For all you live bait fisherman out there. First, when fishing for whites or hybrids, does the type of shad matter? Is gizzard or threadfin a better bait? Also, having netted both types, I have found that gizzard are easy to keep alive in this cold weather for weeks on end. Recently tried holding the threadfin but they all died quickly. Was that just a function of the near freezing night time temperature?

Some days they like the threadfins some days they like the gizzards better??? I like to fish big gizzards cause you tend to catch bigger fish. I have found that gizzards live longer too. But, the cold water I don't think is the downfall for the threadfins, they just seem to be more frail. Wait until it's hot outside you can't keep any shad very long. Also, I would recommend fresh bait when fishing Hybrid and Striper. They will hardly hit an old bait especially one with a red nose. The fresher the bait the better. IMHO

The bigger fish I have caught have been on big gizzards. Big bait = big fish (alot of the time).

Yeah dont know what it is about the red nose but they (Hybrids) dont like it

They have a cold and the fish know if they eat it they will get the cold. Ensignjason you really dissapointed me that you did not know that. I thought that was common knowledge.
Johnny

I have also found that the larger hybrids prefer the large gizzards too. But also i have that a 10in yellow bass will hit a 6in gizzard shad!!! LOL!!!

The threadfin shad are a warmer water species then the gizzard shad and will die off if water drops below a certain temperature...I found that hybrids are usually size specific with baitfish and will usually hit either species as long as it is of desired size.

Even I knew that.

Thanks for all the info. Today, I discover about 10 of the gizzards dead out of the 125 or so in an aquariem on my back porch. That below freezing got to just a few of them.