I think that from what I have learned I would rather have threadfin shad but this is what I have. I did not stock any shad and at one time had both species. I have such large populations of the gizzard shad that throwing a cast net from shore and catching them is not difficult. Here is what I dont get why dont the hybrid striped bass just go crazy on the schools of shad. They seem to be much more in tune with when the feeders are going to go off than eating the shad or for that matter the bluegill. I was also reading that having large populations of gizzard shad can contribute to increasing the nutrient load. This in turn increases the filamentous algae. As you can see these are still small as are almost all the shad I have seen. The board is six inches wide. How do you keep the numbers in check?