We are at one of the greatest times of the year to catch both smallmouth and largemouth bass. Water temps are dropping and bass are schooling up. Shad are moving and migrating back to the creeks that feed most lakes and the bass are targeting them. So this is when a lot of the shad baits are working like suspending jerkbaits, A-Rigs, crankbaits, swimbaits and of course spinnerbaits.

Shad Bait Wins

The nice thing about all these baits is that they are power fishing baits: just chuck them out and reel them back. These lures allow you to cover a lot of water and fish in the wind, rain, sleet, and snow without having to sit still and wait for a bite. I hope you caught that, we need to cover a lot of water this time of year. "Here today gone tomorrow" is what you hear all the time. Fish are moving so these lures allow you to take advantage of that. Sleep in a little, this is the time of year you can take your time getting on the water. Some days it takes a little sun on the water to fire them up.

So don’t put your stuff away yet, pick up a few of these shad bait fish catching lures and get out there and experience why we call it the best time of year to fish. Good luck and happy catchin'!

Our Recommendations at SFT

Spinnerbaits: War Eagle Screaming Eagle
The Screaming Eagle is a 1/2oz compact hidden head design with smaller #4 blades. This bait allows you to cast it far and burn it back faster and not have it roll over. We use Gold Shiner in cloudy to stained water and Mouse in clear water but in the fall we do use the painted blades in Chartreuse and white. Remember to vary your speed and add in some twitches to find out what they can’t resist.

Crankbaits: Spro Aruku Shad
The Aruku Shad has that great fish catching sound different than a lot of the other rattling baits out there. Also the nose down angle helps with its snag proof ability and will save you when fishing the Susquehanna river rock ledges. Fishing it on a stop and start retrieve is most effective this will ensure good contact with the bottom. Our favorite color and size is Perch and Black back Gold in the 75 size 5/8oz. but don’t forget the ever deadly chrome blue.

Jerkbaits: Megabass Vision 110
The Vision 110 is hands down the best finesse jerkbait on the market. Finesse meaning it is more effective with light twitches and dead sticking than real fast power techniques. We will often pause 6 to 8 seconds between jerks, most of the time we get bit on that pause.

The other big benefit is its cast ability, this bait really carries on the cast and cuts the wind like a bullet. Tennessee Shad , Ito Waggisaki and Stain Reaction are among the favorite colors.

Swimbaits: Strike King Rage Swimmer
Weather fished single or on the a-Rig, the Rage Swimmer will produce. Fishing with a steady retrieve is as good as any. The sexy shad and the pearl are the most popular colors, size down when conditions get tough. Match the weight jig head to the depth of the water and the position of the bait in the water column. If the bait is on the bottom you may have to go with a bigger head to get down and stay down.

A-Rigs: Picasso School-E-Rig Bait Ball
The Picasso A-Rig is the most friendly out there. They have a color and size for every situation and are available with or without blades. The School-E-Rig Jr is my favorite but I carry the regular School-E-Rig for that more spread out look. Add the bait ball for the most aggressive look, there will be days where the blades make a big difference and you will be sorry if you don’t have one. Keep a steady retrieve when fishing these rigs. As with the swimbait fish it where the bait is located in the water column.