Does fresh caught shad froze for a couple days be any good?
Netted a few this afternoon to use tommorow night all about 5".
tried cooling the water with some cooler water not cold but cooler and put an water circulater like goes on a fountain to keep water moving but they died anyway to many for what they were in.

I have tried it side by side with fresh shad and it does not work for me. I take the dead shad when I'm done fishing and mix one in each can of dip/punch bait----cant hurt.

I use frozen shad during the winter when they get hard to find. Right now would be a no.

frozen shad a day or two old is better than no shad at all

if just for a day or 2 get um dry as you can put in ziplock and just keep on ice dont freeze

I catch shad now to use for the winter - When I catch them I put them in a baggie with salt and store on ice - when I get home I just stick in the freezer !

you can't beat fresh but when you go back out friday if you can't catch more fresh,frozen is better than none.

if you can,t get fresh stuff don,t bother, go to the fish market and get yourself some fresh mackeral.

I freeze a few shad for jugs, etc. If I plan to freeze them, I put them on ice as soon as I catch them. I vacuum pack them as soon as possible. When I use them, I hook them on frozen. This is about the only method I have found that they don't get mushy unless you salt and dry them.

J49

don't know about shad but frozen bluegill seem to work very well for me. Sidenote: was fishing a few months back from the bank and found a ziploc bag some a-hole left on the bank full of shad. They were starting to rot and barely held on a hook...Used every last one of them and caught catfish on them. So maybe thaw out your frozen shad and get them to start stinkin. It sucks if you get some on your hands, but the fish love em.