Shad Kill tactics.....Late winter...trying to warm up

[bishoptf]

Just looking for ideas, Janruary and February have been way below normal this year and the 2 community lakes in mid missouri froze over 2 times. They froze pretty hard through Jan and then thawed out with a brief warm spell and then got walloped again with another week and half of really cold weather and froze up again. They thawed out last week and temperatures have been more back to normal with some warmer days and finally was able to get the boat out today....and nada. Funny thing on the smaller lake that has been drawn down I can walk down the dam and throw a jerkbait and catch bass, lol. I could see from the small lake that it appeared with the last cold snap/freeze that came through there appears to be a shad kill that happened. We do not have threadfin since temps even in normal winters are below what they can survive but we do have lots of gizzard shad. I assume with the warm up and then quick cool down it must have killed a bunch of them. The ones I am seeing are pretty good size, probably over 6in in length. At the larger lake there were lots of floating shad, lots. I can assume for all the ones that I can see on the surface there has to be a lot that floated down to the bottom.

 

My question is what are some things that I can try to catch some LMB given the current situation. Today I threw probably 4-5 different JB versions, 100 size, 110 size, 110+1, small underspin swimbait, spinnerbait, shad rap and frittside 7. Water temps were different in different parts of the lake but ranged from 41 to about 44 degrees so still pretty cold. We are going to get some rain and some warmer weather so hoping by late weekend it can get up in the mid to high 40's.

 

Just looking for what else to try, I thought about tying on a lipless crankbait but wasn't sure what else to try...:)

[Pat Brown]

I like fishing not shad stuff during shad kills.  Jigs are great.  I like to find where the birds are not around - bass seem to spend a lot of the time hiding from the birds during the day time on my lakes but they still like to be on structure and cover that is near the action.  I will pick this structure and cover apart with a jig and fish it slow as molasses during a shad kill and realistically I'm hoping for one bite maybe two.

 

During the summer time when a shad kill is happening I'll fish a fluke weightless really slow in 0-7 ft of water and do okay some days.

 

When they have an endless buffet of the real thing and don't have to chase you have to be different from a shad and you gotta be SLOW.

 

Who is down there eating dead shad?  Crawdads for sure. 

 

I like fishing after a shad kill when the bellies are full but during?  Not my favorite.

[GreenPig]

1 - Spoon

2 - Super Fluke with a weighted hook

3 - Huddleston 68 or 5 or 6" Burrito

4 - Spoon

5 - Spoon

[bishoptf]

1 hour ago, Pat Brown said:

I like fishing not shad stuff during shad kills.  Jigs are great.  I like to find where the birds are not around - bass seem to spend a lot of the time hiding from the birds during the day time on my lakes but they still like to be on structure and cover that is near the action.  I will pick this structure and cover apart with a jig and fish it slow as molasses during a shad kill and realistically I'm hoping for one bite maybe two.

 

During the summer time when a shad kill is happening I'll fish a fluke weightless really slow in 0-7 ft of water and do okay some days.

 

When they have an endless buffet of the real thing and don't have to chase you have to be different from a shad and you gotta be SLOW.

 

Who is down there eating dead shad?  Crawdads for sure. 

 

I like fishing after a shad kill when the bellies are full but during?  Not my favorite.

Yeah It was tough, first time fishing through the winter and once water temps dropped below 50 I've had a tough time catching them, throw in the shad kill and oof it was tough today. Although I will say even though the wind was blowing today (gusting to 20) it hit 65 and it was just nice to be on the water.

 

1 hour ago, GreenPig said:

1 - Spoon

2 - Super Fluke with a weighted hook

3 - Huddleston 68 or 5 or 6" Burrito

4 - Spoon

5 - Spoon

 

Yeah I didn't think about the spoon, I have some but not tied on. I had been having luck in the smaller lake (clearer water) with the jerkbait and thought I would have similar success but that was not the case. I think I will have them tied on next time I go out.

 

Thanks for the suggestions...

[TnRiver46]

I use the shad 

[Pat Brown]

3 hours ago, TnRiver46 said:

I use the shad 

 

 

I mean basically - this is actually your best bet 😂

[Swamp Girl]

11 hours ago, bishoptf said:

Water temps were different in different parts of the lake but ranged from 41 to about 44 degrees

 

I think all the lures you tried will start to work when the temps increase just a bit. I'm a pretty consistent bass catcher, but I struggle to catch them too when the water is c-c-c-cold.

