Where are The SHAD???

[river1214rat]

Last year Salt River looked like a Shad Highway, they were everywhere. I went out yesterday with my trusty cast net and not a shad to be found. The Heron's (long legged birds) where up and down the Ohio and plentiful also in the Salt. I have seen very few this year. Does anyone have any thoughts on this??? :sad2:

Linda

[lance]

Have they pushed farther up river to the Falls?

[rivertoon]

I posted this on another thread but does anyone think that Asian carp could be causing the problem? I know that this year is the first year for me to see them on the Ohio.

[river1214rat]

That is exactly what I was wondering? Either the Asian Carp or the high waters we had this Spring. fishing around here has been terrible, or at least for me. I broke up with my boyfriend, who owned the boat i used so I have been fishing from the bank with not much luck. my neighbor has an older Tracker which I have been using some. i went out yesterday morning, had maybe 2 hits. Went out again yesterday evening, was in a hurry and left any bait I had at home...:embarassed:..that was why i was despirately looking for Shad. Oh well, still nice getting out on the water.

Linda

[Cattoo]

my fishing buds and i usually have a hard time finding shad in the river this time of year. fortunately, we have a couple lakes(nolin and rough) were we can load up on them before we go. however, i have found that the size of the shad are smaller this year than they have been in the past. the problem with this is,alot of them will actually go through the cast net.this may be due to the much cooler temps we have been experiencing this year. having said all that, we have been catching skips better. i would rather use them anyway. also, maybe due to the cooler temps the shad are not in their normal patterns that you are used to finding them in. i hoped this helped. peace.

[Cattoo]

oh yeah, i also do not believe the carp are the prob. yet....

[brother hilljack]

I don't think carp are meat eaters so they should not be a problem.

Linda, go up river to the power plant and get some shad! They are almost always hanging out at the discharge. Not to mention I have caught my 4 biggest catfish about 30 feet out from that discharge drifting shad.

Good luck and I hope to hear more from you. Why the name change

[Steve Douglas]

shad is thick in the mouth of the salt river ! i caught a bunch last week that were 10 -12in long. i havent had a problem finding bait yet!

[Big-Blue]

I don't think carp are meat eaters so they should not be a problem.

Linda, go up river to the power plant and get some shad! They are almost always hanging out at the discharge. Not to mention I have caught my 4 biggest catfish about 30 feet out from that discharge drifting shad.

Good luck and I hope to hear more from you. Why the name change

The carp don't eat the shad they eat the same food as the shad and they grow so big so fast that they have no natural enemy to control they from over populating a river and wiping out the shad totally. I'm hearing that alot of people are starting to have them jump into there boats, and are getting them in there cast nets on the ohio. I hope they find some way of controlling them before they destroy the fishing on ohio.

[brother hilljack]

shad is thick in the mouth of the salt river ! i caught a bunch last week that were 10 -12in long. i havent had a problem finding bait yet!


Thanks for the update and excellent fishing report. When the shad are that big, do you still use a cast net or do you have to use a jig?

[Big-Blue]

Thanks for the update and excellent fishing report. When the shad are that big, do you still use a cast net or do you have to use a jig?

The shad eat microscopic plankton so they won't hit a jig as far as I know? I get them with a cast net or snag them with a crankbait.

[lance]

SHad eat plankton so do asian carp

[Cattoo]

SHad eat plankton so do asian carp

i know asian carp are SUPPOSED to only feed on plankton but i have seen a few reports where people have caught them on trotlines using cutbait leading some to believe the larger fish may indeed be changing their diets. i am sure also that they are quite capable of gobbling up some shad. they have huge mouths.

[Steve Douglas]

cast net!