Never heard of those but sounds like good advice. Something they feed on regular. My luck I would pull a snake out.

Silly question...how do you hook the shad and what size and type of hook do you use, or actually whats the preferred way to rig your fishing line??

Does frozen shad work well for cats? I am trying to find a spot on the vine. Any suggestions.

Not compared to live or fresh dead

I personally like to call them on my old crank phone.
It brings the up every time. This beats any punch baits around.

I use a carolina rigged circle hook. About a 2 foor leader or so. I like my shad to be 3-6 in. I cut them in three pieces and get to fishin. I fish for blues and do well this way. Mainly at night. I like to throw the shad directly on ice. The fresher the better. Alive is good but you get as many sandbass as kittys.

SHAD My father in law holds the Rod & Reel Record on Lake Belton for Yellowcat 57 lbs. on dead but fresh 3 inch shad.

Since you have stated you river fished I would add a little more since I have fished river most of my life. One thing to always remember is look around where you are going to go fishing and see what is natural. Grasshoppers are very plentyful this time of the year, and it is a natural bait to river fish. Also, it would be hard to beat a lepoard frog you might catch close to the river and use hime for bait. And don't forget about the heligramites. That is a natural predator to catfish eggs and catfish will nail them in a heart beat. It is just sorta hard catching them and getting them on your hook. Take the throw net and see if you can catch any minnows or any kind of rough fish from the river while you are at it. And always look for the worms which I stated in the post above also. If you think natural you will probably do better than going to a bait shop and buying your bait. Ok, just another 2 cents worth here is all.