I've recently relocated to the north Dallas area from Iowa. I've got a good deal of catfishing experience up north and I have already been out with Capt. Larry out on Lake Lavon. (Thanks Larry, great day of fishing.)

Spending half your day chasing bait is not pleasant. I'm limited to throwing a cast net from shore as I fish from kayaks typically (and I have not mastered the art of throwing a cast net while standing on a kayak).

On Saturday, I made my first trip down to the Lewisville spillway. There was tons of bait in the water and I saw other people throw maybe a half dozen cast nets at various times. I had no problem filling the cast net on the two throws I made. And apparently cast nets are banned there to prevent people from taking trout with them when they stock. I know this because a very friendly park ranger told me not to bring it back or he'd take it away. Woops. And well, apparently the key is to not throw the cast nets in front of the park ranger. I'm not the sharpest tool in the shed.

Anyway, if anyone could give me some advice on viable places to throw cast nets on shad are in the Grapevine Lake, Lewisville Lake, or Lake Lavon area are I would be greatly appreciative. I don't mind a bit of a drive and I am located in Coppell.

I don't know how tightly guarded a secret this type of thing is here, I wouldn't expect it to be but what do I know? Either way, any general advice would be appreciated if have any specific locations you care to share. PM is fine too.

Thanks.
Catfish Dave.

Try boat ramps and lighted piers before dawn. I would bring a rod and check the pier for brush before you throw. I also have great luck in most shallow coves that are near a creek or deep water. If you aren't sure of the layout of the lake, just use the navionics webapp.

Navionics

Riverside drive in Las Colinas is your best bet. Several places to choose from there. California crossing is a honey hole for gizzard shad . Its 25 ft from parking lot and its deep right off the concrete. No snags either!

Oak Point boat ramp. But park outside of the gate (or pay the $2.50 gate fee). And don't let the net sink all the way to the bottom, unless you just want to buy a new net.

Didn't the state make transporting bait illegal from one water to another due to invasive species ? We used to do it all the time when Texoma had a die off years ago. I know they brought it up due to the chance of Asian carp from red river possibly making it into the lake but not sure.

It's only illegal to transport the water, ie. Live bait, if you transfer live bait your transporting the water which could contain contaminants, if you transport fresh dead bait, not as big of an issue

Read slower!!!!!!! You cannot transfer baitfish........

I had this problem as well, catching baitfish from my kayak. Instead of trying to balance and stand, all I do now is toss it close to my kayak, from a seated position.

I paddle out and spot baitfish on my depthfinder (although this step is unnecessary a lot of the time right now, bait is everywhere, check around slips).

I keep my cast net in the hatch right between my legs, pull it out slowly, and just toss the net far enough to open up and land right next to my kayak. Being seated you will never get the power to heave it far like you would from standing, but you don't really need it to be far from you.

It is much harder than doing it from a standing position, but I'm still a novice when it comes to castnetting and I've been able to do it successfully every time I've tried.

Now, how to catch catfish with my shad is another story all together

Read slower ..... Live baitfish


Live fish, including personally caught live bait, cannot be transported from the water body where the fish were caught in or aboard a vessel in water from the water body where the fish were caught. Personally caught live bait can be used in the water body where it was caught.

How long do them gizzards last if quickly frozen? 2 weeks maybe?

Most Lavon boat ramps should have shad on them for now. As water cools they will move deeps and be hard to get.

You will be much better off you if you can get some carp and freeze it instead. Just remember to beat it with a pipe while it's alive and can still bleed into the meat. The smaller fish turn to much after being frozen.

I have frozen 6 to 8 inch and larger gizzard shad for up to six months and it caught fish. Best to only try to keep frozen a couple of months. Any gizzard shad smaller than 6 inches is not worth freezin IMHO. Threadfin shad do not freeze well at all unless you are gonna use for chum. They just turn to mush when frozen.

On the topic of transporting live baitfish, from the way I understand it, the rule emphasizes that it cannot be transported in a ~vessel~, and in the description it specifically uses wording to describe a ~vessel~ as watercraft and not a separate container. No where is it listed that live baitfish cannot be transported in containers, only that it cannot be transported aboard the ~vessels~ themselves from one lake to the next.

"cannot be transported from the water body where the fish were caught in or aboard a vessel in water from the water body where the fish were caught"

Now, maybe a TP&W official has made an additional official clarification on the topic that I have not seen, but from the way I read it, the rule hasn't been amended.

I also kayak fish for cats. Lets go sometime. I also stand and throw castnet from the yak and can help with that. As far as live bait and transportation. I was told at a seminar regarding laws for paddlers and fishermen. The game warden said you can transport live bait. It just has to be fresh water...not lake water. Dead fish in bags or bucket...as long as there is no lake water in there is fine.