SHADS FOR BASS

[pecheur]

Need a few tips on using shads for bass, lot of talk about them, ie: 3 inch blue shads-even i think the 2 inch, so anyone out there use them, so is it just a flowing trace, how would you use them over a wreck, can you use them over a reef, rate of retreave, etc, be glad of any info.

Thanks Graham

[danglers]

Shads are excellent for catching bass. You need a minimum of 6-12 feet (10 feet is probably best) of 15-25lb mono (preferably fluorocarbon). Attach that to a quality swivel, either attached to a french boom or longish anti-tangle boom with a suitable weight and away you go. The key to fishing with shads is the speed of retrieve, sometimes you need to wind slowly, sometimes fast, sometimes a fast retrieve with a pause works. Colour is important also, and this will depend on tidal conditions, weather conditions and depth. Try and use the Jelltex shads as they last longer, although they still won`t last forever! Light Blue always works well for me, as well as orange, black and silver.

Like everything else in wreck fishing the closer you dare to get to the wreck, the more likely you are to catching a decent fish, but also the more likely you are to losing the lot!!!

There not much difference over a reef, but you can afford to be a bit more daring, as you are less likely to snag up. Personally I like to catch fish and I always go for it. I tend to lose more tackle than most, but then I tend to catch more.

Experiment with colours and you will find a pattern emerges, orange in morning, black at noon, blue in afternoon, etc.

Always make sure your drag is set correctly, as when they hit your shad, they tend to hit hard.

Hope this helps.

[squidlips]

pecheur said:

Need a few tips on using shads for bass, lot of talk about them, ie: 3 inch blue shads-even i think the 2 inch, so anyone out there use them, so is it just a flowing trace, how would you use them over a wreck, can you use them over a reef, rate of retreave, etc, be glad of any info.

Thanks Graham

over wrecks use a live pout or mack.
otherwise danglers is spot on

[phish]

Blue or Pearl, my preference is Pearl storm 3".
Over wrecks in deep water I would not normally go shorter than 8 feet of trace more like 10 - 12.
Bass will sometimes feed quite a long way above the wreck and if the drift is fairly fast, I've found that fishing the shad 5 turns up and left still without retrieving can out fish any retrieve speed and it certainly cuts down on the losses. Not convinced that there is any benefit to Fluoro provided that you use a clear, not white mono.

[pecheur]

Great lots of info thanks, danglers, and squid thanks for the live baiting tip, am i right in thinking bass hit a larger live bait twice, the first to stun it, 2nd dinner time, do you need to give line on the on the first hit

Graham

[squidlips]

when you feel the first hit i pay out some line 30 or 40 feet,then when that tightens just lean into the fish.
you will be amazed at how big a live bait a bass will take

[sharkey+ jnr]

Or try a JENSEN 10oz pirk ( blue and silver + green and silver) nice smooth FAST wind

PS if the pollack are get them your not winding fast enough ......... try um

[reelbargains]

You can jig weighted shads vertically in shallow water too. I use 8lb braid and prefer the weighted shads that have a treble at the bottom. Let the lure out until it hits bottom. Quickly give it a couple of turns to get it away from danger. Then flick it aggressively up and let it sink back down. (I don't think you can be too aggressive with it as long as you're in control) When you feel the weight of the lure again repeat the process. I don't think you're necessarily trying to make the lure look natural. I think you're just trying to draw attention to the lure and appeal to the aggression/territorial nature of the predator.
Last thing I caught with this approach was a nice Cuttlefish! He was so sure it was a real fish he held on right the way to the surface where we netted him. Still have the lure here somewhere with a beak shaped piece missing from the belly!
This is great fun to try when you reach slack tide at shallower venues. Your line needs to be pretty much straight down to make the most of the action.

Great fun on the light gear! ;D

[reelbargains]

Sorry, can't remember the make of this lure.

[phish]

reelbargains said:

Sorry, can't remember the make of this lure.

IMHO you dont be wanting the treble if you are over wrecks, asking for snagging the metalwork.

[reelbargains]

Yep agreed, I wouldn't use one of these in the accepted sense - on a trace, with a lead - but if you are using them in shallow water, with braid, and direct on the end of the line (no lead) you can feel what is going on and keep out of danger, and if you do get a not impossible snag, because the lure has its own weight you can normally bounce it out the snag. You will ofcourse lose the odd one, but as someone else wrote, you need to be in the danger zone to catch.

[scotty]

great info, i must give this ago ;D

[pecheur]

Thanks everyone, for all the input.
Graham

[brmbrm]

For your info, a mate in NZ emailed recernly to say they have started using soft baits much more out there:

"The soft plastics we mostly use are 'jerk shads' (Berkely Gulp brand) in a weird array of colours (lime, pink, green) - and names (nuclear chicken, lime tiger, pink shine).

"I have caught fish on the squid, worm and crab versions also, but anything with a bit of 'wiggle' seems to attract the most attention. People here are even catching snapper on snake and lizard imitations - go figure...

"There seem to have been a lot of John Dory caught on the soft baits - and of course hooking kahawai, kings etc is also pretty common on the soft plastics. Interestingly gurnard also seem prepared to chase after them, which is not a bad thing...."

Ah, those were the days - more and bigger.

[codlingchaser]

hey guys
do shads work of piers/
walton pier is supposed to be a bass hotspot, what do you advice??
all help will be great
cheers
neil