I am trying to squeeze in some fishing by the ZOO during lunch and want to get bait in a hurry. I know its illegal to castnet for gamefish but shad are ok…right?
It’s perfectly legal to catch shad in a cast net. The latest word is that there are a TON of threadfins in the rocks behind the zoo now-you shouldn’t have a problem.
I’ve always heard that there are also a decent number of trout up in the same rocks. If you could catch one of them & float it out in the river…well, all I can say is HOLD ON. 
I will take your advice and try next week. A co worker and I went out there yesterday and all we had was one fishing rod and a couple of lures and a float. A guy was out there and offered us a small fish(he said it was a white bass) anyway my partner rigged it up under a bobber and let if float…within 10 minutes something pulled it under but it wasnt a hard strike. He tried to hook it but it just came like it had been hung up. Once we looked at the fish though there were very bite marks where a striper hit it. Looks like we learned the hard way to let them eat it first.
Which brings up a question…What works best, letting them take it for a few seconds by keeping the drag loose or just keeping the bail open altogether?
When fishing with a cork count to five (with the bail open), then reel until you feel the line tighten & set the hook. I use Shimano Baitrunners, which have a separate light “Baitrunner” drag which allow the fish to run off line with the bail closed. They work great in the Saluda for stripers.
That fish that yall used for bait was probably a white perch. They are a decent bait to fall back on when you can’t catch shad or trout, as are bream and aven yellow perch.