 

If you insist on fishing cold water, then follow @Pat Brown's advice. Heck, always follow Pat's advice. He's a bass whisperer.

 

I like @GreenPig's advice too. Whenever you see 13-14 lbs. under a Bass Resource member's name, sit up straight and take notes.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Good luck in my experience.  It's almost impossible to compete with not only the all the you can buffet, but the specific action and manner of stunned and dying shad.

 

I like Pat's advice even though I'm stubborn and usually try to match the hatch.  

 

I spend at least a month dealing directly with these conditions.   Every year it gets harder and harder to trick schooling fish.    

 

The jighead minnow with a really light jighead is about the closest bait to the action of a stunned or dying shad rolling on it's side.    The Jackall Drift Fry is the best minnow I've found.   

 

A Shad Rap was a magic bullet for me this year as well.   

 

The bait size is extremely important I've found.   Don't go to big.   You can't really go to small though.

 

A Scrounger, spinnerbait, underspin, A-Rig, jerkbait, various crankbaits, tailspinner, spoon, etc. can all work, I basically start throwing the tackle box at them out of frustration.  

[bishoptf]

20 minutes ago, Swamp Girl said:

 

I think all the lures you tried will start to work when the temps increase just a bit. I'm a pretty consistent bass catcher, but I struggle to catch them too when the water is c-c-c-cold.

 

If you insist on fishing cold water, then follow @Pat Brown's advice. Heck, always follow Pat's advice. He's a bass whisperer.

 

I like @GreenPig's advice too. Whenever you see 13-14 lbs. under a Bass Resource member's name, sit up straight and take notes.

Yup I take any and all advice, first time ive been able to fish through the winter and while I've not had much success, I figure I have zero chance of catching anything when I am at home. I'd rather be on the lake regardless and I know that once water temp dropped below 50 deg i have struggled but still trying to learn for this lake what works when the water is cold.

 

What I find interesting is there are 2 lakes one small and one larger lake. The smaller lake feeds into the larger lake and when the ice was receding still partially covered i could walk the dam and catch bass on a jb. Every day I did it I caught fish and the water was just thawing out, see dead shad like the other lake but it is a much clearer lake. The larger lake is a little more stained but still probably 3ft visibility. Just thought since it was working in the one lake it would work in the other lake but it did not. 

 

The one thing I didnt spend any time graphing, I should have done that to figure out at least for the shad where they were located. Will do more of that next time but water is warming up so things will always be changing. Not sure when there is a shad kill how long that takes to clear out of the system. 

 

@Pat Brownwhat weight jig and trailer would you suggest, i plan to do more jig stuff this year but some recommend compact trailer etc, thats one of my issues there are so many options etc.

13 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Good luck in my experience.  It's almost impossible to compete with not only the all the you can buffet, but the specific action and manner of stunned and dying shad.

 

I like Pat's advice even though I'm stubborn and usually try to match the hatch.  

 

I spend at least a month dealing directly with these conditions.   Every year it gets harder and harder to trick schooling fish.    

 

The jighead minnow with a really light jighead is about the closest bait to the action of a stunned or dying shad rolling on it's side.    The Jackall Drift Fry is the best minnow I've found.   

 

A Shad Rap was a magic bullet for me this year as well.   

 

The bait size is extremely important I've found.   Don't go to big.   You can't really go to small though.

 

A Scrounger, spinnerbait, underspin, A-Rig, jerkbait, various crankbaits, tailspinner, spoon, etc. can all work, I basically start throwing the tackle box at them out of frustration.  

The dead ones I saw were medium, probably 6-7in at least, not small ones, maybe the small ones were already eaten, lol.

 

I tried spinner bait, shad rap, frittside, underspin and 4 different jb sizes. I probably stayed way to long with the jb and thats an issue I have. I need to try more things quicker if not working. I usually only go out for about  4 hours at a time, getting old stinks really impacts you doing stuff at least power fishing for sure.

 

[Swamp Girl]

I haven't lmb fished long enough to give you much advice, but I do remember fishing cold water last spring and EVERYTIME I launched, the bass were in a different place. I'm not saying that Missouri is the same as Maine, but if your bass are anything like our bass, your bass will be moving, so keep moving too.

 

One day, I was casting an underspin at a shady shoreline, beneath overhanging trees. When my lure landed inches from the shore, that's where I caught my bass. I had to be that close to the shore.

