Late April can be a tough time when a lot of the big female largemouth bass have dropped their eggs and are in that dreaded transition from spawn to post- spawn, and anglers hit the lake expecting to battle “lockjaw.”
That’s not necessarily the case at lakes with a very strong shad population, like Flint Creek Water Park near Wiggins.
According to bass pro Mike DelVisco, bass in shad-heavy lakes often skip the post-spawn recovery period and immediately start feeding heavily to rebuild their fat reserves.
“A lot of anglers have a hard time adjusting when bass come off the beds, but a little understanding of what’s going on under the surface can get you on some good fish,” said the South Carolina angler who represents Texas Roadhouse on the BASS Open Series. “Just look for fish to be suspended out off sandy rocky points in the areas where threadfin shad come in to do their thing.”
DelVisco prefers to cast a shallow-diving crankbait to mimic the frenzied shad as they head to the bank for their spawn. He sees that as a window of opportunity.
“Most of the time, hitting the shad spawn is a daylight bite,” he explained, “especially in a clear-water lake. Right at first light, the shad will be on the banks spawning and the bass are right behind them. Sometimes you get bites for an hour, and on some days two (hours), but once the sun gets up, it’s pretty much over and time to go find another pattern.”
Cloudy or windy days that block out sunlight may extend the action during the shad spawn but don’t expect to get much action if you aren’t on the water at first light or late in the afternoon just before the sun goes down.
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