Bass chasing shad, what do you throw

[livemusic]

Say that bass are chasing shad (or minnows), busting the surface. Might be a lone bass but also might be several or even schools. What bait do you throw? If you care to go farther, what rod n reel n line do you use to get there? Sometimes, the cast is going to be really long from your boat!

 

I find that if a bass is busting the surface, I am going to cast there and a good part of the time, I will catch him. Warm months are starting and this activity is increasing. I caught one yesterday on a Blakemore Road Runner, white/chartreuse with silver underspin spinner. That bait can cast quite far. A great bait we used to use on Toledo Bend was a Mann's Little George bait. You can sure throw that one, it's kind of compact and heavy. It has a tail spin, not an underspin. There's all kinds of baits you could throw. When they were schooling bigtime on Toledo Bend and not such long casts, fish that you could get kind of on top of, I liked casting a Redfin, it's like a Rogue lure and also sometimes it worked great to throw a Boy Howdy top water bait, it has a spinner fore and aft. But for length, a heavier bait helps.

 

I bought a reel a couple months back that is supposed to cast a long ways, a Daiwa Tatula Elite baitcast reel. Need to figure out which of my rods to put it on. And which line!

 

I have been catching monster coppernose bluegill, fishing for them on beds. Bass bust all around me and I need to start throwing more to them, it's increasing and I have noticed multiple fish are joining in. I am not sure what these bass are chasing; the lake is full of threadfin shad and also minnows. But I sometimes catch a bass in the bream bed; I assume they are trying to raid the beds. I catch them on tiny jigs meant for bream! Caught two 3-pounders last outing and two weeks ago, caught one that was 4.84 lbs. That was a battle on an ultralight!

[Finessegenics]

I’d throw a white double willow spinnerbait, on a standard MH with a fast or mod-fast action. I like 12# yo zuri hybrid which is .33 mm diameter; the same as most name brands’ 15# fluoro. Reel, I used to use 6.2:1 but this year have been experimenting with 7.4:1. I see the pros and cons to both but I find myself going too fast with the 7 speed at times. Sometimes, that’s the ticket though. 

I should also add that at times, the bait I throw doesn’t matter. If I see a single fish chasing a bait ball, I can throw anything in front of its face and it’ll bite. I find this to be truer when I’m fishing smaller bodies of water, like the rivers I often fish. I’d throw little craw baits in front of smallies chasing minnows, and they’d annihilate it. On the flip side, I’ve seen mega schools of baitfish being busted on by bass on larger bodies and not catch a single bass or predator species within that mess. I think lure selection or technique would matter more in those scenarios, simply because you’d need your presentation to stand out. 

[813basstard]

Biggest thing when they’re schooled up or in a wad get ANYTHING on them. Keep a ‘schoolin’ set up always ready. Mine is usually a Pop R or some type of walking bait. 

[gunsinger]

For me, it's a jerkbait or rattletrap.

[papajoe222]

With a light power rod, your options are limited. You really don't have enough rod for presenting a top water with the exception of something with small, light wire hooks.  A 1/4oz lipless, or blade bait should get the job done. They will not only cast far, but will stay in the strike zone better than a jig, or tail spinner. They can be fished with a yo yo style retrieve to get to the bigger fish below those busting on top, or run just under the surface for the surface feeders.

[Dens228]

First choice is a spinnerbait with silver blades, usually 3/8 oz, with a Impact Fat paddletail on the hook. 

If that doesn't work or the water is clear, high skies, little to no wind I go with an underspin, same paddletail.  

[Happybeerbuzz]

Either a fluke, Jerkbait, or small swimbait, which there is always one of the three tied on for me.  

[Bubba 460]

If they're "in the act" of busting shad on top, they will hit anything you throw out there short of a kitchen sink. With that said a shad intimation is what you want to switch over too. Top water or shallow running as they (the bass) are in the act of herding shad to the surface (a wall) and nailin' em. A little flash will help too. 

[Lead Head]

Weightless white super flukes are usually the ticket for me. Sometimes a heddon spittin image. 

 

 

[WRB]

See surface activity use surface lures.

Tom

 

[Buzzbaiter]

I’ve never encountered this situation since all of my fisheries are bluegill-dominant, but I would throw an underspin. That way, you can imitate the baitfish while still standing out from the crowd, thanks to the blade. I’m sure an assortment of topwater baits would also get them, as well as flukes, spoons, spinnerbaits, and any other baitfish imitation.

