Shad catching newbe here??????????

[ajrod88]

Are the shad up in the backs of creeks in the early morning this time of year or only in the afternoon? Thanks!  

[BentRod]

All day some days - depends on weather and light. They've been inside 18ft recently.

[johnr]

I was getting a few 6-10" shad per throw Sunday morning at dawn in the very back of a couple creeks. 12'-15' deep.

Air temp was in the upper 20's and water was 49.

There was many more shad out in 25-35' of water near the bottom.

[ikMOON]

I must warn you AJ, your approaching the point of no return!

[ajrod88]

Feb 28, 2017 19:56:30 GMT -5 ikMOON said:

I must warn you AJ, your approaching the point of no return!

Thanks for the warning ikmoon! But.....your a little to late    I already fell in!      On 2/27/17, I lost track of how many times i TRIED to trow that net. But it seemed like 500! No joke! And only got it open decent about every 10th throw. Need to practice at home more. Managed to catch two 10'' Gizzards. Just throwing blindly in about 12' of water. And without writing a book i'll just say pulling those to baits on boards by the bank made my heart rate do some crazy things!!!! Some of these terms I read like 'nervous bait' 'swirls' 'blowups' are starting to make more sense. Right when it was time to go home I had a fish hammer my bait closest to the bank and it was FISH ON! Line snapped in less than three seconds but that is a story of its own. Man was i proud of my two baits!  Also thanks for the tips guys! 

[coheasion]

Thats awesome!! I'm sure some of the older hands on the forum can appreciate this as well, but it is very interesting and neat to see someone get started live bait fishing and going through the process of learning to throw nets....where to throw nets etc. I was brand new at all of this at this time last year and can remember those days of throwing the net what seemed like 100 times and then after many days of searching and throwing the net I finally landed my first big shad and couldn't believe how proud I was of what seemed like it should be a simple accomplishment.

Now a year later, I have gotten way better at catching them but sometimes no matter what I do it is still a struggle but I can usually at least get a few in the boat - and I am expecting this coming weekend to be more of the same!

[quackquackboom]

You should look up the striper soup method for an 8' net on you tube. If you are ready to throw in that picture I think you are missing a step where you gather half the lead lines and flip them up in your right hand.

[bushwacker]

I've been throwing an 8' 1.2lb and 1/2" mesh using the soup method it's been working pretty good. It's very quick to load and be ready for the next throw.

[primetime]

AJ, Jason54 told me he practiced throwing is net so much it wore a spot out in the yard. When I was learning how to throw a net I recorded the throw and placed on the forum. I received a lot of help from friends here. If you have a chance, post up some pics or video throwing the net. Throw the net at home off of your boat for practice. The water is cold rite now!

[ajrod88]

Thanks for the tips guys! I watched a clip of the soup method and tried it out. WAY WAY better! Can't say I'm a pro yet but that made it so much easier. Can't wait to get back to the lake now!