Welder

I'm in Lincoln NE and just read your thread. Many lakes in NE are have a strong population of Gizzard Shad - Threadins find our winters too extreme, so what you are looking at is GS.

You have feedback from Eric West and Bill Cody and I recommend you take their expert advice to heart!

I understand your interest in WE but I feel you're rolling the dice thinking you have enough suitable spawning structure for them to maintain a population through reproduction. I fear it would be an expensive and disappointing experience.

As Bill and Eric suggest you should consider improving LMB spawning structure with PVC, tires, etc in the correct depths and stocking them would be your best bet for BG and GS control. They are readily available, cheap, and free in many scenarios and will reproduce and sustain their population.

I have a couple other suggestions for you off the radar a tad:

Wipers will hammer YOY GS and would add an exciting, tackle busting element to your fishery. They do well in NE extremes, are affordable and my favorite freshwater fish in terms of fighting ability. If you have LMB present in this BOW I would suggest growing out your fingerlilngs to at least 6, but preferrably 8"+ so they aren't an expensive snack for your LMB.

Blue Cats love shad - take them dead or alive and will actually hammer them on the surface like a Wiper [see this month's In Fisherman article]. BC are also easy to locate and are affordable. They are eating machines, but they would focus primarily on your GS and this would be accomplishing one of your goals [GS mangagement]. Within 5 years you could have fish up to 30lbs - and I'll bet your BOW could grow them in excess of 50.

If you ever want to chat or are in Lincoln feel free to PM or email me - we're not too far apart.

Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not fish they are after. ~ Henry David Thoreau

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