Thread: fresh water shad

Has anyone ever tried freshwater shad for pier bait? Fresh or brined, whole or belly strips? They can be fairly easily caught here sometimes in river chutes, and I wonder if they might be worth the effort to collect another possible bait option. Not thinking they would be better than a fresh LY or cig, but might be a worth having when no bait fish are available. Sizes vary quite a bit, from too little to too big.

I have used live, fresh dead and frozen threadfin shad with success (mainly for big spanish)...


Also used skipjack herring (frozen) that look a LOT like spanish sardines...
Skipjack Herring | Outdoor Alabama


Main thing is to freeze them in saltwater to toughen them ;-)

Use them quite frequently on other piers besides the state pier locally in Daphne, Fairhope, seems to be fairly good at helping catfish find their way to your hook...

Jacks and a reds and sharks will get after them too if they are present in the water, stinky bloody, slimey

I ask this exact same question last year on our Arkansas forum on a thread about gulf shores- I didn't get an answer so I sure wasn't going to ask it on this forum- I catch a lot of skipjack herring on the Ar river and actually brought some with me last year but didn't try them- I will bring some with me on my return trip in September

If the big Spanish are running, I'd pay good money for a quart bag full of 2" or smaller threadfins.

Originally Posted by Kevin E.

Has anyone ever tried freshwater shad for pier bait? Fresh or brined, whole or belly strips? They can be fairly easily caught here sometimes in river chutes, and I wonder if they might be worth the effort to collect another possible bait option. Not thinking they would be better than a fresh LY or cig, but might be a worth having when no bait fish are available. Sizes vary quite a bit, from too little to too big.

Freeze them in salt in layers for a month or so to dry them out and firm them up. They won't stink or get slimy if you keep them cool. There are days when Spanish key in on a certain size glass minnow and won't bite long straws on bubble rigs or bigger gotchas. Having a variety of sizes would be a plus. I only used them once and caught several small Spanish but the folks using live shrimp were catching more fish and bigger fish. I have been down four different trips and most days the bait was scarce.

How many different ways have you guys fished them? I can imagine fishing them like frozen cigar minnows, only smaller terminal, also on bottom for reds, or maybe small ones used like a trailer on a jig.

Also, I read that adding baking soda (to the salt) keeps bait color and sheen fresher looking. I hope to try this.

I fish small baits (mainly finger mullet) for Spanish with a light wire or 50# mono leader and a #8 or #6 treble.
No weight, or maybe a small split shot if really needed. Throw it out & let it drift, keep the bail open.
Fish strip baits the same way.
Give them a twitch every now & then.
Don't take your eyes off or it, when they feed, give them a few seconds, flip the bail & raise the rod tip.

Anybody ever fished threadfin that hasnt been frozen in saltwater? I've got a few hundred frozen out in my gargarge i use for catfish jugging but frozen with fresh water, never thought to try them in my trips to the gulf