[GRiver]

2 hours ago, gunsinger said:

For me, it's a jerkbait or rattletrap.

Same here, chrome with blue or black back 

[scaleface]

Anything that I can bomb . Lipless cranks , heavy top-waters ...

[livemusic]

BTW, on Toledo Bend and another lake I fish, I have seen bass schooling like mad just churning the water, and we couldn't get a bite no matter what. It is maddening. Thank goodness, they do, often, bite.

 

I bought a Tail Spin bait at Academy tonight that is kinda like the Little George I mentioned; it is heavy (1/2 oz) and has a spinner on the tail. I figure I can bomb this one. With the Little George, we are able to go deep if we need to cuz it's about like having a silver rock with a spinner tail, lol... it will sink and fast! I also bought a good-looking jerk bait like the Rogue I also mentioned, it's a Yo-Zuri 3DB bait. Oh, and a crazy looking top water made by H2O Xpress called Double Plop. I dunno if it will catch fish but it's cool looking. It caught the fisher. I also bought a mini Rattle Trap, 1/8 oz. I'm ready for action! Like I don't have a hundred baits already, lol.

[DitchPanda]

Lots of great baits mentioned above ...poppers flukes walking baits lipless and spinnerbaits all work great. One of my favorites the past few years is a white swim jig when they are chasing shad.

[GreenPig]

Fluke or CC spoon. Curado 70 Mgl (7 & 8 speed) on a 7'2" MH Zodias with Seaguar Red Label 12 lb FC.

[Biglittle8]

I've had luck with spinnerbaits with willow blades and a tube trailer. If you let the bait fall through the shad a lot of times the bigger fish are under the aggressive smaller fish waiting to clean up any wounded bait with minimal effort. A couple I got using that method.

13 hours ago, Finessegenics said:

I think lure selection or technique would matter more in those scenarios, simply because you’d need your presentation to stand out. 

☝️This is what I've found to be true.

[roadwarrior]

Berkley Flat Worm rigged on a drop shot.

 

[Mbirdsley]

Mojo rig with a 4 inch stick worm or wacky rig with regular sized worm or 4 inch depending on the fishes mood.  Either throw to where the blow up was on top or guess which way the fish went.
 

 Both techniques look like a collateral  damaged dying Shad from the blow up on the surface. They will scoop it up looking for an easy meal. Try and match your worm to the color of the Shad or the water IE darker for dirty water 

[Bankc]

I'm surprised no one has said a square bill.  I always have luck with a small square bill.  If the bait ball is deep, I'll throw a jigging spoon.  They usually attack from below, so if you can get just below the ball, they like to hit it just as you're pulling out of it.  

 

Then again, I fish from a kayak, so I don't often need to worry about not getting too close.  They usually pay me no mind, as there's enough commotion going on that's got their attention.  

[TnRiver46]

Spoon 

[PhishLI]

Weightless white flukes on a donkey rig. Chuck it into the school and let it drop down and do its thing.

[livemusic]

2 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

Spoon 

 

Do you mean casting a spoon? What kind do you like? Why do you like a spoon?

 

I have been catching some big bluegill (on purpose, lol) with a very small spoon. Also some bass on it.

[TnRiver46]

1 minute ago, livemusic said:

 

Do you mean casting a spoon? What kind do you like? Why do you like a spoon?

 

I have been catching some big bluegill (on purpose, lol) with a very small spoon. Also some bass on it.

Yes casting and you can bomb them. Little Cleo is my favorite but they have priced themselves out of my league, now I use cotton Cordell mostly. I like them because they catch the bass! A lot of times the runts are busting the top and the bigger ones are below lazily eating the shad that sink to the bottom 

[livemusic]

3 minutes ago, TnRiver46 said:

Yes casting and you can bomb them. Little Cleo is my favorite but they have priced themselves out of my league, now I use cotton Cordell mostly. I like them because they catch the bass! A lot of times the runts are busting the top and the bigger ones are below lazily eating the shad that sink to the bottom 

 

Do you have a favorite color? Do you countdown and how do you know how deep to aim for? I remember from using one decades ago that, yep, you can bomb a spoon, and I do want something that can cast a long ways.

 

Do you use a swivel?