Fall Shad Migration Signals New Pattern

[Fishaholic]

During Fall the shad migrations begin - thousands of shad will be found cruising the shorelines...this signals the time to be fishing close to shores with good wind current (lakes) or nearby sandbars (rivers) from early evening to early morning for walleye, near any type of timber near backwater openings or feeder creek openings for bass and northerns during the day.

Crank baits, and dressed spoons are usually the best bait choices at this time, although an in-line spinner like the Snagless Sally, or even a large Mepps spinner can be deadly too.

[daygo140]

I found inline spinner baits and buzz baits from Rolling Thunder Lures' produce more fish in the livewell for me.

[Fishaholic]

Remember guys, this is a forum for shorefishermen...so tell me, how many have witnessed firsthand this migration?

I remember one late October while staying at Osage Beach in a 3 story condo on Lake of the Ozarks that I was told not to bother getting a license because no one was getting any fish to speak of...so, while I was looking out over the lake, I noticed what looked like an oil slick moving into the finger we were staying on...once I realized that it was a giant school of shad, I jumped in the car, drove to the nearest bait shop and got my license...again they owner there told me it was a waste of good money, they weren't hitting. Boy was he wrong! I pulled out one of my 1/4 oz. tube insert jigs and inserted it into a salt n pepper 4" BPS tube and tied it on to some fresh 4 lb. test Berkley XL clear line on my medium light rod...I cast it right on top of the school of shad, but it didn't sink too well, so I had to kind of jiggle it until finally, it dropped below the school of fish...and as soon as it did, I'd get an instantaneous strike!

In a matter of approximately 2 hours fishing, I caught and released probably 30 nice bass - no giants, but every one of em between 12 - 16 inches...and, I caught somewhere in the area of a dozen crappies in the 14-16" range - those I kept for a nice dinner!

The next day, the shad were still stacked up in that finger and I caught a couple of nice fish in the 4-6 lb. range and another nice mess of slab crappies...put em on ice and drove down to the bait shop to show the owner what I caught (I was leaving the next day, so it really didn't matter). Told him where I was fishing and what I was doing and using and asked him politely not to divulge that information until after 2 p.m. the following day (when I'd be leaving). Guess he was pretty grateful to have the information, because that evening and the following morning I still had all that great fishing to myself...but at 1:30 p.m. there must have been 2 dozen boats heading into that finger on both sides working parallel to the shoreline, just as I had told the proprietor I was doing.

Fall shad migrations = great fishing...timing is everything!

[Creel Limit Zero]

I've never done this myself, but I watched a show on how to catch large striped bass in large impoundments by casting from windswept shores at night with crank baits that resembled the shad in the impoundments.  They said how the stripers go mad in the fall at night on those wind swept shorelines.  Also said they are facing the shore line, so if you can get on a boat and cast up to the shore and toward the boat, you would take the bait into them, instead of past them.  Also said casting from shore was good too, but to try and cast parallel to the shore and keep vary the retrieving speeds, and distance from shore.  Also mentioned, that stripers do not attack any bait that is below them, only above them or at the same level.  Guess it has to do with how in their natural environment, they swirl around the schools of bait fish, force them to the top water column and then start feeding.  That's why you always see diving seagulls in the Chesapeake Bay in the fall, they are forcing the bait fish to the top of the water and the gulls are eating all the fish parts and dead fish that didn't survive the feeding frenzy.  I plan on making some trips out at night this fall and giving it a try.     

[Lipripper]

Fish I have seen the same thing on Lake Shelbyville both in the spring and in the fall. We were Crappie fishing though but we would find them big school of shad like you were talking about and there would be at least 100 to 200 Gulls with them . We would find the tember or stump fields right off the river channle and catch our limit of Crappie in about 1 hr. useing shad colored Bass Assesions. Works everytime