Bucket O Bait

So for a while now I've been thinking that next year I'm going to do more basic river fishing. Catch more shovelheads, more drum, do some carp fishing, and especially do more channel cat fishing. Just a week ago I was telling someone I thought big channels had more in common with big smallmouth than average to small sized smallmouth do. Well, this one spot all fall has been covered up with bait. So much that I think it's actually hurt the fishing a bit. Yeah I know all that bait is why the fish are there in the first place but it only must take minutes at most for them to stuff themselves and stop feeding. It seems like the only fish I've caught the last few days have been right at dawn or dark then they shut down. Well I'm standing there looking at hundreds and hundreds of shiners and shad everywhere and a light bulb went off in my head. Bait. Lots n lots of bait for next year. So today I'm back with a net and a bucket. 15 minutes later I'm heading home with several pounds of shad and minnows. Divided into zip lock baggies and stowed in the freezer I'm set for next summers channels.
All week the river has warmed instead of cooled but I have caught a few decent fish on clear with glitter grubs and curly shad. Which by the way do a pretty good job of looking like the shad and shiners that are so abundant.