When it comes to exciting bass fishing and catching sheer numbers in a small amount of time, nothing really beats the shad spawn period. Under the right conditions, you can sometimes be catching a bass on just about every single cast.
But fishing the shad spawn is a bit more complicated than you might think. It takes a lot of precision and preparation to catch a lot of bass during the shad spawn… and, well… a lake that has shad.
When Do Shad Spawn?
Contrary to the bass spawn, there are really two facets of the shad spawn… the time of year and time of day. The shad spawn will take place for about 1 week during the late spring season. A general rule of thumb is that shad spawn about 1 week after the bass finish spawning.
In the south, this will usually take place during early April. And in the north, it will happen during early to mid June. For a more exact time frame, look for water temperatures between 70-75 degrees. Once the water temps get over 70, start looking for the shad to begin their spawn.
Time Of Day
Contrary to bass that hunker down on one bed 24 hours a day for 1-2 weeks while they spawn, shad only spawn during low light conditions. More specifically, they spawn overnight and in the early morning.
This is what makes fishing the shad spawn difficult. You really only get about an hour each morning to fish before the shad stop spawning and head into safer water. As soon as the sun hits the water, the bite immediately stops.
So you need to get out on the water before the sunrise so that you can get the most out of the small amount of time you have. Also, if the weather is rainy or overcast, you might be able to get another hour or two out of the shad spawn. So prioritize the cloudy days if possible.
Where Do Shad Spawn?
Shallow cover is the key. The shad will always spawn on shallow cover like wood, rock banks, docks, and even grass. They also prefer structures that are either floating above the water, or extending up above the surface of the water. Docks and Cyprus trees are a great example of this. This is so, so important. The shad need some sort of structure, ideally hard structure to spawn on. Seek out the hard cover in your lake or pond and there you will be able to locate the spawning shad quite easily.
Follow The Birds
If you are still having trouble finding where the shad are spawning, try following the birds. The predatory birds like herons, gulls, loons, cormorant, and others will usually stack up on the banks where the shad are spawning. Just like the bass, these birds will also take full advantage of the shad spawn by devouring as many of the vulnerable baitfish as possible.
So if you can’t find the shad, find the birds.
How The Shad Spawn
So it is helpful to understand how the shad actually spawn. Unlike bass, they will not pair up with each other, build a bed, lay eggs, and then protect the fry. The shad spawn in a much more frantic and quick way. They will gather in the thousands around that shallow cover and the females will disperse their eggs all around the cover. Those eggs will stick to the cover, often floating cover that is actually out of the water, which helps protect them from predators like bluegill.
Then the male shad will swim around and flick their milt onto the eggs which fertilizes the eggs. As you can probably imagine, this is a very hectic and fast process. So bass will swarm these massive schools of spawning shad and gorge themselves.
Bass Behavior
Now we can get to the good stuff. How does this affect the bass? During the early morning period before the sun hits the water, the bass will be absolutely destroying the spawning shad as much as they can. They know they only have a short period of time to feed so they take full advantage of it. The bass will be up shallow right along with the spawning shad devouring them.
You can probably imagine why bass fishing during this can be so exciting and fun. Aggressive bass trying to eat as fast as they can and are hyper focused on attacking one particular baitfish.
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Best Lures For The Shad Spawn:
1. Spinnerbait
The spinnerbaits is the original shad spawn lure. For decades, it has been the number one option. A spinnerbait mimics a small school of baitfish which is exactly what the bass are feeding on.
And the extra flash from the blades, the spinnerbait gives the bass a more eye-catching presentation that sets it apart from the thousands of shad in the area. I like this spinnerbait best for fishing docks, rocks, or sparse cover.
Dirty Jigs Compact Spinnerbait – $9.99
2. Swim Jig
In recent years, the swim jig has become a go-to lure for fishing the shad spawn. Think of the swim jig like a finesse spinnerbait that is much more weedless. So if the shad spawn is happening around thicker cover or heavy vegetation, you can’t really beat a swim jig. It still has a super realistic shad profile but won’t snag at all.
And with a number of swim jig trailer styles to choose from, you can really dial in your swim jig to fit the exact cover and water clarity conditions that you are fishing.
This is obviously important to save you from losing baits, but it is almost more important to save you from losing time. Because you have such limited time to fish the shad spawn each morning, wasting it getting your lure out of a tree or pulling grass off it can ruin the day.
Here’s a few swim jig options, with the Toad Thumper being more ideal for heavier cover:
Toad Thumper Hydra HD Swim Jig – $5.49
Outkast Tackle Pro Swim Jig – $5.99
3. Topwater
I really couldn’t narrow it down to just one topwater bait because they pretty much all work extremely well. And they are all very natural because they are mimicking the spawning shad that are splashing and flicking around on the surface.
Buzzbaits are super loud baits that get the more aggressive bass super fired up and also seem to get the biggest bites.
Walking style baits like a spook or even a popper are always reliable options at getting tons of bass to bite and will have the highest hookup ratio because of the treble hooks. This can be important during a shad spawn bite as bass often miss or swipe at baits because of how frantic they are.
Evergreen SB Topwater Plug – $18.99
And lastly, hollow body frogs are essentially the swim jig version of those walking baits. If you need to fish in much heavier cover without snagging, a frog is really the only topwater option that allows you to do that.
Toad Thumper Swamper Frog – $9.99
Colors: Bad Bone, Black, Bad Gill
4. Soft Swimbait
The last bait that you need to have at the ready is a soft swimbait. This is kind of my last resort lure choice. There are certain times when the bass just get very picky and hyper focused on the shad. If your lure doesn’t exactly imitate the shad, they won’t eat it.
These situations are frustrating, but the soft swimbait seems to be the best option. The best soft swimbaits are options like the LiveTarget Shad or the Z-Man Shadtron. These types of swimbaits are ultra realistic and can fool even the pickiest bass. But even a big paddle tail can work.
Color Selection
White, white, white. That is the only lure color you need for fishing the shad spawn. Normally, if I am trying to mimic shad, I actually prefer silver and grey colors over white because I feel like they are more realistic. But not during the shad spawn. This is because you are fishing in the very early morning hours before the sun comes up.
Even in clear water, the visibility is quite low in the dark conditions. And white is super clear and visible in these low light conditions compared to all other shad colors. So when you are picking lure colors, just keep it simple and stick to white lures.
Tying this Off
Mastering the shad spawn offers a unique opportunity for explosive bass fishing. Although it only happens for about an hour each morning for one week, it can be some of the best fishing of the whole year.
While the short window of opportunity demands precision and preparation, the reward of consistent, aggressive strikes makes the shad spawn a truly unforgettable experience for any bass angler.
And for a more detailed bait recommendation, specific to your exact location and waterbody, check out the Bass Forecast Bait Advisor. Just input your ZIP code or share your location, and Bass Forecast with give you 5 bait recommendations, a bite rating, and suggestions for peak feeding times.
Bass Forecast Bait Advisor
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