Shad Tanks and
Keeping Bait When it comes to stripers as with all types of fish, its hard to beat live bait. There are three keys to live bait fishing for stripers. 1. Knowing where to find bait. 2. Obtaining the right kind of bait. 3. (Most important of all) Keeping live bait alive and frisky. Most all lakes or rivers that have stripers or hybrid stripers have an abundance of some type of shad. In many cases this may be the reason that the stripers were stocked in the lake in the beginning. Mother nature has a built in safety net in her reproductive system; a forage base for large species in the food chain. Shad also have a forage base consisting of nutrients and plankton. Some lakes, depending on their geographical location and the type of water, will hold a higher nutrient content than others. When too many large shad are in a body of water, the reproductive chain slows down. When the shad get this large, nothing else can eat them but a fish with the appetite and the size of a striper. They are eating machines. The striper will start to decrease the number of large shad and that will make more forage for the smaller shad. This in truth will speed up the reproduction of the bait. What this chain reaction does is to put more of a useable forage base into the system for small sport fish like walleye, bass, and crappie. Contrary to the beliefs of some bass fishermen, stripers are actually helpful to the other sport fish. In many cases, trying to convince bass fishermen of this sometimes is very difficult. (That is a different article that we will pursue at another time). Finding these large desirable shad can sometimes pose a problem if you don't know where to look. Large gizzard shad like to feed and sun themselves on long mud flats. Most lakes have areas that possess flats somewhere . Usually, even in the hot summer, the best flats to try are in the back of the creeks. During spring and winter, with several fronts coming through, the shad often will move off the flats and onto the edge of the creek channels and hold in a little deeper water to escape the high barometric pressure. A good way to spot gizzard shad is to watch for them flipping on top of the water. If you don't see any shad flipping and are not having any success in catching shad, move out to where the flat breaks into the channel. The bait may be a little more spread out but they should be catchable. In most all cases, shad are more easily caught in shallow water. Threadfin shad can sometimes be found using the same technique. It is very important to move quietly onto the flats and make your first pass count. Shad, like fish spook easily in shallow water. I have never had very good luck catching gizzard shad in clear shallow water. Sometimes it is possible to actually drive your shad into a pocket in the back of a cove while throwing your net as you move into the cove. Below the dam of a lake or river is always a popular place to harvest bait. Using a special dip net is a good way to catch shad. Usually, shad are more plentiful if the dams are releasing water. The shad love to swim in the current. Castnets work also but can be dangerous because of the large rocks and obstructions on the bottom and it is easy to hang up. Hanging a net on the bottom tied around your wrist is not a favorable situation. Always be careful and check your local laws applying to dam access and net laws. Eley shad and threadfin shad are better attained at night with the use of lights. Placing an artificial light or using the lights of the dock or landing ramp may help draw in these shad. The shad usually will swarm the lights after about an hour. Two or three good throws, and you should have you all the shad you need for a days fishing. Harvesting shad in this method requires arising even earlier than fishermen would normally think about getting up but if that's what the fish want, the rewards can be well worth it. Using the right kind of bait can make the difference between having a successful day of fishing or just killing a lot of bait. 1,000 pieces of gizzard shad will not do you any good if the fish are feeding on Eley. A body of water that has a good supply of bait can make fish very picky about what they eat. Steak and lobster both are great, but when you want a good steak, and you will not settle for anything else. The best lobster restaurant may be 5 minutes away and a good steak, 45 minutes, you'll drive the extra time just to get what you want. Fish can be the same way. Most of you know, shad of all types are much harder to keep alive than conventional bait like live shiners, chubs, suckers, etc. That is the reason it is so hard to purchase them. It takes a lot of work and special handling to keep shad alive in the volume that a live bait dealer would need. Only a few dealers are set up to handle and hold shad. It is very expensive to build and buy the equipment they need. Even though the price you pay for shad seems high, the dealer is not making the profit that you might think. Although the bait that most dealers carry will produce fish, there are very few times that it will work as well as live fresh bait. See August issue of Woods & Waters for Part II, the conclusion. |
