I am going fishing this weekend and only have access to the boat dock...very limited bank fishing. We fished this spot last week and even though we did good on puch bait and worms I wanna try shad again...only last week we only caught like three shad with a casting net. I kid you not we were throwing that sucker throughout the day and nothing...My question is, how or what can you do to bring in the shad...

dont know about bringin em in but have had the same prob @ san angelo lake had to just walk the shore casting net till i found em try early morn at any runnin water avable..also can u find a small drop say from 5===10 ft? i found em hanging at slope..maybe even shallower too

wheaties and big red make a dough bait thatll catch carp..then roughly fa-lay the carp and the slabs make a great catfish bait//also if the wind is a prob i have and still do is this take a 22oz soda bottle use as a wind bobber set bait about 5--7 ft down drift (ambassder 5000) lots of line till u get to the catfish highway//green bottles easier to see

Light will bring in the shad if they are in the general area. Pick up a floating light from academy but you will need a place to plug in or a marine/car battery.

What about ghost minnows, i was reading up on them and i see they can catch cats too...some say to use a seine others say to use a pool net...what kind are they talking about and how big? I have a small 16"x16" pool net, would that work? Or should I just go out and get a seine?

Gonna be tough to get shad during the day, much easier netting them in early morning or near night next to some light...I'd say spring for the seine, but get one that's at least 20 feet. Ghost minnows are basically what they sound like, minnows you can see through...they're pretty good for catfish, but better if you let them sit in a bottle with a bit of water in it to ferment for a day or two...

any way to use a seine by yourself? I usually have someone out there with me, but for those occasions where i'm by myself...is it possible? Also, if I were to catch a bunch of them, could I freeze the ones i don't use then use them the next time I go out? How would they hold up? (shad usually fall apart when you unfreeze them)

depending on the shore line i have stuck one pole in water 5==10" deep and just made a circle tuff pull sometimes,,or hanging up isa bummer//ghost minnows dont melt like shade//keep shade longer buy rinising them several times to get fear slime off than let um dry in sun couple hrs..then freeze

Pic of ghost minnow... amber background makes it look more gold than it really is.



Majmouse, the circle seine is a good idea. I never seine cause no-one but me is crazy enough to get in the water, will have to give that a try.

Easiest way I know to catch ghost minnows is to get put some sort of light on the water and wait. A pool net would work great. I have ducted taped a net to the end of a pole too. Sometimes you can pull the light towards you and the minnows will follow. I have an umbrella net and a fine mesh cast net which are good if you want to catch a lot of minnows at once.

Hey Tony, if you like ghost minnows, there's a spot in Lake Dallas where I used to clean up with a seign net right off bank. But, it's a pay park...$3 I think. I bet you could get 'em at park next to the marina in Lake Dallas...sandy and shallow. I saw 'em jump out of the water every once in a while Sunday while swimming.

Bread and bread crumbs, along with light, are ways to draw shad in. But, like stated above, get to the lake early, or at night, you're more likely to have success.

Alan

Pull your rig up to the boat ramp at night with the headlights shining in the water, that's always worked for me to bring the shad up in a hurry.
David C.

Good one, didn't think of that...

if you think you can..or you think you can't
either way your
right
working a seine by yourself was born out of the desire of im gonna catch um no matter what
be sure that shore side of net grounded very well
be suprized how much torque you pull thru water

i'm trying to think, there's nothing but concrete around the boat ramp...nothing to anchor it to at all...i know it would be AS effective but could you hold a pole in each hand straght out in front of you and scoop them that way? I also saw another net, was like a huge pool looking net with 1/4" mesh...i would say the opening was about (oval size) 12" x 18", would this be effective at all or would i need something bigger?

dont know about pool net thing i use cast or seine..5glln bucket with rocks? long as bottom is set //top floats any way //thought about the 2 pole idea my self//dont know how to keep spread out enough to make it worth while//ghoast minnows are slim..unless great big will proab go thru//old style 4 coner dip nets work pretty good i think