You won't have any problem catching bait. There is no reason to buy shiners this time of year if you have a cast net. At the head of most any creeks they are stacked full of bait you can catch as many as you want in shallow water any time of day. Most normally productive creeks mid lake is holding fish close to where bait is stacked up. Go early, catch your bait and pull boards as you said and you should do good if you find a school of fish. There is so much bait though its hard to mark schools of fish, so watch closely and don't confuse huge bait schools for schools of striper.
Good luck!