after my texas 100 championship oct 4 and 5 i will be turning my focus on them big ol blue cats..... i am still wondering where and how i can get the big gizzard shad... i have no problem gettin the threadfin.... but i know u have better luck with the big blues on the gizzard shad....but what in the world am i doing wrong to get them... been tryin along time and just cant seem to find em.... maybe i should stick with bass fishin?????

Almost any boat ramp at Lavon.

Boat ramps under lights before sunrise.
I'm having better luck on the north end of Hubbard.

What lake are you fishing at?

gonna spend lots of time on tawakoni

Gizzards are easy to find right now just look for the skankiest water you can find and that is where they will be.The backs of coves and creeks.If the water is clear forget it and find some stained water.If you think they are hard to find now wait till it gets cold and you really need them. Capt. Steve www.txfishingguide.com

I've caught two nice freezer bags full of gizzard shad on Lake Lavon. Pretty much any cove right now. They're about 5-7 inches long. I catch about 2-3 each cast. Sometimes 6-8. I plan to get more this week. I haven't tried for winter cats yet, so I'm stocking up to try this year.

Mike

I went to Lavon last night and caught a half dozen shad on my first cast. My problems start when I actually try fishing with them. I can't give them away! I only used two of them and that was because the first one eventually fell off the hook. I fish them alive on the bottom until they croak. Then, I cut them up, and continue fishing the chunks on the bottom. Nothing! Meanwhile, my punch bait pole is bouncing all over the place from all the fish biting on it. I'm having a hard time convincing my wife that it's worth the extra effort to go early and cast for shad when I've yet to get a bite on one. She's sold on punch bait which never fails to produce results for us. Could someone please tell me what I might be doing wrong? Is there some secret method to fishing with shad? We were fishing from the bank if that makes any difference.

Hey Cat D, where were you fishing at? I don't have any advice to offer, I am just curious.

As for shad I have found what the Captin said about back in the coves to be true, that is where I get lucky. However I don't know what kind of shad they are.

[This message has been edited by Brent Pasley (edited 09-24-2003).]

Hey Brent. We were fishing the inlet cove at Little Ridge.

we troll tawakoni with the shad as well as run jugs along creek channels there the best last year was 50 pound blue..... bigger fish usually require the bigger shad... just have a problem findin the big gizzard shad been using the threadfin about 6 inches long and we aint gettin the quality we want.... and i know we can with the bigger gizzard shad..... i know some holes just cant get the right shad............ that is the big secret i guess... not where to find the big kitties..... where to find the big shad....

The gizzard shad are in the GRASS. Get in the upper creeks or backs of coves find some grass and a little scum on the water. The gizzard shad are thick. Doesnt matter wich lake your fishing. If your having trouble now, like steve said wait until January

Any pointers on finding shad when it gets colder in late November and December? What depths and areas of the lakes do they go to? I think I've got a pretty good idea of where to fish in the winter, I just don't know how to come across a good supply of fresh shad. Can shad be found in local ponds or stocked tanks if they are large enough? I sure hope to figure this out by year-end so I don't miss out on the bigger fish that seem to be caught in the colder months.

Move to okie where you can throw a bigger cast net and catch those deep winter shad. On second thought, maybe you should just visit okie instead, I could lose my Texas card for suggesting people move there.

ewilson,

That is a great idea, I'll go over to Oklahoma and net all of their shad to make up for them stealing all of Texas' good high school football recruits. Man I hates me some sooners. It's all about small victories.