Keeping Shad Alive

Once  the water temperatures start heating up(76 degrees plus), most find it  hard to keep the shad  they  for bait alive long. Those who use live Bait I'm sure can attest that it is the key to catching your larger fish.  Through reading and experimentation, I  found the following solution to works for me, when it comes to keeping shad alive a little longer.


You will need one 30 gallon trash can(just like an aquarium you shouldn't overload it with fish. No more than 1-1.5 shad for each  gallon of water. We use a 30 gallon trash can and drop an aerator in the top and add 1/4 cup of non iodized salt for every 5 gallons of water. All I can say is that this method works even in 90 plus weather. The salt actually makes the shad a little friskier. Generally I never fish for  more than 6 hrs at the most, so I know your shad will stay alive that long.  The salt actually lowers the water temperature, so the change feels good to fish, so there is less stress and no red noses . Another benefit of doing this, is that you are able to release the shad you don't use alive and back into the water.




This will certainly save you the price of a $300-$1000 bait tank. It's a little more labor intensive to keep your shad alive, but it works like a charm. Just follow the instructions to get the composition of your water right:


1. 1/4-1/3 cup of non-iodized salt for every 5 gallons on non chlorinated water(we use the water we are  fishing in). The salt actually toughens up their scale. I've noticed the shad are a lot more spunkier after doing I started doing this. Supposedly it reduces stress hormones.

2. 30 gallon round trash can filled with lake water (remember to add the salt, see no. 1)

3. Before Adding shad to the 30 gallon trash can, you need to put them through the poop and pee stages.  I use  2  5 gallons buckets  for this. I simply place these filled with water beside my 30 gallon trash can.). Let them do their thing for a few minutes, this will keep a lot of ammonia build up out of your 30 gallon can. Ammonia  adds to the stress of the fish. I normally will be throwing the castnet out for  more bait, while the Shad are doing their thing. This should keep you in live bait for hours of fishing.

4. Adding Ice (non chlorinated in hot weather is suppose to help). Just make sure the temperature change is slow, no greater than 1 or 2 degrees at a time, with no more than ten degrees total. I haven't tried this yet, but it is suggested to use water frozen in litter bottles or blue ice.

5. The best way to keep shad alive longer is to start fishing with them as soon as you catch them.

6. 1 shad per gallon of water, this is very important to try hold to, except sometimes my P&P buckets might occassionally exceed the limit temporarily.

7. Add one of those floating aerator, remember to rinse out the sponge filter that covers it (in the lake is fine) every 30 minutes or so. This way you are maximizing the amount of air going into the water.

This works, so there is no need to spend a fortune a $500 or $1000 bait tank, especially if you are just fishing from the dock. I guess you could put the trash can in the boat, just remember one gallon water weighs 7 pounds, so this would be like adding(if you count the p& p buckets) a 245 pound person to your boat, so you have to be careful.