Hooking live shad?

This year I've learned to catch shad since I can't get minnow locally (without driving 40 minutes). Thought fishing with live shad would be the nirvana of fishing but on Harris yesterday I caught about 20 crappie on curly tail jigs but when I threw a live shad in the same spot I was catching crappie, nothing. Switch back to the jig and BAM fish on. What's up with that?

I can only guess I wasn't presenting the shad right so I'm wondering how to hook them properly. I tried through the upper lip but they didn't seem to live long like that. I switched to hooking them in the back and they were lively as ever on the hook but no fish was interested. I'm baffled.

I had the shad on 3-4 feet of line under a bobber, no weight. Crappie were in about 6-8 feet of water. Maybe the shad wasn't getting far enough down but I thought a struggling shad would call the fish out like a dinner bell.

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Originally Posted by ppowell

This year I've learned to catch shad since I can't get minnow locally (without driving 40 minutes). Thought fishing with live shad would be the nirvana of fishing but on Harris yesterday I caught about 20 crappie on curly tail jigs but when I threw a live shad in the same spot I was catching crappie, nothing. Switch back to the jig and BAM fish on. What's up with that?

I can only guess I wasn't presenting the shad right so I'm wondering how to hook them properly. I tried through the upper lip but they didn't seem to live long like that. I switched to hooking them in the back and they were lively as ever on the hook but no fish was interested. I'm baffled.

I had the shad on 3-4 feet of line under a bobber, no weight. Crappie were in about 6-8 feet of water. Maybe the shad wasn't getting far enough down but I thought a struggling shad would call the fish out like a dinner bell.

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I hook my minnows through the eyes. Additionally, I always fish with a least a small sinker on my line. I put my sinkers 12 to 18 inches from the hook. That way the minnow can play but can’t swim to the top of the water. That may have been your issue. All this is just my opinion and I am sure others may have their own. As far as minnow size goes I have typically had better success using really small minnows, usually one inch or smalls at the store. It seems if they get too big it is harder to catch crappie and tend to attract bass or catfish. I would say about the size of your curly tail jig body. Sometimes when the water is muddy a bright colored jig such as chartreuse may be better. Again, this is my opinion. Wish you the best of luck.


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If I'm fishing a large area I hook in the lips and free line the shad or under a bobber. If I'm bass fishing docks with shad I hook behind the dorsal fin and put tension on the line so the shad will swim straight under the dock and away from the boat. Most of the shad I have ever used I would call fairly large for most crappie fishing.

We use shad for stripers. I always hook em through the nostrils and they seem to live the longest that way. Small shad are hard to keep alive on a hook for very long but they're deadly for a number of species when you can get the right size.

Chris

Whats up with that is you have to match the hatch. This time of year everything is hatching out. Many flying insects spend the larva stage in water and the bream and crappie love them. The shad may be a little larger than what they are used to. Crappie can be very selective when it comes to eating. Crappie strike upward because they don't look down. The jig may not be quiet as deep as the shad. Keep changing...supper is waiting.

Attachment 377210
We caught these two on 5” live herring last Saturday while Striper fishing at Clark’s Hill. Live shad woulda resulted the same I think.

Chris


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What color was the curl tails and head color ? We're curl tails same color as shad ( threadfin shad I'm assuming)

Minnows, shad, or artificial- we have frequently found that depth control is often a critical factor. One foot off can make the difference. So if you are gonna bobber fish, use a slip bobber set up instead of a fixed bobber. That way you can quickly and easily change the bait presentation depth allowing you to easily experiment. Many a trip we have marked fish, presented bait right above them and had no luck. Then lowered, or raised the bait and loaded the boat.