The shad influence

[Chris]

Right now the bass should be in transition from post spawn to schooling. How much does shad movements influence where you fish?

[5bass]

In my home lake the shad are the main forage of all the gamefish in it.I generally wont fish places that dont have a decent supply of shad.Over the years I have found that I catch better quality fish when there are shad in the area.

Whenever scouting for a night tournament,I will ride around during the day to find the biggest and most abundant schools of shad.I know that when the shad come up to feed at night,the bass wont be far away.It usually works out pretty well when I do that.

Where I am,the shad spawned out a few weeks ago and during the shad spawn,the bass were running the shad clean out of the water and up on the bank.We saw that happen quite a few times right at dark.

[Shad_Master]

I thought this was a topic about how I had impacted bass fishing ;D.  Actually, I don't usually let the shad have any influence on how or where I fish until the fall and then I try to find them stacked up in coves and pockets where the bass are keeping them coralled.  This is a deadly combination during the fall.

[Marty]

Right now the bass should be in transition from post spawn to schooling. How much does shad movements influence where you fish?

Shad movement influence = 0. That's because we have none, at least of the threadfin variety.  :

[Chris]

For me shad influences where I start fishing this time of the year. It plays a big role on where when and how I fish. Shad migrate in big schools daily in most bodies of water. Bass will follow these schools and from time to time feed on the shad. What the bass do is follow underneath the school and wait until the school gets funneled into an area like a hump or point or any obstacle. This makes easy pickings for the bass. Wind can give you some clues on where the schools might be. The wind blows the small zooplankton and other organisms and the shad follow to feed along with the bass. Pay close attention to the size of the shad and try to match the hatch with crankbaits and spinnerbaits. I have noticed that if you like to swim a jig this is when you want to do it. You can spend lots of time chasing shad nailing bass on topwater and soft jerkbaits but to cash in you need to find the places that bunch up the shad. When you identify these places and really explore what they have to offer its like hitting the lotto.