Pond Boss Forums INTRO Questions & Observations Threadfin Shad Question

Fished my pond last weekend and noticed some shad action near shore on different parts of the pond. Also caught several bass that spit out shad when I got them in the boat. Obviously, some shad made it through the winter.

My question is this: Should I restock TFS again this year, or just let nature run its course and let the remaining shad reproduce. Or should I stock about half of what I had originally planned? I didn't restock a couple years ago and the shad came back strong, but that was a milder winter. Just not sure if there are enough survivors this year to reproduce at a high rate, and I'd hate to miss out on a full year of LMB growth because of a lack of TFS (although I've got a massive population of CBG as my main forage base).

Thoughts?

Every male can completely relate the entire dialog to Caddyshack. Who says we are unskilled.

If you have bass spiting out shad when you catch them and your seeing some in the shallows then you probably have more than you think. Have you tried baitcasting with a net. Thats usally how I tell about how many I got. I Stocked my dads pond with them 5 years ago and they always seem to recover from cold winters fine in his pond. In mine not so much.

Shad have high reproductive rates, just a handful will produce millions... You should be fine with just the natural reproduction in your pond.