Is there enough need to sell live and fresh shad?

Being as though there is no place on the west side of the metroplex, that sells either fresh (not frozen) and definitely no live shad, anywhere that I've seen. Do ya'll think there would be enough business, to make it worth selling live and fresh shad? I'm going to build a big home bait tank anyway, no matter what. But, I've seen that it doesn't cost much to get a license and setup to sell bait. What are your guys thoughts?

There is a guy that sells fresh Shad on Tawakoni all the time.

Lots of new catfisherman these days and most of em can’t get bait this time of year. You can probably sell some to those guys or the shore fisherman. I know a ton of catfisherman and we all catch our own bait the morning we fish.

There are several places on the East side of the metroplex that do. But nobody, on the West side. And there are days that I want to bank fish, that's one of the reasons why I'm building a home bait tank.

This has been debated since before the dinosaurs were extinct......my .02 is there isn't a market because the price would be fluctuating meaning the person investing the time in catching them would expect more for them when he/she invested more time to catch them and during those same times demand is likely down and the people that realize the true value(all the effort that went into catching them) caught their own and the people who don't realize the value won't be a buyer(they just won't fish that day/week).

Furthermore, the only way you could sway any diehards would be consistency of the product....if they can't get them 100% of the time they want them then they will continue catching their own. The commitment and the effort ends up not being worth the reward.

One way to find out.....go give it a try.

Well, if nothing else, I will have a continuous supply for my own use. I just drove 2.5 hours round trip to a place that advertises "fresh shad" only to find shad barely larger than a large minnow, sitting out in bags (relatively cold), not on ice, discolored, in bags full of brown juices. While the pictures on their FB page show coolers full of large freshly caught shad on ice. They had obviously been there for days. That is not by any stretch of the imagination, "FRESH". If I do this, mine will be live, and the ones that die, will immediately be put on ice, and tossed after 24 hrs. I may even take a few bags and vacuum seal and freeze them, just in case anybody would want any frozen. Although, I can't imagine anyone would WANT to use frozen shad. But, I'll keep a few bags as an option.

I definitely won't have an issue, constantly having hundreds of live shad swimming around, just waiting to be inhaled by a catfish. But, if people want live or fresh shad, I'd certainly sell it to them.

You can sell them. Seems to be an easy way to make some money if you have the time.

I tryed to keep minnows alive in a 50 gal. stock tank. I had pumps filters and the works . That turned into more work then it was worth.
Now I'm raising red worms in that same tank and they are doing good with a lot less work.

As a guy who mostly fishes from the bank, I would certainly appreciate a place to buy gizzard shad in the winter.

Built my first prototype tank this weekend. It's actually going to be a bluegill tank.110 gallons. Think I'm going to invest in one of those 275 or 330 gallon IBC totes for the shad, if the bluegill tank works well.

I would buy gizzards. I am sure you could sell it on Facebook. Always people looking for shad there.

Make sure you have the proper license/permit to sell Shad/ Minnows.

Yes sir, I was amazed at how cheap it was.

I went around the shad problem with bluegills. There are several ponds around I can catch more than I need for bait and they are way easier to keep for a couple of days than shad.

I do that too currently. But, would like to have both.

I Know several cat fishermen including myself and if we could find live shad such as gizzard, threadfin or even large minnows to buy would be great. Number one because a lot of times we don't want or have time to catch the bait just want to get bait and go fishing. Number two how do we get in touch with you to buy bait.

I haven't even started my own stock yet. Just got my boat back yesterday, and they failed to fix the problem. Gotta take it back again.

Joe's Bait & Tackle in Lake Dallas may be able to get baitfishes for you with advance notice. You may be able to sell to places like this. I've heard of salting bluegills to preserve them a little while.

Bluegill are easy to keep alive. I've kept them alive for months in smaller bait tanks I've made. That's what this 110 gallon one I built will be primarily full of.

Where and when will you start selling them.

There would defiantly be a market but not sure how big it would be

Couple probably sell to the bait shops. All I can ever find is just threadfins but would much rather have the big gizzard Shad

I'm in west Fort Worth. Gotta build a big enough tank for that many, which is my next project, and get all the proper licensing, if I decide to do it.

How you going to keep the shade alive from the lakes and creeks where you catch them to your house ?

I have a 50 gallon shad tank on the boat. Holds a couple hundred. Probably build another one too. Lake is only 5 miles from my house.

Needed.

-Individual bait dealer license
-Fishin License
-Permit from the state to sell non-game fish parentheses you have to apply for this, if you have any fishing related tickets you will not be able to get the permit.)
- Record every amount of non-game fish you catch and make a trip ticket online after each harvest
-you will also need a receipt book and keep a log.

I have been doing this for over eight years now. You have to be consistent and a half baked fresh on you every day. You will have people coming over at all different hours to pick up bait including in the middle of the night. So you are literally stuck at home because your wife cannot touch the bait and your kids can’t sell the bait if you’re not there. If you have anybody helping you you have to put them down on your application permit as a helper. They have to be there when you were harvesting or selling. They cannot do it on their own.

It’s a very seasonal thing though. Only when the Shad are deep is when people really want them. Once the water warms up you can throw in the boat ramp and people will get all they need for the day so we are not needed anymore.

Have fun and don’t cut any corners. Call Austin and get the info you need. Not from us. By the time you get all your permits and licenses the seasons probably going to be over.

I've already obtained all the info. Only reason I decided to check into it was driving an hour and a half for someone who advertised 'fresh shad" and it was cold, but not even on ice, bags were full of brown juices, so obviously they had been caught days before. That ain't fresh. Fresh is either live, or less than 24 hours old. It was intended to be a cold weather deal only, since most anyone can catch shad when it's warm. And, I may just do it for my own bait, and not even worry about selling it. Still haven't decided yet.

I would buy from the guy that sells them at Tawakoni!
Have any more info?

I had a friend tell me to go to White Rock Lake on the northeast side somewhere and you could catch all the shad you want with a throw net. Does anyone know where he is talking about? I can't get back in touch with him.