went fishing at PK yesterday and could not find and shad big enough to be caught in the throw net. Lots of schools of 1-2 inch guys. The ones that get caught are stuck in the net and will die. Didn't see a single school of bigger shad just fogs of these tiny guys.

Did u try the north end of the lake? I went out a few nights ago and found some good size ones up there.

I didn't go up there. I'm based down by the dam. I'll try again later today.

We couldn't find any in Scenic point. We trolled hellbenders and jigs , and found a few. Trying to find some sandies but only a few of them also.

Its the cycle of life. Shad spawn in the spring and are just now getting big enough to catch. Happens every year. A lot of the larger shad have probably been washed out or eaten up. Still should be a good number of larger shad but with a good spring hatch small shad numbers are usually much greater this time of year.

Thanks for the advice Steve. I managed to catch a bunch of them today. Trick is to pull the net in right away once they are in it. Given any time they go through the net.

Even when you have a bunch of 1 1/2 to 2 inch shad they are very hard to fish with. If you hook them in the lips it's bait steal city. If you hook them in the back they die easy. All that said I did get a 20 inch striper, a big ole sandy and a nice crappie today. Probably released 4 dozen of them at the marina when I came in. Can't wait until they grow up.

If your hook is killing them its too big.

Yep, I'm with the Mongrel on that one.

Saw a 20x20 school of Shad fry come by my dock. The high water certainly has helped the Shad population.

Using a number 8. Can't be the hook.

Unless my fish finder is lying to me, there are huge clouds of shad running from 10 - 20 feet everywhere. The stripers that did not go out the flood gates are going to grow very fast because they have so much to eat. Sandies and stripers are ignoring the Ghost Minnows. The numbers at the marina are 10X what we had last year.

1/4" mesh net should fix the problem with catching small shad

It's been my experience that shad will spawn several times a year.. Back when I worked at a marina and walked the docks on a daily basis the shad would lay there eggs on the foam flotation around the boat slips they also use the bridge pillars or just about anything with a light coat of moss. I saw hatch offs shortly after a new or full moon from spring thru the late fall.
there are many large schools around Cedar Creek now from 3/4 inch to 3 inch in lenght

Winter fishing should be stellar !.

I'm ready for it!

All the fish I caught today at PK were regurgitating those 1.25" to 1.50" shad as soon as you grabbed them to get the hook out.