How to recognise it
- Usually 9–14 in long.
- The upper jaw sticks out well past the lower jaw (threadfin shad's doesn't).
Habitat: where it lives
- Most abundant in large rivers and reservoirs; found in all major Texas streams and reservoirs. Avoids steep, fast streams.
Habits: behavior, spawning and growth
- Usually in large schools. Called "skipjack" for leaping out of the water or skipping along the surface on its side.
- Spawns in late spring in shallow, protected water; the sticky eggs hatch in about 4 days.
- Commonly 9–14 in; some exceed 20 in.
Where and when
- Around marinas and dock lights in the early morning, and in feeder creeks.
Why these baits work
- It filters food from the water with long, close-set gill rakers, which is why it almost never bites a hook and is caught with a cast net instead.
- It's food for most game fish, which is why it makes good bait, often as cut bait.
How to get it for bait
- A cast net. TPWD allows cast nets up to 14 ft across, for nongame fish and other aquatic life such as crabs, crayfish and shrimp (not game fish).
- A smaller mesh (about 3/8 in) keeps shad from getting stuck in the net in shallow water; heavier nets sink faster in deep winter water.
- Keep them alive in an aerated bait tank.
Use it as bait for
- Blue catfish, as cut bait
- Striped bass and hybrid striped bass, live
Tips
- Hook cut pieces shallow so the point of the hook stays exposed.
On the table: cleaning and cooking
- Generally considered worthless as food (TPWD).
Step-by-step cleaning, keeping fish fresh and eating safely are in the handbook.
Texas bait rules
- It is unlawful to use any game fish, or part of a game fish, as bait. Nongame fish, such as shad, are legal bait (TPWD).
- Live bait may not be carried away from the lake where it was caught, in or aboard a boat, in that lake's water. Keeping it in lake water while you fish from a boat on that same lake is allowed (TPWD).
- Store-bought live bait that has touched water from a public lake or river may only be used on that same water (TPWD).
Size and bag limits vary by state, species and lake. Current limits: Texas (TPWD); elsewhere, your state's fish and wildlife agency. Check before you keep a fish.
