Eric, I haven't been a big fan of shiners in a new pond, but once a fishery is established I can see using them to fill a vacant niche.

For threadfin shad, if someone lives in an area where these fragile creatures can live 3 or 4 winters out of 5, I think they are a "must." Threadfin fill a forage fish gap between bluegill spawns and force bass to move toward open water in the summer, pushing them (at least temporarily) away from the most active bluegill spawning sites.

Teach a man to grow fish...
He can teach to catch fish...