I was wanting to know if it would be bad to add 300 or so threadfin shad to a newly constructed pond for the bass to eat. We have added fatheads but i wanted to fatten up the bass and make sure they have plenty of food to eat. i have access from another lake where i can get them pretty easily so it wouldn't cost a thing. just wondering if it would hurt anything.

petro

I didn't think that threadfin shad survived in Indiana, what lake are you getting them from?

you need to be careful when tranplanting shad. its easy to confuse gizzard shad with threadfin shad. also very easy to introduce other unwanted fish like blueback herring. that is a real problem here. educate yourself on threadfins and be able to ID them. you may also consider buying them from a hatchery, that way you dont have to worry about unwanted fish.

I dont know if you are stocking adult bass this year or bass fry. If you stock bass fry they may not be able to fully utilize the shad until they get larger (next year). Shad are open water filter feeders and dont feel the urge to hang out around structure. Bass fry will hang around the edges of the pond and near structure, well out of range of the shad. I think bluegill fry may be a better choice for young, growing bass (less than 10 inches). when I find schools of shad during shocking surveys there are never any small bass, usually bass 1-3 pounds like to give shad trouble. Dont know if thats absolute fact, just what I have observed.

you made no mention of bluegill. I would not consider stocking a pond that I wanted good bass growth without some bluegill. Remember, bluegill spawn multiple times during the year (just like shad) and dont die in the winter.

I would expect the threadfins to die during the winter months up there. so be prepared, if you want them you will probably have to stock them every year. If you decide to stock them you will find it is much easier to establish a spawning population in a fertilized pond. dont know if you are going to fertilize if even if you can. but if your pond is green from a plankton bloom threadfins will take off. It will probably be difficult to establish a good spawning population once bass are larger. I get good results stocking them into ponds with adult bass at a rate of about 5,000 per 10 acres of water. Even when stocking that many fish it makes a huge difference if the water is fertilized. green water = happy shad

hope this helps

we have been stocking our pond with adult bass(8 to 20in) and many many bluegill, ranging from 1 and 2 inch to 7 to 9 inch slabs. i believe they are threadfin shad that i am talking about. but i could be wrong as in wut your are saying about different kinds of shad. i just want to make sure that the bass we have in our pond are recieving plenty to eat. we were thinking of going to an ohio fisheries and getting golden shiners to stock our pond with. if you have any other comments feel free to let me know. and thanks for replying.

there was a good discussion about golden shiner not long ago, so look for it on the board.

gizzard shad can look, grey, greenish to blue dorsally, silvery below. there is a large black spot present behind the gill cover. Gizzard have a rounded snout, if you scrape you finger nail along the snout of a gizzard shad (in an attempt to open the fishes mouth) your finger nail will be below the fishes eye before its mouth opens.

Threadfin shad are colored very much the same, with the black spot also but the snout is much more pointed. if you do the finger nail test you will notice that the treadfin has a much more upturned mouth. its mouth kind of looks like it opens upward.

dont be fooled by the long thread that comes off the dorsal fin, this is present on both species.

After rereading this I wish I could be more descriptive, I'm not exactly a wordsmith. I can email some pics if you like.

Another way to tell the difference is a threadfin has a yellow tail and they are more shiny than a gizzard shad.

There is another good way too tell if they if they NOT threadfins.
If the lake you get them from gets below 42 degrees in the winter, they are surely not threadfins.

-Scott

shan if you wouldnt mind would you send me some pictures to help make sure i identify them correctly. i am knowlegeable on the subject somewhat but just want to make sure. thanks for the tips from all you guys. it helps tremendously.
And also the water stays around 55 to 60 degrees during winter months due to a hot water return system. my email is fobyfour@aol.com
thanks again

HI--I have a pond appx. 3 acres and was told it is to small for threadfin shad by a reputable fish farm. any one hav a comment on this one ? Thanks Harvey

Harvey,
Don't know what he means. Too small...I have stocked them in ponds less than 1/3 acre. They raise them in small ponds on many hatcheries. If quality bass is your goal, they are hard to beat when in area where they overwinter.