My Grandparents used to, but they used a long handled wire mesh net (homemade), but I don't remember them catching any more Crappie than we did with minnows. Their running buddies used to cut the Shad in half & use them, lifting their lines every now & then to keep the "bait" moving (& probably to shake off the "smell" into the water).
I've done it with a cast net, but mostly for Hybrid Stripers. I really don't remember catching all that many Crappie, though, when I did fish for them with the smaller Shad. I used a 3/8" mesh net for the Hybrid Striper size bait, and a 1/4" mesh net for the Crappie size bait.

The biggest problem is keeping the Shad alive for any extended period of time, which usually requires more than just a 5gal bucket and a bubbler