Like the American gizzard shad, the threadfin shad has an elongated dorsal ray, but unlike the gizzard shad, its mouth is more terminal without a projecting upper jaw. The fins of threadfin shad often have a yellowish color, especially the caudal fin. The back is grey to blue with a dark spot on the shoulder.
What is the difference between threadfin and gizzard shad?
Threadfin shad are usually easily distinguished from gizzard shad by the fact that the upper jaw does not project beyond the lower jaw. The anal fin usually has 20-25 rays, as opposed to 29-35 rays found in gizzard shad. The upper surface is silver-blue and grades to nearly white on the sides and belly.
How do I know if I have threadfin shad?
Description of Threadfin Shad
The mouth is terminal and the lower part of the upper jaw is not notched. The anal fin has 20 to 28 rays; the dorsal, 10 to 13 rays. Color is bluish gray on the back with a persistent black or purple spot just behind the head.
What kind of fish is a gizzard shad?
herring species
Like all herring species, gizzard shad are schooling fish. They prefer quiet areas of large rivers and estuaries, but may occasionally enter marine waters. They are typically common where found. Gizzard shad feed almost entirely by filtering phytoplankton from the water.
Can you eat threadfin shad?
Threadfin shad can be recognized by their lower jaw protruding slightly forward of their upper jaw.
Can you eat a gizzard shad?
Eat them. Unfortunately, gizzard shad, which weigh about 1 1/2 pounds each, are full of tiny bones that are hard to remove. So cooking shad requires some extra effort.
How much is threadfin shad?
Threadfin Shad
Spring Shad $500 per 1,000. 5000 minimum (when available). Summer Shad $200 per 1000 in July. Min 20,000 – 2 Hours from Farm, Etc.
Are threadfin shad good for ponds?
Shad are an excellent source of forage for farm ponds and lakes. Size ranges from 1-7 inches. A load of shad consist of 7-10,000 fish and a single load will treat up to a ten acre pond.
What is the best bait for gizzard shad?
“When you’re looking for good shad baits, you can’t go wrong with silver or chrome-colored crankbaits,” he says. “Spinnerbaits are good, too; just be sure to match the blade to the average size shad in your lake.”
What do gizzard shad look like?
The American gizzard shad (Dorosoma cepedianum), also known as the mud shad, is a member of the herring family of fish, and is native to large swaths of fresh and brackish waters of the United States of America. The adult has a deep body, with a silvery-green coloration above fading to plain silver below.
Where do you get gizzard shad?
Gizzard Shad are common in lakes, oxbows, impoundments, sloughs and large rivers with basic or low gradients, but reaches greatest abundance in waters where fertility and productivity are high.
How big do threadfin shad grow?
They occur naturally in many rivers and reservoirs throughout the southeast and are often stocked as a forage fish in sport fish ponds in the southern latitudes. A mature threadfin shad is usually 5 to 6 inches in length; however, we have observed them up to 7 inches in highly-fertile ponds.
How big can gizzard shad get?
Identification. Key ID Features: Gizzard shad have a deep body with silvery blue back and white sides and a deeply forked tail. Average shad are 6-8 inches long and weigh1-8 ounces. Younger fish have a dark spot behind the gill flap.
What does gizzard shad taste like?
American shad has a wonderful, distinctive, sardine-like flavor that is sweet, salty, and freshly fishy. The texture of the fish—which you can really only savor when it is filleted—enhances its pronounced flavor with an oily, yet resilient, silky sensation as it melts like butter on the palate.
Are gizzard shad good for ponds?
They may also serve as an alternative to threadfin shad as an additional forage base in ponds located in colder climates. In certain situations, and if managed correctly, gizzard shad can be an ideal supplemental forage for producing exceptionally large bass.
Are gizzard shad invasive?
Gizzard shad show tremendous invasion potential. After only two plantings totally 1020 fish in Lake Havasu, the species spread through the Colorado River from Davis Dam southward to the Mexican border, the Salton Sea, and associated irrigation ditches within only 18 months (Burns 1966).
Can you catch shad on a hook?
Threadfin shad make great catfish baits but are also very soft and if not put on the hook correctly they will get snatched right off the hooks in no time or will even fly off the hook when casting. In this video we walk you step by step through the process of baiting a hook with threadfin shad for catfishing.
Is shad a good catfish bait?
Shad is an excellent choice for catfish bait all year long when targeting blue and channel catfish, in fact, it’s my top catfish bait. There’s no “season” for when you can and cannot use them. If they’re feeding on shad you can use it for bait and it’s rare they won’t be feeding on fish.
How often do threadfin shad reproduce?
Threadfin Shad
Spawning temperature: 67-70 degrees. Spawning time: Threadfin spawn during late April in Southern reservoirs. Reproduction Cycles: Threadfin shad can spawn several times per year. It’s not uncommon for threadfin to spawn a second time in mid July, and again in September or early October.
What do threadfin shad feed on?
plankton
Threadfin shad feed exclusively on plankton but have two methods of catching it, resulting in a broad diet of the available invertebrates. Small zooplankton, phytoplankton, and detritus are filtered through their gill rakers while large zooplankton, especially copepods, are chased down and caught as individual prey.
How long do threadfin shad live?
2 to 3 years
Many researchers believe that threadfin shad often compete for plankton with young-of-the-year predator species, especially largemouth bass. Life expectancy seldom exceeds 2 to 3 years.