What is the best time to fish for shad?
spring
Fish in the spring and summer. Shad spend their autumns and winters in the ocean, so the best time to fish them is during the spring and summer, when they return to the rivers for much easier access. Most people begin fishing shad in April and May.
How do you get shad in Durban?
Look for deep water behind and around sandbanks. La Lucia wreck is another popular destination and can yield Shad during winter and spring. Pay a visit to the Grannies Pool for some deep water. Fishing around Newsell Rocks and Bellamont Rock can get your bags filled in no time.
What is the best bait to catch shad?
The most common shad bait is a small jig known as a shad dart. Shad darts have a fairly light lead head, usually with a tail made of feathers, marabou or tinsel. Most of the small jigs commonly used for crappie and bluegill can also be used to catch shad.
What size hooks for shad?
Set your rod up with 6- to 12-pound test and use lures or hooks around a 1 or a 1/0 size. In most waters, shad tend to hold in the slow- to mid-flow sections and are going to be hanging out a bit deeper when it’s light out.
What kind of lures do shad like?
Here is the list of my top 10 baits to throw during the shad spawn.
- #1 – Spinnerbait. The spinnerbait is the best.
- #2 – Swim Jig. I love a white swim jig here.
- #3 – Swimbait. This is a 4” to 7” size tail thumping swim bait.
- #4 – Finesse Swim Bait.
- #5 – Hollow Frog.
- #6 – Shallow Crankbait.
- #7 – Buzzbait.
- #8 – Chatterbait.
Do shad eat worms?
Many anglers would picka favorite crankbait, jig, spinner or other artificial lure. Others mightselect live worms, crawdads or shiners. I suggest you consider shad.
Will shad bite a hook?
Shad have paper thin sides of their mouths so you’ll usually lose them when you hook a fish there. The ones they stay on are the shad that are hooked through the top of the jaw. A lot of times, the hook point will go through the top of the fish’s nose and poke out.