I dont like to fish in open water much mostly because the lake i fish most is real flat and has no drop offs but anyway today I was fishing and i saw a lot a shad breaking the surface and bass attacking them . so i go out to were the shad were and it was from 9 to 10 foot deep and i started with a rattletrap. after no luck I used a crank bait  and still nothing and the shad are everywhere so i go back to the rattletrap. still nothing so then it was getting a little dark because it was about to rain and then i used a spinnerbait i even tried throwing worms into the schools of shad but all failed. what should i have done to catch these fish ?

This time of the year most shad will still be small. It will be hard, but try and match a lure with the size of the shad.

If the bass are busting them on top use a tiny torpedo. If the bass are under the shad drop a tube with a jighead inside of it and let it spiral down. Use the tube like a soft jerkbait or try a floating worm. If that don't work dig deep in your box for a little george. Count it down to the depth you want then reel in or just let it fall then reel it up and let it fall again. It will helicopter down like a dying baitfish. Try a jigging spoon.

I had the same thing happen to me before.I only found one thing that worked though I don't think I tried the tube or the tiny torpedo,but the Sammy 100 by Lucky Craft did do the trick.Other spook baits worked but not as well as the sammy,

I always take live minnows with me and they always work. Most the time its the stripers hitting the shad though.

small spoon would work too

There is a lake near me that it dynomite! in the spring, but drops off quickly in the summer and into the fall.  When fishing there you can see shad floating all over the surface.  The general thought is that there are so many shad in the water that fish don't have to chase a bait to get fed.

On the other hand, I have fished at Lake of the Ozarks in the fall for white bass.  We find a windblown cove where the shad are schooled up and throw our in-line spinners into the school and retrieve them out.  The school will be so packed that you can feel your bait bumping the shad in the school.  Right after you stop feeling the bump, get ready.  It seems like the bass keep them corralled up in the cove and knock off the ones that try to escape.

Another thought is that I have caught LMB's and Spots on wacky rigged worms by jigging them in the schools of baitfish at Table Rock.  Usually the bass are holding just under the schools waiting for one to drop out.

You can try using shad to catch them.But if they are eating topwater you should take advantage. Topwater is some of the best fishing out there. A say try a popper or jitterbug. You could even try a buzzbait or spinnerbait across the top of the water.I think you should try a floating rapala first though.Probably a number 9 or 11 depending on how big the fish are your trying to catch.Try some of these and tell me if they work.

Although it is a tad rare, there will be times like this: downsize drastically - a lot of good ones have been mentioned: my favorite is a road runner.