My home lakes in Mn don't have any shad in them and I know shad colors/patterns are very popular on lakes with shad, but will they work as well on lakes without shad? Most baitfish are minnows, perch, and small sunfish. Thanks

Shad shapes and colors will work anywhere...

'Shad' is just one family of baitfish that anglers collectively refer to as "minnows".

From the anglers perspective, "minnows" include shad, shiners, chubs, smelt, dace, ciscoes, herring & so on

Though every lake & river contains baitfish, the species involved will vary as to region and waterbody.

Nevertheless, selecting a lure with a "fish-shaped" profile will accommodate all the minnows.

 

With regard to color, even without the benefit of knowing the indigenous baitfish,

you won't go far astray by adhering to hues like silver, blue & green.

 

Roger

1 hour ago, Braylon Temte said:

My home lakes in Mn don't have any shad in them and I know shad colors/patterns are very popular on lakes with shad, but will they work as well on lakes without shad? Most baitfish are minnows, perch, and small sunfish. Thanks

 

Welcome aboard, Braylon!

 

I think you'll be fine using a shad shaped bait.
I've caught bass in a local retention pond that

has none, and I used a Yamamoto Shad Shape

Worm wacky rigged as well as drop shot.

 

Caught plenty of bass with it.

Same here, when I'm reading pro tips and advice, I always substitute the word "shad" with "baitfish". As we don't have any shad here in Eastern Washington. I always try to pick out the important parts and remain aware that most of what I read is geared to southern waters. However, one thing I read really made sense to me. It was in regards to using rainbow trout colored swimbaits. A man stated that he wouldn't use the trout swimbaits because his lake didn't have rainbows in it. The reply was that if that troutless lake was one day stocked with 1500 rainbow fingerlings, you'd bet your @** all the bass in the lake would gorge themselves on the little guys. Basically, anything is fair game to a predator like a bass! I do like to stick to perch, bluegill, and trout colors with most of my baits but nothing out fishes a chrome and blue original rat L trap, and nothing in my lakes is chrome and blue!!

Bass don't know their lakes don't have shad in them. For all they know, they've just never seen one before. I catch them on shad colors in bodies of water with no shad all the time.

2 hours ago, Bluebasser86 said:

Bass don't know their lakes don't have shad in them.

 

Never thought about it that way, but sounds dead-on 

A million options for you with hard and soft plastics. Just pick up a few of the different styles and go at it. Buy the colors you like. The colors you believe will work. You'll get results.