What are 'shad' and 'bait fish'?

[Slyster]

What are 'shad' and 'bait fish' really?

I have to say I have become better at catching bass the last few years.. but I still don't have a clue what species 'shad' and 'bait fish' are or what bass generally eat in our local metro lakes.

I looked up 'Shad' and found out that it is an ocean fish... growing up to 30" in length.. yet I hear about them on local lakes all the time. What ARE these bass feeding on in our lakes?

And what is a "crappie minnow" for that matter? I doubt there is an actual species that is named "crappie minnow".

I often see HUGE schools of 'bait fish' on local lakes.. and they sometimes jump all at once creating that boiling water effect.. but what are they really? Sunfish? Or "minnows"? (What actually is a "minnow") Just curious.. some of you, no doubt, know the biology of these fish.

[delmuts]

i'll try to help some , but this is just a start! the shad you hear about, and many times a gizzard shad. here in fresh water they can grow up to 10-12 in.( atleast that is the biggest i've seen!)"baitfish" covers all types of fish.,wether it be baby bass,perch,gils,crappies,bullheads, or what ever type of fish are in that body of water. you have to remember that most fish are oportunistic feeders! ( if they think they can eat it, chomp!)some of the minnows are a type of shinner. their use/type is usually determined by size. if you are wondering about what type of forage is in a particular body of water; can the DNR. they are a great source of information! hopefully the guys will exspand on this!

[Deitz Dittrich]

Del pretty much covered it. This is a gizzard shad

Here in MN we have the river down south by Winona that I think has a population of shad. Other than that, we dont have any lakes that have them that I am aware of. Down south shad are probably the #1 sorce of a bass diet. Hence why you see so many articles written about them.

Baitfish can be any number of smaller fish that a preditor would consider food. I think in MN smaller sunfish are thier #1 sorce of food besides crayfish.

[katoguy]

Madison Lake in Blue Earth county has a gizzard shad population. I remember an article in the Mankato Free Press several years ago stating that Madison was the only true lake in Minnesota with a sustaining population. Most lakes here are too cold for shad. The Madison population varies from year to year. Some winters you can see thousands frozen in the top layers of ice.

They make the walleyes and crappies taste a little "different".