 

Two days prior, I'd found them in the deepest part of the pond. And on and on, they kept moving, so I fished on the move, much I like I do in the fall, changing lures and locations until I found them. Once I found them, I stayed with them and that lure.

 

 

 

P. S. - @AlabamaSpothunter is like Pat Brown. His name is Alex and he's an analytical/observant angler who puts in the hours, both on and off the water, so heed his words too. I'd love to see Pat and Alex do YouTube instructive videos, but the price of doing those videos is fishing less because you're working with your camera and speaking to your YouTube audience. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

That's great advice Katie, and I agree with you about fish movement in cold water.

 

I've found that Bass just move with the bait all winter long.   The bait tends to bunch up, and thus so do the Bass.    If the bait stays put, you can hammer them in one place for a few days, but inevitably a weather front will push them deeper, or shallower and reset the puzzle.   

 

Everybody says fish slow down in cold water, and while their metabolism might, everything else seems to speed up.    The fish move around more, the fish school way more, and ultimately, they seem to feed way more.    When the water warms up fish seem to hunker down in more predictable locations like heavy cover, and as the summer gets hotter, you can start to run a predictable milk run.    

 

I also forgot to mention, even when you see the fish schooling and busting stunned bait on the surface, a Blade bait can still be the magic bullet.    

 

If I were the OP and could only focus on one bait, it would be the A-Rig.   If they're eating Shad and the water temps are below 50d, it's really hard to beat it.  

[Pat Brown]

Yeah I think that when the shad are able to find refuge somewhere and the birds are not completely overtaking the surface there can be some great action underneath it. But if your lake averages 12 ft deep, there's really nowhere for bass to hide and there's really nowhere for shad to escape the cold. And even the Shad just kind of carpet the bottom.

 

Basically things that get the shad moving a little bit can be a big deal when you've got bottomed out temperatures.  When the shad are not just stunned but dying everywhere it's very very very difficult.

[bishoptf]

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

That's great advice Katie, and I agree with you about fish movement in cold water.

 

I've found that Bass just move with the bait all winter long.   The bait tends to bunch up, and thus so do the Bass.    If the bait stays put, you can hammer them in one place for a few days, but inevitably a weather front will push them deeper, or shallower and reset the puzzle.   

 

Everybody says fish slow down in cold water, and while their metabolism might, everything else seems to speed up.    The fish move around more, the fish school way more, and ultimately, they seem to feed way more.    When the water warms up fish seem to hunker down in more predictable locations like heavy cover, and as the summer gets hotter, you can start to run a predictable milk run.    

 

I also forgot to mention, even when you see the fish schooling and busting stunned bait on the surface, a Blade bait can still be the magic bullet.    

 

If I were the OP and could only focus on one bait, it would be the A-Rig.   If they're eating Shad and the water temps are below 50d, it's really hard to beat it.  

I actually had an a-rig on the deck but did not have swimbaits attached. Ive not had much luck with the a-rig and the fact that they are heavy to throw is part of my reluctance. Still trying to figure out what size swimbaits and weights etc, but i should have thrown it yesterday.

 

30 minutes ago, Pat Brown said:

Yeah I think that when the shad are able to find refuge somewhere and the birds are not completely overtaking the surface there can be some great action underneath it. But if your lake averages 12 ft deep, there's really nowhere for bass to hide and there's really nowhere for shad to escape the cold. And even the Shad just kind of carpet the bottom.

 

Basically things that get the shad moving a little bit can be a big deal when you've got bottomed out temperatures.  When the shad are not just stunned but dying everywhere it's very very very difficult.

 

This lake has depth up to 27ft or there about towards the dam. Overall the lake is pretty shallow bowl, about 600 acres so there is some deeper water in the lake but most of it is shallow. 

 

One of my newer reels was getting wind knots yesterday so i removed some line and decided to go out on the dam and make a few casts. Overcast and windy with storms coming in later today, caught 2 small lmb on the 100 size jb, lol. This is the smaller clearer lake, lots of shad dead on the shore and I also saw some other fish species, bluegill maybe in the water. Took a picture of one of the shad, the ones I see are pretty food size but I know gizzard can get really big, these probably would be medium size.

[Swamp Girl]

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

When the water warms up fish seem to hunker down in more predictable locations like heavy cover, and as the summer gets hotter, you can start to run a predictable milk run. 

