Catching shad under crappie light

[robbor]

How are you guys going about catching shad and minnows from under your crappie lights? Last time out we had trouble getting em. If id do a fast dip they would scare and take off, I ended up just dropping the net down into the swirling fish and waiting for a few to swim in, it worked but id like to catch alot more.

Also anybody got video of shad/bait under crappie light?

[smoothlures]

Maybe try a cast net, or catch your bait before you get there?

[rango]

i dont use the lights to attract baitfish for the purpose of catching bait. if i was you, id buy the minnows instead and spend the time fishing instead of trying to catch bait under the lights. most of the bait you will see at the lights will be shad, which are notoriously hard to keep alive unless you have a bait tank designed to keep such baits alive. minnow buckets wont do it

[fingerlicken]

I agree with you rango.

[CrappiePappy]

How are you guys going about catching shad and minnows from under your crappie lights? Last time out we had trouble getting em. If id do a fast dip they would scare and take off, I ended up just dropping the net down into the swirling fish and waiting for a few to swim in, it worked but id like to catch alot more.
Also anybody got video of shad/bait under crappie light?

IF ... I was into catching Shad for bait, under my own lights ... using a castnet would be my first choice. BUT - I wouldn't "cast" it. Instead, what I would do is this : open the net and let one part of it drape over the side of the boat and your light, then wait for the Shad to re-start their circling, and then "flip/push the rest of the net over them. (this can't be done with any lights other than "electric" ones, obviously ... since a gas or propane lantern light gets too hot to allow it to come in contact with the net).

IF .... I didn't have a castnet, but did have a long handled dip net (handle of 5-6ft long) ... there would be two options I could use: One would be to kill the lights and crash the net down into the water where the Shad were circling, and turn it over real quick and lift it up. Shad will, sometimes, come up ... before going down ... when the lights go off. An alternative to doing that, or throwing the cast net, would be to cruise slowly along the bank ... lights on ... and dip Brook Silversides, as they follow the light. They are those long, thin, pencil shaped minnows you see right on the surface of the water ... that will skip/jump out of the water, if startled.

Neither of these baitfish critters will survive very long in a bucket ... without great care (and sometimes great expense). But, at the same time, they are "free" ... and if the ones caught should die, just catch more. And, even those "dearly departed" ones will catch fish ... if they haven't been "deceased" for very long.

Also, bare in mind ... all that "thrashing around" may spook any nearby fish. So, it's probably best to catch the bait a distance from where you are actually intending to set up and fish.

..... cp

[joewildlife]

get an umbrella net....a Promar Umbrella Drop Net from Cabelas for example. Drop it down under all the shad...deeper is better. Let it sit for awhile so the bait gets back to normal. Then pull like h*ll!

I caught probably 5 dozen shad on one pull last time I used mine. too many, most died in minutes in the bait cooler, but the crappie don't seem to care.

[FalconSmitty]

IF ... I was into catching Shad for bait, under my own lights ... using a castnet would be my first choice. BUT - I wouldn't "cast" it. Instead, what I would do is this : open the net and let one part of it drape over the side of the boat and your light, then wait for the Shad to re-start their circling, and then "flip/push the rest of the net over them.
..... cp

great Idea...thanks always something to learn here on Crappie.com