Deboning them is the problem. Shad have a massive bone structure and it takes a considerable amount of skill to debone them, a skill I was not able to muster after bringing home about 20 after fishing on the Sacramento River near Redding. I know there are recipes that say to cook them a long time at high temperature which tends to dissolve the bones but I can't imagine the eating will be anything interesting with that kind or preparation.
There is a Youtube out there about cleaning shad but I think it takes a surgeon's practice and delicacy to do it right.

You can "bank fish" around the shore by dam but it's best to use a boat. It's a narrow lake and you can get up nearer Shasta Dam but not too close, it's posted. Headed toward Shasta Dam, there was a wider spot, maybe where a feeder creek or arm of lake right side, there was a submerged tree, was huge and some nice small mouth bass there but further up below the posted area of Shasta Dam, you drifted with nightcrawlers and pulled out really nice native Rainbows and a few Browns. I think it was below a bridge of some sort was where you couldn't go any farther. We would throw our nightcrawlers up as far as we could and drift down. Another interesting thing is I have seen really large fish using a deep diver by Keswick Dam, really big, over 4 to 5 feet. It was shocking and I slowed up lure before it came out of water. Don't know what it was, but WOW. I just saw it turn and saw it's belly, it was light or white but was huge... Anyway, there are a lot of record fish caught in Shasta Lake but I think they are really caught in Keswick Lake. It worth a look. When I lived up there, I fished it regularly with a buddy who has a small fiberglass boat we dragged down to the water.