Fishing tip of the week

Fishing Tip of the Week

Tuesday, 30 May 2023 10:04

Keys to the shad spawn
There is no time of year that is more fun than the season that has become known as the shad spawn; it’s a Spring occurrence that I personally look forward to. The bass are as active as you will find them at any time of the year. They’re healed up from their spawn, and they are chasing and extremely aggressive; however, there are some important keys to being successful during the shad spawn.
First, let’s explain the shad spawn. It’s when the bait fish, known as shad, spawn out for the first time each year. When this occurs, the bass become very aggressive. They chase and react to movement in the water and feed very aggressively.

The first key to this is finding the shad spawn on your lake, and in order to verify this is occurring, you must be able to see the shad chasing your bait. The best way to that is to fish the shad spawn at first light. You can actually see the shad follow your bait back to the boat, and you’ll notice them follow bait like spinner baits or bladed jigs as you pull over flats. You can’t miss it if you just keep your eyes on the water.

You will also notice it when you get bitten, as you will get very aggressive strikes on your bait that can’t be missed as your pole will almost get pulled out of your grip.

Another key is, the action on topwater will increase greatly. You’ll notice the bass busting on top as they chase the natural shad and feed with a vengeance. As you might expect, it’s also a good time to fish for a topwater bait, especially walking bait over and around the areas you see the busting or chasing of the shad.

Lastly, the best bite is at first light – not to say you don’t benefit from it up into the day, but the first light bite is the most aggressive and the most fun. You’ve got to be on the water at first light, and that is generally around 5 a.m. There is nothing more fun than the first light shad spawn bite, and until you experience it, you won’t know what you’re missing.

-Captain Mike Gerry