Small Lake / Shad

[Bluesraider]

I have a question about a small lake I fish quite a bit. Its a small conservation lake (about 200 acres) and the crappie population has been plentiful over the past few years although it got fished quite heavy this past spring when the crappie started getting some size to them. There is a 30 fish limit and one day alone I counted over 60 boats out there (most with two people). I still manage to go out there most times and catch fish and even on slow days can manage 6 or so good fish.

The last couple of times out I have have zero luck and in three trips and managed only one crappie. I understand that you aren't going to go out and catch a limit every day but I did hear of one thing that made me wonder whether or not it was affecting the bite. Supposedly the conservation department dumped a truck load of shad in the lake about 3 weeks ago when they lowered it to flood the duck hunting spots. Overall the lake is about 10ft deep all over and they dropped it about 2-3 ft. It has been pretty rough fishing with the wind anyway but I just haven't had the normal bite I am accustomed to. Yesterday as I am pulling in my rigs because the wind got up too high I had foul hooked a shad on one of my jigs....first time I have actually seen shad in there so it did make me wonder if what I heard was on target.

So what are your thoughts? Depending on how much shad they dumped (if they did), will that have a significant affect on the bite? And if so, any idea on how long I need to give it a rest before I can expect to see a decent bite again?

[Cray]

I would think dropping water level would affect the bite more than adding some shad, though it could to some extent. Good thing is they should start to put on weight and grow good with the added forage.

[Bluesraider]

Wondered about lake drop as well. That was about 3 weeks ago so I thought it might have stabilized a bit now but it might take longer with a lake this shallow

[CrappiePappy]

Sounds to me like they needed to lower the creel limit, rather than dump Shad in such a small lake. Unless they expect the Shad to die off over the Winter, introducing them to the lake may have been a mistake (unless they're thinking that adding Shad will cut down on the angler's success rate). They probably used Shad, rather than a "minnow" species, because they can net the Shad for "free" ... and would have to raise or purchase the minnows. And to your question about "affecting the bite" .... yes, introducing a prolific food source will have an effect, and it may be a long lasting one, depending on their survival rate.

We have a small lake (760 acres) that's managed for trophy Bass, and contains Channel Catfish, Bluegill, Shellcracker, and Black Crappie. The idea was for the cats & bass to keep the numbers of the others in check, since the lake was supposedly sterilized of any other fish species when it was dammed up & filled. They did put in Fathead minnows, early on, to help jumpstart the growth of the stocked fish. Unfortunately, their efforts to rid the lake of Shad went for naught, as they were either "planted" by some misguided anglers or were never completely removed.

The Crappie took almost 8 years to get beyond the original size limit placed on them at the beginning. The reason ... the Bass were more likely to feed on the Shad, than the Crappie, and that let them overpopulate & stunt. A few years ago they removed the size limit of 9" and increased the creel limit from 15 to 30 fish/person/day. They realized that anglers were taking short fish from the lake, anyway, and it seemed to have no great effect on the population .... and the predation scheme wasn't working, due to the Shad ... so they let the anglers do the population control. Recent reports have shown that the Crappie are getting bigger, in greater numbers, due to those size/creel limit changes.

... cp

[Bluesraider]

I'm OK with the 30 fish/no length limit on this lake due to the fact it was extremely over populated the last few years and none of the fish were getting over that 7-8" length. There were more boats on the lake this past spring day in and day out than I have ever seen. For the past year or so I have been catching lots of 11-12" fish and even a few tipping in over 14", so the size is getting much better and I am assuming the population is getting more where it needs to be. This lake is pretty much 9-10ft deep all over with very minimal structure so I only spider rig it (3 pole limit). There may have been shad in here all along but that is the first time someone has mentioned to me that they "dumped" a truck load in there. I sent a text to our local warden but have not heard back as of yet on whether or not that actually happened but I sure hope if it did that it doesn't hurt the fishing. This lake is about 4 miles from my house and allows me to make a quick trip for getting out of the house every once in a while.

[Bronson]

Might be a good time to give another lake and try and rest this one. Come back in a few weeks and it may be good to go. As far as stocking shad goes, it may have happened but a lot of time what starts off as a rumor turns into a fact when told to others.

[Cmj]

There are lots of factors that are probably contributing to a TEMPORARY slow down in the bite. The main one being the sudden drop in the water level, but even then you should still be able to catch a few. Honestly, a truck load of Shad isn't that much, and a "Shad Stocking" could be more aptly called a good feeding. The Game and Fish Commission stocked 250,000 fingerling LMB in one of our local lakes last spring, and after catching hundreds of Hybrid Stripers with between 50 and 150 fingerlings each in their guts, the numbers told them that few, if any, survived. Your problem is likely just a pattern change resulting from the low water and the recent seasonal changes. Look the lake over real good with your electronics and you will find them stacked up somewhere. They may be as shallow as one foot of water in shoreline cover. Good luck!

[NIMROD]

No as long as Threadfin Shad are stocked there should be no problems except they can't tolerate extreme cold. Gizzard Shad grow too large for feed except larger Bass , Catfish , and such. Here we are catching Crappie so full of Shad they look ready to burst but still taking jigs. I think the water drop may have effected the bite or atleast location of Crappie. Crappie will follow the schools of Shad in winter even more so.

[endo2075]

Not a lot of choices In his area

I have a question about a small lake I fish quite a bit. Its a small conservation lake (about 200 acres) and the crappie population has been plentiful over the past few years although it got fished quite heavy this past spring when the crappie started getting some size to them. There is a 30 fish limit and one day alone I counted over 60 boats out there (most with two people). I still manage to go out there most times and catch fish and even on slow days can manage 6 or so good fish.

The last couple of times out I have have zero luck and in three trips and managed only one crappie. I understand that you aren't going to go out and catch a limit every day but I did hear of one thing that made me wonder whether or not it was affecting the bite. Supposedly the conservation department dumped a truck load of shad in the lake about 3 weeks ago when they lowered it to flood the duck hunting spots. Overall the lake is about 10ft deep all over and they dropped it about 2-3 ft. It has been pretty rough fishing with the wind anyway but I just haven't had the normal bite I am accustomed to. Yesterday as I am pulling in my rigs because the wind got up too high I had foul hooked a shad on one of my jigs....first time I have actually seen shad in there so it did make me wonder if what I heard was on target.

So what are your thoughts? Depending on how much shad they dumped (if they did), will that have a significant affect on the bite? And if so, any idea on how long I need to give it a rest before I can expect to see a decent bite again?

Might be a good time to give another lake and try and rest this one. Come back in a few weeks and it may be good to go. As far as stocking shad goes, it may have happened but a lot of time what starts off as a rumor turns into a fact when told to others.