 

This is exactly my experience, Alex. In summer, I could put a fellow angler in the bow of canoe, paddle them to a sweet spot, point to where their lure should land, and then I'd reach for the net because I'd be that certain that they were about to hook a bass.

 

1 hour ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

If I were the OP and could only focus on one bait, it would be the A-Rig.   If they're eating Shad and the water temps are below 50d, it's really hard to beat it.  

 

I own two A-Rigs, but still haven't mustered the courage to cast even once. Musky lures gave me such a beating and I fear that A-Rigs will too.

 

2 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

I also forgot to mention, even when you see the fish schooling and busting stunned bait on the surface, a Blade bait can still be the magic bullet. 

 

I've already shared the following, but last spring, I finally started catching some of those schooling bass by RAPIDLY retrieving an underspin, turning them into nearly surface lures. I think skittering them didn't give the bass a long enough look to realize that they weren't shad.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Like most I have a hate love relationship with the A-Rig.    From rigging, to snagging, to tangling, to soreness chunk and winding it, it's the biggest hassle bait I fish with easily.    

 

The thing about the A-Rig is that when they want it, I've never seen them want a bait more.   Many times, I'm catching the fire out of them on say a jerkbait, but I could likely be catching them on a number of other baits as well.    There are times though when you catch the fire out of them on the A-Rig, and nothing else will get bit.  I now have learned to always keep the fish honest especially when it's below 50d with that A-Rig.

 

1/8th oz jigheads with a 3/0 is the sweet spot for most scenarios.   3-3.75" paddletail swimbaits also seem to be the sweet spot.     Then again if you don't have Threadfins, you can likely go a bit bigger, maybe something in the 4" range.   

 

You don't need to kill yourself on a full size rig to start out with, get one of the mini or 5" arm models.     Not sure of the laws in your state, but b/t a mini rig and using only 3 actual jigheads, you can get your A-Rig well under 2ozs.     

Hog Farmer makes a new micro flex rig, that weighs less than an oz fully rigged IIrc.  You could always start there and get some confidence and then move to the full sized models.  

 

The main thing is that you've got to stick with it until you catch a fish or two on it, it's such a stupid looking thing that it's one of the harder baits to get confidence in. I assure you though, the A-Rig works everywhere Shad swim, and in the winter it's truly a must have bait.   

 

ETA:   Katie, you fish waters unlike 95%+ of other anglers on this forum, I think that's what attracts me so much to your brand of fishing.   I wonder what the A-Rig would do in your waters.   I'd be completely lost fishing your waters.   It's so unique and different from every fishery I've fished.   

[bishoptf]

15 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Like most I have a hate love relationship with the A-Rig.    From rigging, to snagging, to tangling, to soreness chunk and winding it, it's the biggest hassle bait I fish with easily.    

 

The thing about the A-Rig is that when they want it, I've never seen them want a bait more.   Many times, I'm catching the fire out of them on say a jerkbait, but I could likely be catching them on a number of other baits as well.    There are times though when you catch the fire out of them on the A-Rig, and nothing else will get bit.  I now have learned to always keep the fish honest especially when it's below 50d with that A-Rig.

 

1/8th oz jigheads with a 3/0 is the sweet spot for most scenarios.   3-3.75" paddletail swimbaits also seem to be the sweet spot.     Then again if you don't have Threadfins, you can likely go a bit bigger, maybe something in the 4" range.   

 

You don't need to kill yourself on a full size rig to start out with, get one of the mini or 5" arm models.     Not sure of the laws in your state, but b/t a mini rig and using only 3 actual jigheads, you can get your A-Rig well under 2ozs.     

Hog Farmer makes a new micro flex rig, that weighs less than an oz fully rigged IIrc.  You could always start there and get some confidence and then move to the full sized models.  

 

The main thing is that you've got to stick with it until you catch a fish or two on it, it's such a stupid looking thing that it's one of the harder baits to get confidence in. I assure you though, the A-Rig works everywhere Shad swim, and in the winter it's truly a must have bait.   

 

ETA:   Katie, you fish waters unlike 95%+ of other anglers on this forum, I think that's what attracts me so much to your brand of fishing.   I wonder what the A-Rig would do in your waters.   I'd be completely lost fishing your waters.   It's so unique and different from every fishery I've fished.   

