I am trying to learn from rick clunns advice to study the mouse and not so much the owl...I would like to open this topic to any advice that anybody has about all the bait fish and critters that bass will feed on. some of the questions i have are;

1. bait fish spawning times, there growth rates and how it effects bass.(shad, bluegill, perch,trout,kokanee etc..)

2. what colors work best for these bait fish

3. what about carp minnows, will bass search out and feed on them...

Im sure i am missing alot, including crustacions and insects, So any advice or other good questions from everybody would be appreciated....If you know alot about one topic than please elaborate......

The mouse for me is shad, shad is the dominate bait/forage in 90% of all Texas lakes.     Theres so much you can say about shad and seasonal habits, gizzard or threadfin.

Gizzard shad often out grow bass that feed upon them.     Stripers were stocked in Texas lakes to control them since they grow 16-18 inches.   Appeareance is silver to white with very distinct forked tails.    Threadfins tails have a yellowish tint of color to them, thus the reason we dip our baits with a little chartruesse dye of some type.   A threadfins jaw extends past the snout where a gizzard shad is more blunt nose.    Both have the dot on the shoulder behind the gill.

Threadfin shad live primarily on microscopic plant and animal life, phytoplankton and zooplankton, which is why they are often found around rock riprap, bridge and dock pilings, and areas with gentle current where algae grows or is washed into the system. They are more surface-oriented than gizzard shad, and frequently move in huge schools just under the surface, sometimes migrating for miles each day.

It is now well-established that massive concentrations of threadfin shad seek shoreline cover each night. This cover can take the form of grass and moss beds, logjams, or even standing timber and brushpiles if that's all that's available. This cover provides them with some semblance of protection from predators like largemouth bass.

Early in the morning, generally shortly after dawn, the threadfin leave this shallow water cover for deeper haunts where they may disperse slightly for the balance of the midday period and early afternoon hours. The threadfin then re-group and return to the shallow water cover late in the afternoon, frequently by reversing the same exit route they used that morning.

Why is bass fishing good in shallow water early and late each day? The answer is because the shad have already moved in for the night, or have not left for the day. Why does the morning action frequently end just after the sun peeks over the trees? Because the shad have left and the bass are following, but not necessarily feeding on them.

Even more exciting, perhaps, is the knowledge or fact that if these "ambush points" can be identified, there's a good chance bass will attack them there again that evening when the threadfin migrate back through on their way back to the shallows.

What do you look for in a shad migration route? It's difficult to pinpoint anything precisely because much depends on the characteristics of the lake. Perhaps the best thing to do is immediately check any areas where you see and experience surface activity between bass and shad with a depthfinder to determine what's on the bottom. The shad may be following a ditch, small creek channel, or some other specific terrain feature you may then be able to backtrack to their nightly hideout.

When do shad migrations take place? Again, the answer depends on the lake as well as on their temperature driven spawning cycle. Threadfin shad spawn in shallow water coves from late April into July, depending on the surface water temperature. The optimum spawning water temperature is 68 degrees.

Threadfin shad grow rapidly - life expectancy is two to three years - and the migrations from shallow cover to open water tend to occur from late spring throughout the summer and well into autumn. Again, much depends on the lake; the amount and location of phytoplankton and zooplankton, and water temperature. Threadfin shad cannot tolerate cold temperatures and actually begin dying (winter kill) when the water reaches approximately 45 degrees.

Hookem

Matt

Excellent Matt  

This is exactly what needs to be understood by every angler not which rod is better, who's boat is smoother, do you have a Shimano or not.

You'll be lucky if 10% of the member of this web site understand this  :-?

Thanks matt for taking the time to type this up.... So is it safe to say that most baitfish will spawn roughly around the same time as bass?

I know that it is a good idea to match the size of the hatch generally throughout the season, so is there some sort of an idea on how fast a shad will grow throughout the season? and will shad die yearly if water temp drops below 45, and if not what will be the average size of the threadfin shad...thanks

Another question i have is why shad school up and travel, and what times of the year would be best to use a vertical type presentation for the bass feeding on the shad, and where are the best areas to look for this? thanks.

Shad do migrate to the shallows about the same time as a bass, but will spawn every 30-45 days throughout the summer.    If water warms up in the back of a creek before the main lake temps start to rise, shad will find the warmest water column on the lake.

The one of the most common baits used to mimic shad is the fluke or similar type bait.    Mature thread fin are on average 3-5 inches.    

The first shad to die will be the late spawn, the youngest in the school "if" the water gets down to that 45 degree mark.

Shad school up in tight bunches when preditory's are near.     A quality graph will show you tight balls of shad with fish near by that feeding.

Sometimes the best fishing you can do is just use your graph, no rods.   The more you graph things you know, the more you learn to decipher.

Such as:    take your boat to the launch ramp, what does cement ramps look like on your graph.     Look at the thickness of the bottom line on the graph, is it real thin or wide,   What do rock dams look like on the graph.    What does hydrilla or other vegitation look like on your screen.

When you parallel a bridge in passing, How long does it take the bridge piling to show up on screen as you pass them, and what do they look like extending up on screen.  Trees,  brush?

Learn what the graph is showing you by going to areas you know whats down there.    What does muddy bottoms graph like.    Learning these simple things can make you an excellant tracker by using the graph to take guess work out of potentially good areas.

Vertical presentations can be utilized all year.    

The biggest advice on tracking shad at this time of the year.

What areas have been good in the morning and evening in the shallows.    Theres something that draws the bass into the shallows, where its a brim spawn, shad, or crawl dad hatch, or something.       Wind is one of my biggest keys in the summer.    

 Steady southern winds stacks the planktons up on wind blown points and humps and other areas of similar.  

This is key because its what shad eat to survive.     We chase bass, bass chase shad, shad chase plankton, fairly simple food chain.   Planktons are controlled by wind currents.    Steady winds stack their food source up, and where theres bait, bass aren't far.

Matt

Matt,

How good of a graph do you recomend for being able to study the bait?  If I had $200 should I get one that will show me cover and structure, but maybee not bait or should I keep saving?

Curently, I have the Lowrance X85.    X 27c is coming in any day.    I think all graphs used properly give enough detail.     Learning to decipher what you see is very key.   Thats why I recommend learning to graph known objects first.

On graphs, I'd save enough money to have gps if you fish multiple lakes and deeper structures.    GPS eliminates those searches and lost time looking for one spot out in the middle.

Graphs have come along ways.    I choose the X27c over the 28c which comes with built in hard drive.   Why?   With the 27, it comes with latest Navonics /lake maps already down loaded, thus, why should I create or have a need to upload anything.

Next, the pixel count means clarity, the more pixels, the better the picture.     If  GPS, Color, Navonics isn't a concern, then Pixel count is the most important feature in my book on getting the best graph for your dollar.    The more pixels, the beter the picture.

A good graph should show you the whole picture, and it doesn't have to cost alot, bait, structure, temps, and fish.

Matt

What about lakes that don't have shad like up here in Northern Idaho? Great information for those who wanted the info though

Excellent post Matt I never fail to learn when I come to this forum its guys like you that make learning enjoyable.

Thanks, I appreciate that, but its alot of input from alot of the guys around here.   I learn bits and pieces also.

Your best source for info for Idaho is the state wildlife biologist or some experienced anglers who are willing to share.

Matt

If one truly wants to learn how to consistently catch both numbers & big bass there are 3 things you must learn above every thing else.

#1 Finding & understanding structure

#2 Understanding bait fish behavior

#3 Understanding bass behavior

If you don't understand these 3 you are destine to be an average angler at best  

Great article Matt and right on the money. Find the bait and you will find the bass         Bud