Does anyone use live shad? Or just perch or minnow. I know shad die pretty fast.

The shad do die pretty quickly but you can also throw them on ice after netting them and use them as cut bait. Perch, drum,carp buffalo can also be used well for cut bait.
The info above about wind in face from the bank and windblown points is definitely spot on. If I could add to that, in general the wind plays a big role in picking what part of the lake to fish. An example would be that if the wind has been out of the South for 3 days then the Northern areas of the lake would be a good place to start looking for fish, IMHO. Wind blown coves can act like bait traps and sometimes the fish will hang in there as well. There's a really great thread on here that Tiny posted years back that offers a ton of information about the seasonal migration of blue cats. I think the name of the post is " catching blues no matter the name of the lake" or something to that effect.
This time of year it is important to consider the thermacline and lack of or lesser oxygen in deeper waters. Not to say there aren't fish moving through the deep stuff and along the flats and edges of deep water but IMHO alot of the fish move to waters probably 20ft and less varying from lake to lake.
As the water cools down the thermacline will disolve and opens the lake up for Fall,Winter and Spring. Very cool thread here!

In the summer just like the rest of the year don't be afraid of giving skinny water a chance!! Say 2 ft to 8ft

Definitely agree with that depth for most of the year Tom. Might
have to fish that deep H2O once in awhile in December and early
January though unfortunately.

Lol I know your a tall guy but you need to fish over knee deep every once in awhile!!! Lol

Taking my 7 year old out tomorrow night in hope for some cats. Ill be using the usual cut bait and also chicken liver. Ill try out the different depths for sure. Ill wade out if need be.

I will say carp fillet as bait is the best thing I've ever used. I've actually caught only one cat on cut shad...

Any recommendations for me to try for the time of year and weather? Ill be banking on Lavon. Ill update here with what I try and the weather, to hopefully help others.

gotta love that shallow water kitty fight but you bring up a good addition to
the bank topic Tom. lake maps/navionics will show structure around the lake like creek
channels , levees , old stock tanks or just deeper depths that the catfish use as structure and habitat. The wading
can definitely assist in getting your bait out there.

IMHO, the shallower water in the north is the best bet
Now and night fishing definitely helps. Good Luck out there.

Well i figured out the Northside of 380 ramp there is Caddo Park which is closed.

There is a dirt road for the southside of 380. Which according to the wind for cast will put the wind in my back... which according to the tips is what i dont want

Does wind really play a large role like that?

Because there is the little ridge park, if i was on the north side of the finger there wind would be in my face...

YES!!! One of the first things I check before heading out.

well good to know it really is that important.
looks like i have two potential spots depending on the wind...

im planning on reporting the following for sure.
Temp:
Wind Direction/speed:
Time:


pretty stoked to get out tomorrow night. hopefully ill get some fish on!

Wind can play a big role but it isn't the be all end all imo. I've caught good fish in glass flat lakes or even when the wind is blowing the "wrong" direction. Good bait (big fresh shad) is more important to me than wind direction. Of couse when the wind, the bait, and several other elements all come together it can get down right magical out there...

Well I made it out last night.
First and foremost, if you are out please dont leave trash, we got there and found about 6-8 empty beer bottles sitting right next to the water. I did pick them up and put them in the back of the truck.Moving on.
Plenty of shad around for bait and had the wind in my face. Once the sun dropped there was lots of top water bank action going on. Come to find out it was gar feeding on all the bait fish. They were there feeding for a good 3-4 hours. After about 4 gars and it being about 11pm my son was ready to go home, he was tired. The water was no more than 5-6ft and the bottom was super soft mud, that i would sink in when attempting to wade.

Bait used was chicken liver and cut shad. I didnt have any live bait going on.

Ill be taking my son out again tonight and try a different spot on the lake. Ill try out some live bait as well as some punch bait.

-Air temp was about 90 once the sun dropped.
-Water temp is somewhere in the mid 80's.
-Chicken liver and cut shad for bait.
-Wind was in our face and at about 5mph then slowed a couple hrs after dark.
-We fished from about 6pm to 11pm

BTW, I want to give a huge thanks to Tom. I talked to him a bit yesterday through text and he is a great dude. Gave me some great info, that im sure will help me in the future. Def helped beyond expected and what i would assume someone, that ive never personally met, would help someone with about fishing info.