The only stupid questions are the ones not asked? That is not true with answers, as we often find that some of those most freely applied are also infinitely silly. So, with that caveat, I’ll take a stab at responding to your question.

I have seen no research on controlling Gizzard Shad numbers by netting, or otherwise trapping them. Logic seems to indicate that it would probably work to some degree, given enough resources and effort. The problem would be that a successful program would have to overcome several obstacles. One is the fact that any wide area netting would also impact other species, dictating a labor intensive process of separating fish quickly and returning other species to the water unharmed. Another is that with equipment manpower and related operational costs, a netting project would quickly become a very expensive venture.

The process we are currently applying, using a water level drawdown combined with the effects of cold weather over winter, has a labor cost that is negligible, and requires almost nothing in the way of equipment or supplies. And it is not having any wide spread negative impact on other fish species. And it is probably at least equally effective as any trapping process might be in the overall control of Shad.