledge one knows and can apply the better chance they have to having a KABOOM vs a Skunk! You my friend are a wealth of knowledge. I appreciate it. :highfive

Good post Ketchn. Stay well.

WE appreciate your posts and lessons Outlaw, keep em coming and don't let the fools put you down. They don't matter and are mostly lurkers on here who don't contribute anything.

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Every trip is different and the more knowledge one knows and can apply the better chance they have to having a KABOOM vs a Skunk! You my friend are a wealth of knowledge. I appreciate it. :highfive

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That attitude will put fish in your boat....... Spots mean nothing without the techniques to entice the fish to bite and the technique is almost never the same and why die hard crappie snatchers are so addicted to the sport......
The biggest obstacle for most is there is no hand book to CONSISTENTLY catch crappie......
Yeah I know there's a lot of post, vids and some books but you'd better be ready to make some changes.....
One of the biggest YouTube crappie fisherman has started several of his vid talkn about a particular bait he was gonna use, well it hit wet but that ain't what caught his fish.....LOL
What you may think the fish will hit is only a starting point and changing will be a must if you're not getting bit......

I don't really post all that much....but I sure enjoy all of the posts and effort yall put into them. Lots of good info in them.

I will say one thing.....where I hold the most value isn't the conclusions yall have reached...its your thought process to get there.

A conclusion such as depth, jig color, action, scent, etc....is no good if you dont know the thought process to get there.

A conclusion only works in a specific scenario....a though process can be applied in all of them.

Dont stop doing what you are doing...cause theres folks out there who appreciate what you do. I know I do.

Totally agree! I look forward to your insight and ideas. Definitely makes me a better fisherman....Thx Ketchn!

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Originally Posted by SuperDave336

Good info as always. Thanks Ketchn

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+1 on that! Thanks, Ketchn!
Bob

We only have Gizzard Shad in Ohio...they are the baitfish staple for all of our fish...in our lakes they can grow to 14 to 18 inches, and the big ones are favored by Muskie, Pike, Big Bass, or Big Cats.
I have found 4-6 inch Shad inside Big Crappie.
Shad are part of the Herring family and are extremely oily, full of protein, and stink.
When born, gizzard shad have teeth and eat zooplankton etc., as they grow they lose their teeth and become filter feeders.
Very few of our established shad die during Winter...huge die-offs are caused by multiple rapid, water temperature changes...as long as they can slowly regulate their temperature, they are ok!
Shad are always moving and filtering food.
Our Crappie tend to follow schools of shad during the warm months, and feed on them at night when Crappie have the advantage.

Gizzard shad are a totally different beast here . they get real big and rarely die off . they will flat out hammer a jig in the dead of winter with a THUMP that cant be beat .
filled a 5 gallon bucket one day for a friend when i was winter dock fishing . they also love to graze like cattle on the algae on the rocks by the shore here .
They are also a much less favorable baitfish for crappie due to the way they live life and how fast they grow . They are only about the right size for a crappie for a very short period of time because they grow fast .
This coupled with the they dont run in very big schools makes them more of a big fish baitfish here .
but i am sure there are a few here and there that fall victim to the crappie at some point early in life .

threadfin shad for the most part dont do well in northern states , the upper range on them is like stated before , southern Ohio .
lots of other baitfish exist though and to be sure some are viable food sources as well .
maybe at a later date i will bring up the ole mississippi silverside , but thats another fishy story too ....:fish

The 1st 3 pics are some of the shad we have caught on small swimbaits(???)
Pics 4&5, are perfect Crappie eaters...they normally stay crappie food for close to 2 yrs here.
Pic 6, two 4" pieces of shad from a 15 inch Crappie.

our warm waters grow fish very fast as you might know and down here gizzards/hickory shad grow really fast .
its probably the same thing from what i have read and understand about some of the northern black crappie and how long it takes them to grow to the same size as a southern crappie .
some lakes here grow white crappie to legal size in one year .
it might be quite possible the gizzards are in the edible size range for 2 years up north .
according to the fisheries head honcho they are only crappie edible size for very short time down here though .

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Originally Posted by jeremy360

I don't really post all that much....but I sure enjoy all of the posts and effort yall put into them. Lots of good info in them.

I will say one thing.....where I hold the most value isn't the conclusions yall have reached...its your thought process to get there.

A conclusion such as depth, jig color, action, scent, etc....is no good if you dont know the thought process to get there.

A conclusion only works in a specific scenario....a though process can be applied in all of them.

Dont stop doing what you are doing...cause theres folks out there who appreciate what you do. I know I do.

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Thought process works. These were from yesterday. I dont get to go often to watch fish patterns so I try to learn as much as I can before I go each time. Helps provide a starting point....where I'll end up...who knows.

Keep on doing what you do Ketchn.

cleaned several dozen over last few days and all of them had shad like in pics above. feeding frenzy is definitely on! great discussion guys, appreciate all your knowledge.

i rarely open a body cavity unless i have to on most everything these days i put the knife to .
this said stomach contents are a rare for thing for me to view .
i try to keep it on the not so nasty side when i open fish and quite often wild hogs as well .
one thing for certain crappie eat all kinds of prey .
i had a bud with a big ole 2 plus fish that opened it and found a rather large yellow bass in its stomach

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Originally Posted by Ketchn

i rarely open a body cavity unless i have to on most everything these days i put the knife to .
this said stomach contents are a rare for thing for me to view .
i try to keep it on the not so nasty side when i open fish and quite often wild hogs as well .
one thing for certain crappie eat all kinds of prey .
i had a bud with a big ole 2 plus fish that opened it and found a rather large yellow bass in its stomach

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After I filet the fish I keep, I go back and open all the stomachs, and log the date, contents, patterns. It helps to verify alot of the things I see!

interesting for sure . i only once in a blue moon look at eggs to see development or lack of in the late winter until early summer .