Shad Die Off

At what temperature do the shad start to die off? I am probably asking
water temperature more than anything else.

I have seen mild winters here in the desert when they didn't die. The
following season is when you see shad running six inches.

I am curious though. Most years there is a shad die of and in the spring
you find schools of shad that are les than inch long.

I can only assume those new schools of shad are from hardy shad that didn't
die off. Or do they have eggs that lie dormant through the cold? Somehow
that doesn't sound right.

If we get a really harsh winter will it take more than a season for the shad
to repopulate?

What about other bait fish?

Fathead minnows. I have only really found them in a few sheltered areas, but
they are listed as a bait fish in the regs so again I have to guess they are
pretty common.

And red shiners. Where do you find those? I have only seen large groups of
them a few times in many years. The ones I usually see are an inch to inch
and a half, but last year there were a bunch in one of the local canals that
were 2 1/2 to 3 inches long. Do they always get that big and I have never
seen them, or was it a rare circumstance that they did? If so what likely
gave them the opportunity to grow larger?


--
Bob La Londe
Yuma, Az
http://www.YumaBassMan.com
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