Keeping shad alive

[Earl Phillips Jr]

orginal post by scooter

1. Always use a round bucket or something with rounded edges. Otherwise the shad get "red-nose" and die.
2. If possible use Shad Keeper. Its available at bass Pro Shops.
3. After you cast net shad, put them in a round bucket with cool clean water...no shad keeper. Allow them to swim around in that bucket for about 15 mins and then with a dip net, transfer them to the other clean bucket with Shad Keeper in it.(The reason you use two buckets is because shad will expel their stomach contents when first caught and it will keep your main bucket cleaner). Make sure that this bucket has lots of areation(I use the Bubble In A Box areators...2 per 5 gallon bucket) and the water is cool. If hot outside, I freeze bottles of water and use them like floating blocks of ice in the bucket.
4. If you dont care about keeping them alive, but want them fresh, layer the shad in a cooler with ice. Ex: Layer of ice, layer of shad, layer of ice, layer of shad, etc.
5. Areation and keeping the water cool are the main keys...do this and you will have lively shad.

Hope this helps a few out. These tips can also be used with creek chubs and skipjack.

[Bill_Monteith]

Good adivise But When I want to save bait I dont let the ice touch them.I always use zip lock bags.Then Put ice on them.
Also I use borax to save them in frezzer.Lay all bait out on newspaper then cover with borax.Flip and cover other side then freeze.
Thaw out and they will still bleed like fresh bait.
Good luck
Captain Bill

[AllenOK]

I add a little water softening salt to my bucket. Usually around 2 Tbsp of the salt for about 3 - 4 gallons of water. The salt softens the water so that when I drop my areator stone in, the bubbles are extremely tiny and numerous. This increases the surface area of air against water, increasing the amount of oxygen absorbed into the water.

Last year, I could easily keep a couple dozen 3" shad alive for hours, if not most of the day, in that bucket. I only lost shad once, due to heat.

Bill, using the Borax like that, doesn't that put a chemical taste/smell to the bait? Wouldn't that repell the cats?

[Bill_Monteith]

Originally Posted by AllenOK

I add a little water softening salt to my bucket. Usually around 2 Tbsp of the salt for about 3 - 4 gallons of water. The salt softens the water so that when I drop my areator stone in, the bubbles are extremely tiny and numerous. This increases the surface area of air against water, increasing the amount of oxygen absorbed into the water.

Last year, I could easily keep a couple dozen 3" shad alive for hours, if not most of the day, in that bucket. I only lost shad once, due to heat.

Bill, using the Borax like that, doesn't that put a chemical taste/smell to the bait? Wouldn't that repell the cats?

No borax is all natural and does not affect the bite unless it makes it better.

Frezze yourself a few and put them up against fresh bait...
Good advice thanks guys
Captain Bill

[Bill_Monteith]

I too use salt in my fresh spring water.

Have you ever used coffee creamer to stop the foam build up?

It too works great...hope this helps someone

Captain Bill

[Catfishwidowmakr]

Here is a good trick I got from Catfish Academy, put Ice in your cooler and cover it with extra heavy duty foil and put the shad/Herring or whatever youare fishing with on the foil. The bait stays relatively dry and extremely cold. Without the water on the bait they don't get soft as quickly as they do in the cooler just on ice.When you have to buy bait for $8-$10 a doz. this is very helpfull for keeping bait in the best shape possible. I do this religously and it WORKS !!!!!!! When I'm at Santee this saves me atleast $20 a weekend in bait. Good fishing, Tom