Seen many a posts making reference to the scarcity of Shad in Texoma. Why is it so hard to find shad on Texoma?
Are they too deep to get to? Did they all get eaten up? Maybe they're just smarter than the average bear? Might we be looking in the
wrong places? Maybe we should start looking on the Oklahoma side. I mean how smart can they possibly be over there? Just sayin

They are still there, but may be getting affected by the apparent explosion of zebra mussels in addition to weather related circumstance.

I spent several hours on Texoma a week or so ago with Scott Bridgess and listened to his thoughts, but also noticed that he had no problem finding plenty of shad.

The water clarity is certainly the highest I have witnessed in Texas, and that may well be the result of the initial explosion of zebras.

It's interesting to me that Texas and Oklahoma aren't beginning boat inspections like other states that are experiencing this problem.

There was a big shad kill this winter due to the very low water temps.

Thats what I heard also

There are going to be some SKINNY fish come late summer time!

I think they're probably just too understaffed to be able to do it well.

Don't know about Oklahoma, Bama, but Texas' financial condition is far better than many other states that have found a way to do boat inspections. This is obviously unpopular with anglers in boats, but they have begun to accept the situation.

It is always much tougher to catch shad in clear water. Cloudy cool winters can be tough on shad. It can be cold but clear and it is not so bad. It is those extended periods of cloudy 30 degree stuff that really cools the water. They had a big die off one year when it hardly ever got in to the 20s.

There's a letter somewhere on the 6oldgeezers site from a TP&W official confirming that there was a shad kill this winter. He said there wasn't much they could do to restock the shad, the TPW facilities and ponds being unsuitable for this purpose. He went on to opine, though, that there was sufficient alternative forage for stripers. Mainly gizzards, I think he said.

We were out two weekends ago and several of the locals also confirmed the big shad kill. Large shiners are the key. The fish are hungry right now. Although we had to drive to Kingston to get shiners it was worth it. The only drawback is the large size are expensive as hell. $5.50 per dozen.

Wow.....$5.50 a dozen is crazy!! I guess I will have bait tank loaded BEFORE I leave DFW next weekend!!

There has been a confirmed shad kill this winter..anyone who is fishing with threadfins and says they are catching them in Texoma..I call BS...Some are traveling to other area lakes to get threads and most are fishing with shiners..This has nothing to do with clear water nor does it have anything to do with Zebra mussels..It has to do with an extremely cold winter and water temps that dipped down to around 40 degrees..
This happend back about 8 or so years ago for the same reasons..That year we fished with shiners and just like this year the fish are eating them up...
Im trying to remember back when it happend last how long it took for the lake to repopulate..Im thinking it was 6-8 months..I could be worng but it wasnt too extremely long..
The shad will rebound and the stripers will be fine..a little skinny maybe but they will be fine...In the meantime buy some shiners and go fishing..Its been great most days