I think i have the 6th sense mini with blades, and i have a broomstick to throw it on, probably could get away with a lighter rod but i will throw it next time i go out but *cough* being older it really beats me up, lol.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Perfect, that's a great rig.   My friend only uses those, and he crushes them on it.   I really like the fact they have that swivel built into them.   

 

I wore myself out when I first started to learn how to fish the A-Rig, however since then I've learned to throw it around a little bit on high percentage spots, and if I don't get any love I'm not going to beat myself up.      Once I catch a fish on it, more times than not it's going to be the deal and I'll lock it in my hand for much longer.

 

It's a very feast or famine type bait.    When they want it, man do they want it.......but when they don't you really can't buy a bite on the thing.    

 

 

[bishoptf]

39 minutes ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

Perfect, that's a great rig.   My friend only uses those, and he crushes them on it.   I really like the fact they have that swivel built into them.   

 

I wore myself out when I first started to learn how to fish the A-Rig, however since then I've learned to throw it around a little bit on high percentage spots, and if I don't get any love I'm not going to beat myself up.      Once I catch a fish on it, more times than not it's going to be the deal and I'll lock it in my hand for much longer.

 

It's a very feast or famine type bait.    When they want it, man do they want it.......but when they don't you really can't buy a bite on the thing.    

 

 

Yeah I like the built in swivel and its a smaller unit since I was wanting to keep as lite as possible. Thats the difference between you and me, I have no idea where those high percentage spots are, lol. The other thing I know I have learned from watching YT is that sometimes the blades help and sometimes they want it with no blades. I actually have some homemade units that I am going to finish rigging up, only three wire setups but they do not have blades so I thought I would have that one also. The other thing I dislike about them is trying to store it, I have some ideas and seen some suggestions but its a big ole ball of hooks and baits. In Missouri you can have up to three hooks so on the 5 arm setup I have 2 dummy baits, still trying different heads for those and see what works best.

[JHoss]

I'm surprised no one has suggested something like a Panorama or Bellows Gill thrown weightless or on rage/ozark rig. Can't see I've tried either, but seems like it would be the best way to match that hatch if that's what you're trying to accomplish. 

[bishoptf]

1 minute ago, JHoss said:

I'm surprised no one has suggested something like a Panorama or Bellows Gill thrown weightless or on rage/ozark rig. Can't see I've tried either, but seems like it would be the best way to match that hatch if that's what you're trying to accomplish. 

Yeah ive thought about the panorama but haven't bought any but would need a reel light weight, not sure if 1/32 would be to heavy or not but maybe pick a couple up to try out. 

[JHoss]

4 minutes ago, bishoptf said:

Yeah ive thought about the panorama but haven't bought any but would need a reel light weight, not sure if 1/32 would be to heavy or not but maybe pick a couple up to try out. 

I've got a few packs but haven't given them much run yet. Maybe a nail weight or some lead wire on the hook shank would be enough. Weightless would probably be the most realistic but I don't have the patience for that in open water. 

[AlabamaSpothunter]

1 hour ago, bishoptf said:

Yeah I like the built in swivel and its a smaller unit since I was wanting to keep as lite as possible. Thats the difference between you and me, I have no idea where those high percentage spots are, lol. The other thing I know I have learned from watching YT is that sometimes the blades help and sometimes they want it with no blades. I actually have some homemade units that I am going to finish rigging up, only three wire setups but they do not have blades so I thought I would have that one also. The other thing I dislike about them is trying to store it, I have some ideas and seen some suggestions but its a big ole ball of hooks and baits. In Missouri you can have up to three hooks so on the 5 arm setup I have 2 dummy baits, still trying different heads for those and see what works best.

You really can't go wrong focusing where deep water quickly transitions to shallow water.    Anywhere you can find those sharp contours between deep and shallow water.   Those bigger fish especially want to have that ability to slide up into shallow water to feed but also retreat quickly back to their deep-water winter haunts.  

 

In terms of high percentage places to chunk that A-Rig.......it's really hard to beat docks in the winter time, especially if you have any kind of warming trend.   Look for those docks that are really close to deep water.

 

I store mine with flower ties.    Basically just a piece of wire that you use to fold the arms down just like an umbrella folds down for storage.     

[bishoptf]

8 hours ago, AlabamaSpothunter said:

You really can't go wrong focusing where deep water quickly transitions to shallow water.    Anywhere you can find those sharp contours between deep and shallow water.   Those bigger fish especially want to have that ability to slide up into shallow water to feed but also retreat quickly back to their deep-water winter haunts.  

