Summer Shad Location

I decided to do seasonal write-ups rather then a long write-up on shad movement throughout the year.

On a lot of lakes we fish, particularly highland lakes, bass feed predominatly upon bait fish. The term "find the bait, find the bass" is often used and it is true statement. As hot weather sets in and lake temperatures rise, bait fish such as shad break into two main groups. At points and creek mouths and offshore in mid channel. Both these groups are feeding on algae.

The shad schools which form off points and creek mouths usually stay at the level of the thermocline either on the structure or suspended up to 50 yrd. offshore. They will move up and down the water column depending on algae, water temp, and surrounding predator fish. The bait schools are usually small groups and their will be several schools in the area. It is easy to see if small schools are being preyed upon as they will form a ball on your electronics. If there is no feeding activity on your screen, it is time to move on.

Shad schools which form in mid channel tend to be large to huge. I have seen shad schools the size of a football field. These schools are not always at the level of the thermocline. The depth is usually 20-45 ft. and sometimes deeper. The thing to remember when fishing these schools is " if there is enough oxygen for the shad school, there is enough for bass". Don't let the thermocline rule stop you from fishing the school. Use your electronics to find the bass. Smaller bass, often in schools, will be to the sides of the shad schools; larger bass, being lazy feeders, will be underneath the shad schools. As the smaller bass feed, stunned bait will fall through to the larger bass underneath the school. If you wondered where the big mommas went after the spawn, it is usually to mid channel schools.

Some bait fish always remain shallow but the most consistent fishing is with the deeper bait schools. There is a write-up on how to fish the mid channel schools in the forum blog.

 

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