When shad are say 15 feet down in 30 feet of water. Do you have to let your net hit the bottom or do you stop it when you think your net has made it to the target?

you should be able to feel them popping around in the net on the rope then that's your cue to pull up but personally i like to let it go a few more seconds after i feel that popping sensation because i would think it would land more shad in the net.

It's not a stupid question at all - you probably don't want your net going all the way to the bottom most of the time anyways because of snags. If you know you're throwing over mud or sandy bottom, that's fine, but if there's alot of sticks, rocks and the like ... well, you know.

i only use my good deep water net ($85) where i know there are no snags. I take a cheepo walmart net with me as back up and cast it into areas that look bad on FF or when the shad are shallow.
When the shad are 15' or deeper i like to use the bigger net 7' that is almost 2 times heavier with 5/8" net. I gill alot of the smaller 3-4" shad, but the bigger gizzard shad are always great.
About this time last year i made a throw and let it sink to bottom and though i had picked a rock off of the bottom, it was ALL shad and all big gizzards. I had to ask for help to get the net up.
I like to let my net go all the way down, i have better luck this way, and i get good at net repair when not fishing

This post is in memory of my first cast net, which I lost 2 days ago at the bottom of Lake Livingston. She was a trusty cast net and caught many of shad. $25 at Academy 7 years ago. RIP

I've lost count on how many cast nets I've lost to Davy Jones Locker.

yeah, i have a bunch of leadlines wrapped around either sticks or rocks all over central texas

Deerstrangler the weights off of cast make great slabs. I don't guess you knew but where Bro. Terry is trying to catch shad I sink brush piles. Then I just happen to mention I can use that torn up cast net. LOL.
Johnny
P.S. I have to be careful because he is always borrowing my stuff.

I guess you don't mind your gear getting stinky.

Has anyone used one of the shad trawls made to drag behind your boat?

i have not used a trawl, i have heard mixed reviews abouit them. One guy that was too disabled to throw a net said that it took a long time to catch with it, but was his only option for fresh shad.

Fishhauler, that is why I am considering getting one. I was thinking about mounting a regular boat winch on the transom of my boat so I can pull it in quickly. I have been told that you must retrieve it quickly or you will loss the shad if you don't. I have not really heard of anyone that is overly fond of the trawls, but I am kinda left without a choice if I want to use shad.

there are alot of times when the shad are closer to the surface, I just throw let is sink for a sec and pull it in.. think it depends on where they are, trial and error really. I go through probably 4 or 5 cast nets a year though.. the weights also make good slide weights, I always cut them off to re use.

after looking into some trawls, i might get one to try when the shad are runnin close to the surface in the spring and fall, but that is the easiest time for me to catch them with cast net too

We used to have a bait trawl that we used down on the Coast for catching shrimp. It worked good but you have to have a couple of good strong backs on board with you or a ginpole/gantry to lift the net up and swing it in on the deck. 100 lbs of wet stuff in a net is heavy trying to lift out of the water.