 

In terms of high percentage places to chunk that A-Rig.......it's really hard to beat docks in the winter time, especially if you have any kind of warming trend.   Look for those docks that are really close to deep water.

 

I store mine with flower ties.    Basically just a piece of wire that you use to fold the arms down just like an umbrella folds down for storage.     

Whats your thought on blades or no blades? THe other question I would have is what is your choice of swimbaits for the smaller a-rigs. The problem I have these days is there is so many options and was just curious which baits you tend to lean towards. I was going to throw a combination of smaller and larger swimbaits but would like to hear what you have had the most success with, thanks.

[AlabamaSpothunter]

Lot of people say the A-Rig shines in clearer water, however in my experience they bite it way better when it's a bit stained.   I'm usually fishing in somewhere between 2-3ft of viz, and because of this I've never really played around with A-Rigs without blades.  I've heard read similar things as you though about sometimes non bladed rigs are the deal.  

 

I've used a number of different rigs from expensive ones like the Hog Farmer and Picasso ones, to the Yumbrella Flash Mob Jr rigs.   I've used everything from 3" Armor Shad to 4-5" paddletails.    I've had success on all of them, and it really reenforces my belief that when the fish want an A-Rig, they really aren't all that picky on the particulars.  

 

I've actually caught more fish on the Yumbrella rigs especially the kits that include the Scottsboro swimbaits.    Cheap, very effective, and they actually have a much more flexable wire guage than most other rigs, and this allows you to really "pulse" that rig with rod pops or hard reel turns.     The downside is that I've broken off fish when an arm decides to break after enough stress.  This will happen with all rigs eventually, but happens much quicker on the Yum rigs.   

 

I've found that 1/8th jigheads with 3/0 hooks paired up with 3-4" paddletails to be the best most of the times.    

 

The two rigs I've used this season are the Hog Farmer 5 wire/4 blade rig with Diamond Baits 1/8th 3/0 jigheads using Rage Swimmers in the 3.3? size.

 

The other rig is the Yumbrella Flash Mob Jr with the same Diamond Baits heads but with the Scottsboro 4" Paddletail swimbaits.

 

In years past I've mixed in the smaller 3.5" arm rigs and had lots of success of those as well.   Again I've never really tried any form of an A-Rig that didn't produce. 

 

You just don't want to reel that thing to fast and be mindful of the fact the bait sinks rather slow and wants to rise on the retrieve.

 

Secondly, you absolutely want to incorporate rod pops, or hard reel turns to get that rig to pulse like a real bait ball.   Perhaps the majority of fish I catch come on them came after a pulse.     

 

 

[softwateronly]

On 3/4/2025 at 11:34 AM, bishoptf said:

I actually had an a-rig on the deck but did not have swimbaits attached. Ive not had much luck with the a-rig and the fact that they are heavy to throw is part of my reluctance. Still trying to figure out what size swimbaits and weights etc, but i should have thrown it yesterday.

 

 

This lake has depth up to 27ft or there about towards the dam. Overall the lake is pretty shallow bowl, about 600 acres so there is some deeper water in the lake but most of it is shallow. 

 

One of my newer reels was getting wind knots yesterday so i removed some line and decided to go out on the dam and make a few casts. Overcast and windy with storms coming in later today, caught 2 small lmb on the 100 size jb, lol. This is the smaller clearer lake, lots of shad dead on the shore and I also saw some other fish species, bluegill maybe in the water. Took a picture of one of the shad, the ones I see are pretty food size but I know gizzard can get really big, these probably would be medium size.

 

  Break out and reel rip/kill the big 7-9" flutter spoons, 7" scroungers, northern style preacher jigs, or shake a 7" jerky j, armor shad, or raid fish roller along the bottom.  I'd also try 4-5" versions of all of the above till I find what they want.  It's basically offering the right profile very erratically, like you can't reel it fast enough before you kill it back to the bottom type erratic or slowly dancing it right on the bottom and right in front of their face like a gizzard in the final throes.

  I don't think @Pat Brown is wrong about the difficulty in beating the real thing, but if you get it right, that's gonna be where the big fish are.  They are not skipping out on the buffet.  These are some of the easiest calories of the year for the big girls.  This shad kill pattern is dominant for my water mid november thru mid december.  There's also a version right after ice out till the turnover and possibly a week or two after if the warm up is fleeting.

 

scott