Bobby Garland's baby shad

[Ben77]

I've heard good things about these. Has anyone used them before? What colors would work best in stained waters thanks and Happy Thanksgiving BR!

[Team9nine]

A great crappie bait. Only 2” long. We catch a few bass on them, but seems to attract them better if you bulk them up a little by adding them to a Road Runner style head, like a mini underspin. Any of the shad colors could be good in winter, maybe with some chartreuse mixed in for stained water. 

[MGF]

I bought a bag to use for crappies but I don't fish for crappies very often. I was out on a local river a couple weeks ago and looking for something to put on a drop shot. I tried that baby shad and caught a couple of brown bass. That is the the complete history of my experience with the bait but I'm sure I'll use them again.

[Jig Man]

I have caught a lot of crappie on them.  My favorite is the spring cricket.

[TnRiver46]

This is the crappie catchingest lure I’ve ever used. I like monkey milk, electric chicken, and pearl

[Ben77]

Great thanks what's the best way to rig them?

53 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

This is the crappie catchingest lure I’ve ever used. I like monkey milk, electric chicken, and pearl

53 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

This is the crappie catchingest lure I’ve ever used. I like monkey milk, electric chicken, and pearl

 

[TnRiver46]

12 minutes ago, Benithebass said:

Great thanks what's the best way to rig them?

 

On a jig head! With or without bobber and even trolling them works great 

[plawren53202]

1 hour ago, TnRiver46 said:

This is the crappie catchingest lure I’ve ever used. I like monkey milk, electric chicken, and pearl

Bingo, these are my colors along with a chartreuse, "bluegrass" (blue back, chartreuse belly), black back/pink belly, and black back/chartreuse belly. That monkey milk is deadly in stained to clear water especially with some sun, and I like the pearl when there is some cloud cover. I have put quite a few crappie in the boat on these getting back into crappie fishing this summer. I usually rig them on a 1/8 oz. jig head. I experiment with different colored heads, and I like the crappie jig heads that have the sickle hook. We usually use a Lew's 9 or 10 ft long Wally Marshall Crappie pole and tightline the jigs.

 

I'm not sure how well they'd work for bass. I'm sure you could catch a few on them. They are pretty small even for dink bass. And the tail has a very precise movement that I think is better suited for crappie: that little thin tail is designed to just barely quiver when you're holding the jig still in front of a crappie. I've been catching them this fall by using the Livescope to put one right in front of a crappie sitting on a stakebed and then hold it as still as possible. It's a little different action than what I'm accustomed to fishing for bass.

 

Strike KIng has a similar jig body, the Mr. Crappie Joker, that has also caught quite a few for me. It is similar to the Baby Shad but instead of the one tiny thin tail, it has three thin tails with a little ball on the end. Same principle, hold it super still and let the tails jiggle, but the three ball-end tails have just a tad more action than the Baby Shad. Maybe this would work a little better for bass? Same colors, except there is a pearl with chartreuse tail that I really like in the Joker.

 

Having said all that, go for it. When the bass are in a super finicky mood, the same super still jigging approach could work on them...but I'd definitely use a bigger head than my crappie jig heads if I was targeting bass.

[Bluebasser86]

About the only crappie plastic I buy. A 1/32 or 1/16 oz jighead shooting it under docks and let it fall and watch the line. Monkey Milk is about the only color I ever use because they always eat it when I do fish for them.

[Luke Barnes]

About once a year I go to the factory to see if they are hiring. They are about 8 miles from me. 

 

For clear water, monkey milk. For stained, bluegrass. Muddy water, black and chartreuse. They are a lure that will catch anything and everything that swims. Caught 6oz bluegill to 3lb bass on them. Also best crappie soft plastic you can buy. Its just hard to specifically target bass with them. 

[ChrisD46]

On 11/26/2020 at 12:36 PM, Team9nine said:

A great crappie bait. Only 2” long. We catch a few bass on them, but seems to attract them better if you bulk them up a little by adding them to a Road Runner style head, like a mini underspin. Any of the shad colors could be good in winter, maybe with some chartreuse mixed in for stained water. 

*What about using BG's baby shad on a Ned Rig setup " 1/24th oz. ZMan TRD jig head with #4 hook , ML to L / F spinning rod , #8lb. braid mainline to #4 lb. ~ #6 lb. FC leader , using one of the six recognized Ned Rig retrieves ? ... The "UL Ned Rig" !  I already have such a set up using tiny Beetle Spins , so all I need to do is switch out the Beetle Spin for the tiny 1/24th oz. #4 hook ZMan TRD jig heads (already have) and add one of the countless little crappie soft plastics (already have) ... While being fun for numbers - could be a disaster for any bass over 3 lbs. (lol !)

[Luke Barnes]

3 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

 using one of the six recognized Ned Rig retrieves ? 

Wait, what? There are six recognized ned rig retrieves?? I know of two! Small pops and swim, glide, shake. Do tell!!

[Team9nine]

4 hours ago, ChrisD46 said:

*What about using BG's baby shad on a Ned Rig setup " 1/24th oz. ZMan TRD jig head with #4 hook , ML to L / F spinning rod , #8lb. braid mainline to #4 lb. ~ #6 lb. FC leader , using one of the six recognized Ned Rig retrieves ? ... The "UL Ned Rig" !  I already have such a set up using tiny Beetle Spins , so all I need to do is switch out the Beetle Spin for the tiny 1/24th oz. #4 hook ZMan TRD jig heads (already have) and add one of the countless little crappie soft plastics (already have) ... While being fun for numbers - could be a disaster for any bass over 3 lbs. (lol !)

 

I’ve only done it once or twice for bass, but yes, most crappie baits fit nicely on to a 1/16 or smaller traditional ‘Ned-sized’ mushroom head. Definitely room to experiment in that space.

 

21 minutes ago, Luke Barnes said:

Wait, what? There are six recognized ned rig retrieves?? I know of two! Small pops and swim, glide, shake. Do tell!!

 

They occasionally change over the years, and my 6 are slightly different than Ned’s 6, but here you go;

 

(1) swim, glide, and shake; (2) hop and bounce; (3) drag and deadstick; (4) straight swim; (5) drag and incessant shake; (6) strolling.