What baitfish are common around Raleigh?

[Mattfish]

I used to live in the SC Piedmont and then moved to the SC Lowcountry. The difference in fishing is night and day. The Piedmont/ upstate area is fairly baitfish-poor, mostly just threadfin shad and a few gizzard shad. Particularly Lake Wylie and Catawba River.


However, when I moved to the lowcountry, I was stunned at the baitfish that they had. At the right seasons you had gizzard shad, threadfin shad, American shad (fun to catch with jigs), huge hickory shad, menhaden, mullet (in fresh water, I'd never seen that before), silversides, eels, not to mention the plethora of small shiners and such.

All you had to do for some fun catfishing was have any one of those ready, live or dead.



So what baitfish am I likely to encounter in the Raleigh area, say, in Falls Lake and in the Neuse? Jordan Lake? Can you find them close enough to boat ramps to cast net?