I was going after carp and such on Lady Bird this week, and I kept getting all these line twitches and short runs of my hair-rig corn which lead to nothing. So I set the hook on one of them, and find what's no doubt been eating all the range cubes I've been throwing out there:

I've never caught one of the big ones before, despite seeing them all over. Think it's a gizzard shad? So take it home. BTW, two hours on the stringer and it did not stop trying to swim for even an instant. It wrapped itself around a reed and just lay there twitching like a Billy Bass.

At home I fillet one side, and save the other half for cutbait. This is a stinky fish, like a gar. I had to run the dishwasher half full, because even after getting rinsed, the fillet knife stunk up the whole kitchen. Any rate, I can tell by the way the fillet cuts that this is going to be boney. Each cut sounds like when you run a matchstick up a pants zipper. But the fillet doesn't look half-bad. The meat is very firm, like a mackerel.


An hour ago, I fried it up. And you know, it wasn't half bad? My fishing buddy Jamey thought that shad are super-greasy, based on reports from the East Coast shad fishing scene, but I think that fish isn't even related to this.

It reminded me of gulf coast sheepshead. A very white, inoffensive flesh with a distinct saltwater tone to it.

However, it was absolutely ludicrously boney. It makes carp look like crappie in comparison. Every single bite of flesh had bones ranging from the width of 15pound mono, to barely visible hairlike bones:

I could see how if you scored the fillet and deep-fried it, like a carp, you could dissolve the bones and have a pretty decent piece of fish.

But I think I'll be earmarking these guys for cutbait if I catch any more.

You are the first person that I have ever heard of trying to eat a gizzard shad. As you said they smell so bad that they either end up released or saved for cut bait. Nice try though.

You're not the first to try it! Lol you're right about it being the stinkiest fish. That smell never comes off your hands. Don't get me started about those tiny scales! Nice catch though! I've never caught one on the hair but have heard of others doing so.

Here's Luke from Catfish and Carp catching and cooking them:

Congratulations on the hook-up. I am always interested in what is nibbling on my bait.

That is one big Shad.

You're brave! Nice shad btw!

Big Shad. Interesting thread.

Caught on tiny jig, after years of hearing that wasn't possible.

@jonesing2fish, nice catch!

I tried targeting shad deliberately last night, using size 12 scud hooks and canned corn, but no luck. I think they were stripping me, but not taking the point.

I should add, that although I took a few bites of that shad I cooked, after the third bite I starting thinking that maybe it wasn't the wisest thing to eat an algae-eating fish from a lake which has had some high-profile poisonous algae fatalities . . .

I was just wondering if you are practicing catch and release at Lady Bird?

@dmunsie I am practicing catch and release on lady bird. I'm aware that people make their living off that carp fishery. I even bought a carp mat after a delicate chewing out by one of the local guides.

Wow! In all my accumulated years of targeting carp this has happened to me only once. To my knowledge it is a rare occurrence to catch a Shad on a hair rig. I was fishing with a piece of fake corn and a bigger Shad set off my alarms. Crazy that you took it home and tried it. That was awesome. Thanks for sharing. Here are a few pics of the Shad I caught on a hair rig. Enjoy!