ok, first off, newbie here. well, to the forum at least. love the site! ok, so ive got a problem: there is a small private lake that i fish a lot, about 100 acres. now, i know there is a really good population of largemouth, REALY healthy, REALLY fat. but, this lake is also filled with gizzard shad. recently, i went out on a night trip, and shad are busting everywhere on the bank, pretty much all over the lake. ive threw just about everything, spinners, shallow cranks, buzzbaits, ect. and failed to hook up. ive even tried live shad, no luck. any tips on situations like this? i know for a fact that the bass are chasing these shad, because while castnetting for shad i managed to cathch a very chunky 3 pounder. sorry for being so long winded, just thought id ask here!

-jeff

Welcome aboard!

Ignore the shad and fish what you like. All the big water in the Mid-South is chuck full of gizzard shad, skipjack and our #1 baitfish, threadfin (yellowtail). I wouldn't  try to immitate them, but offer an alternative.

8-)

Agreed, ignore the shad and fish your confidence baits.  If it were me I would just make sure all the baits I used were white.

 I would just make sure all the baits I used were white.

I disagree with the this. Most baitfish have a little chartruse. Don't be afraid to tie on different colors. Mix it up a little. Bass love gizzard shad. It's the southern trout. Go out one day with just an 8 inch swimbait and see what happens. But go ahead and fish what you have confidence in.

thanks for all the input guys. you know, i didnt find out shad were in there until this year. last year, i used a little lure that caught me a lot of fish, a rapala minnow rap. this year, ive tried everthing but it. mostly noisy baits, u know, buzzbaits, colorado blade spinners, ect. came up with nothing. are shad a "noisy" fish? im thinkin i should throw a more finnesse bait. maybe thats why i caught so many last year,  ;D

When fishing at night and the shad are floppin', I am in a mindset that the shad are moving a lot of water and I need to do that with my bait also. Try a Thunderstick and reel it just fast enough that it rattles real good and its "waking" right under the surface....parallel with the bank is best (if the shad are near the bank) And dont be afraid to run it along in 2 inches of water banging it against the rocks.

Another thing to try is a big deep crank (Poe's 400, DD22) but you just reel it a few times so it gets down only a foot or two, let it float back up, then repeat.

Another two baits that come to mind are a jig w/ a rattle and a 10" + plastic worm. On my local lake that is filled with shad, the bass will bust a few shad and retreat to the bottom for a minute or two, thats when the bottom baits will get you a bite.

These are suggestions for fishing around shad at night.....daytime is a little different. Don't catch 'em all.

Another thing to try is a big deep crank (Poe's 400, DD22) but you just reel it a few times so it gets down only a foot or two, let it float back up, then repeat.

I like that.  I'll use this theory in the saltwater this yr when the big fat stripers are hunkered down below the boiling schoolies.  Can't hurt to try, thanks Scott.

And WELCOME ABOARD Kentucky!!

thanks five.bass.limit, ill have to try that next time i go. the weird thing is, i randomly have a norman dd 22, i might have found a good use for it after all, lol and thanks low budget hooker, im glad i found this site!

Welcome! Try a wacky worm    lol.  Or a shakey head.  You might not catch the biggest fish in the lake but you will probably catch something!