The shad spawn is overlooked by most weekend anglers, but can be the most thrilling and effective times to catch bass all year.
There isn’t a lot that goes into shad spawn bass fishing, but each part is crucial to success.
Just like any other fish, shad have to spawn in order to reproduce.
What does this mean for us fisherman?
It means that thousands of shad come up shallow. And bass become super aggressive in order to feed on these vulnerable shad as much as possible.
If your lake or pond has shad in it, the shad spawn is probably the best time to catch tons of bass very quickly.
There are three factors that go into the actual time that shad will spawn.
It is very important that you understand all three of these, other wise your not going to have much or any success.
These three factors are water temperature, time of year, and time of day.
Once the water temperature gets above 70 degrees, you need to watch out for the shad spawn.
This will be around the time that bass are finishing their spawn and the spring is beyond the half way point.
Sometimes the shad will wait until the water gets to 74-75 degrees, but once it is above 70, the water is warm enough for them to spawn.
The time of year varies a bit from lake to lake as well as state to state.
But this chart below gives a great estimate of when the shad spawn will take place based on where you live.
One thing to keep in mind is that shad will begin spawning the first full moon after the bass spawn.
There may still be a few bass spawning, but the first full moon of the post-spawn season will ignite the shad into their spawn.
This is probably the most important piece of the puzzle for the shad spawn.
Shad only spawn during the nighttime and the early morning. And by early morning, that means before the sun hits the water.
As soon as the sun makes its way over the trees and hits the water, shad will stop spawning and head back out to deep water.
On overcast or rainy days, they will stay shallow and spawn for a few hours longer into the day.
You can also buy yourself a little extra time by fishing the Eastern shore as the morning goes on.
The Eastern shore stays in the shade for a bit longer since the sun rises in the East.
But the key to shad spawn bass fishing is getting out on the water very early in the morning.
Shad spawn very, very differently than bass, panfish, or other fish species.
They don’t build a bed, then find a mate, then raise the young.
Instead, the female shad will come up into shallows and flick their eggs onto rocks, wood, docks, grass, leaves, or other solid structure.
Then they will swim off and continue to spread their eggs as much as possible.
The male shad will follow up behind the females and spray these eggs in order to fertilize them.
So the shad spawn is rather hectic. There are thousands of shad darting around and flicking or spraying there eggs and seed all around.
Shallow , hard bottom cover. This is the name of the came. Trees, docks, floating boats, rocks, overhang tree branches, lily pads, grass, spill ways, dams.
Any type of hard cover in very shallow water will have shad spawning on it. You also want a hard bottom.
If it is muddy or covered in silt, move along and don’t fish that bank. And don’t be afraid to fish as shallow as you can get.
The shallower the better. Bass will sometimes jump up out of the water and onto the actual banks when trying to eat these shad.
It’s all about speed when fishing the shad spawn.
First of all, bass are incredibly aggressive and they are feeding on the shad that are darting around and swimming very erratically.
Fish fast lures and move down the bank quickly. DO NOT stay in one place and fish for minutes at a time.
Cast and retrieve very quickly, and keep it moving down the bank until you start catching bass.
Another reason you need to fish fast is that you only have a couple of hours each day to fish.
Once the sun hits the water, the bite completely stops. So you need to cover as much water as possible in the limited time you have each morning.
Keep your lure choices very simple and don’t overcomplicate things.
Without a doubt, spinnerbaits are the best, and most popular lures for fishing the shad spawn.
A fast moving spinnerbait looks exactly like a few scared shad swimming around together away from the main schools.
You can cover a lot of water and you get the flash and vibration that draw the bass in from a distance.
Bass will absolutely crush these things when they are up shallow feeding on these spawning baitfish.
The shad spawn is undoubtedly one of the best times to use a spinnerbait.
Like we talked about, the shad are spawning up in shallow cover. It can sometimes be tricky to fish a spinnerbait in wood or grass.
But the swim jig will come right through even heavy cover without getting snagged.
Pair the swim jig with a paddle tail swimbait, and it is a great shad imitation.
You can also skip swim jigs very well which allows you to get up under docks, pontoon boats, and overhanging timber.
When bass are shallow and aggressive, the buzzbait flat out catches them.
This is my go-to topwater to fish during the shad spawn. Buzzbaits get bass riled up and they crush this thing with huge blowups.
The buzzbait is also very realistic because the shad are up on the surface flickering and slashing around, just like the blade of the buzzbait does.
One thing I have noticed about buzzbaits is that they catch big fish. Your average bass caught on a buzzbait is at least a half pound bigger than normal.
The shad spawn is certainly a time when you need to use a buzzbait.
When bass are up this shallow and are this aggressive, topwaters are a great way to catch them.
A walking bait is more erratic than a buzzbait and can get tons of reaction strikes from bass.
They don’t quite have the drawing power that a buzzbait does, but they do allow you to pause or vary your retrieve and find out exactly what the bass want.
The underspin is the most realistic option out of these lures. If you have very clear water or your lake is highly pressured, the underspin is a great choice.
It doesn’t have as much flash, vibration, or sound as the above lures and you can’t fish it in heavy cover like a swim jig.
But in clear or pressured water, realism can be your best bet.
The shad spawn can be a game-changer for bass fishing enthusiasts.
By focusing on factors like water temperature, time of year, and time of day, anglers can pinpoint when and where this feeding frenzy occurs.
Using fast-moving lures like spinnerbaits, swim jigs, buzzbaits, walking baits, and underspins in shallow, hard bottom areas during the early morning can lead to a successful and thrilling fishing experience.
Mastering the shad spawn technique opens up opportunities to catch more bass and enjoy the excitement of this seasonal phenomenon.
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