Where did the summer go? All of a sudden I’m watching football and wearing a sweatshirt in the cool mornings. I have to admit that I think differently than most people. I get excited about football season, not just because I like to watch a good game but also because this is when the shad to start schooling or “balling” up and coming to the surface.  Let the fun begin!

Wherever you are fishing from now until the snow flies keep a sharp eye out for bass that are busting on shad or for shad that are just “flicking” the surface.  

You’d think that any lure should catch a fish when it’s active enough to be chasing bait out of the water.  There are times when this is true and those are the times you’ll remember forever.  The other times when you can see the bass feeding on shad but can’t get them to bite drives me crazy!  

A few years back I was practicing for a tournament on Mark Twain Reservoir in Missouri. The shad were unbelievably thick all over the surface; all the bass had to do was yawn and catch a mouth full.  I’d see a bass attack a ball of shad, but couldn’t get them to bite.  

I was at my wits end when I figured out that when the bass were feeding on Shad I couldn’t get them to hit anything, But when the feeding frenzy stopped I could throw a soft plastic jerk bait like a Zoom Fluke in the middle of the shad and let it sink. When it was below the shad twitch it once then let it sink again and most of the time the fish would inhale the bait.  I ended up winning the tournament when most everyone else was still pulling their hair out trying to catch fish that they could see feeding.  

You don’t have to see the bass feeding on the shad to assume the fish are around.  It’s a very short list of baits that I throw at these schools of shad.  I will start out with a top water lure like a Pop-R or a Super Spook Jr. Normally I’ll work this top water bait as fast as I can effectively work it. When the fish are active and feeding, the fast moving bait will get the reaction strike and you’ll tend to get a better hook up ratio as opposed to a slow presentation.  

After making a few casts with the top water bait, whether I catch a fish of not, I’ll switch to a shallow diving crankbait like a Manns Baby Minus One or a lipless crankbait like a Rattling Spot.   Bring the crankbait through the middle of the school of shad; this will cause the shad to scatter like your lure was chasing them which often drives the bass into biting. Like the top water lure, retrieve the crankbait at a fast pace. This time when you clear the shad stop the lure for just a second then continue this stop and go retrieve the rest of the way in.  

After the lesson I learned at Mark Twain Reservoir I have to have a soft plastic jerk bait ready for the picky eaters. As you’re going about your day of fishing and you see a school of shad - even when you don’t see any activity around the school - make a few casts and every once in a while you will be pleasantly rewarded for your efforts.  Until next time keep your lure wet.