Threadfin shad are actually very easy to raise. They spawn on grassy substrate and are filter feeders. Water needs to be fertile and shad need spawning areas. No other fish in the pond. The biggest catch is that it will be July or August before you have a harvestable crop. Handling them is the biggest deal.
I've always done it by seining them at daylight. We've used a 100 foot seine, leaving a wide, deep pocket at the back, with a small pump continually pushing water into the back of the seine. That serves several purposes. First, keep the water clean. Second, a continual supply of oxygen. Third, shad congregate to moving water.
Take your time at harvest. Don't dip the fish out of the water for long at all. Use a soft mesh net and move them quickly to a tub, not a bucket. Don't pour them out, swim them out.
Haul shad in salty water, 3 pounds of salt in 100 gallons of water. If you plan to transfer them straight to the lake, carry them quickly in pond water and temper fast into the new lake. If the shad are smaller than two inches, don't harvest them. They will die, no matter what.
