Get out for some bass fishing when the sun comes up, and chances are good anywhere you go in April that you’ll capitalize on the shad spawn just like the bass are doing.
To trigger bites, Gerald Spohrer of Gonzales turns to spinnerbaits made by Delta Lures.
“You could throw a spinnerbait in just about any state, especially in Louisiana — Toledo Bend around docks, Verret around cypress trees. The biggest way to find the shad spawn is to look for the white birds,” Spohrer said.
The time to take advantage of the shad spawn is when night turns to day. Get out early, he advises, because the bulk of the shad spawn is winding down then.
After sunrise, Spohrer said, “You’ll be catching feeding fish capitalizing on the shad spawn. It’s pretty much true wherever you go in the country.”
Spohrer, who is on the Major League Fishing Pro Tour, said his favorite spinnerbait has carried him in many contests.
“I use Delta Lures because they’re local guys in Louisiana,”Spoher said. “They’re built locally, and it’s got a good hook in it. I just know every component in it is quality. (It) is as good as you could possibly make a spinnerbait. A buddy said, ‘What’s good about it?’ I said, ‘What’s wrong with it?’ “
Spohrer uses a white, 3/8-ounce bait most of the time. He also likes the combination of a gold willow-leaf blade and a silver Colorado blade. If he’s in clear water, he chooses double willowleaf blades “a lot.”
Sometimes, he adds a soft-plastic trailer, depending on water conditions. It helps during the shad spawn, he believes, to hide a “stinger” hook, because often, during the shad spawn the “bass hit it and play with it like a mouse, with the intention of killing it and not eating it.”
Spohrer, 38, fishes spinnerbaits on a 7-foot-3 Offshore Angler Sea Lion MH rod. He likes to use fluorocarbon because it’s more sensitive, usually 15-pound Seagaur Abrazx. If he’s fishing boat docks and piers, especially during the shad spawn, he goes to 17- or 20-pound test. His reel of choice when casting the spinnerbait is a 7:3 ratio Quantum Smoke. Why?
“I want it to be fast, but if you get too fast of a reel, it can be annoying,” he said.
