Specific targets vary lake to lake, but Christie’s generally looking for hard cover.
May 08, 2025
By David A. Brown
Man, what a bummer when you hear of a killer party, but you take a wrong turn, bungle your directions and end up missing all the fun.
Jason Christie likens this to a shad spawn, the early morning festivities that can literally make your day — if you understand the wheres and whens.
“You can get right in a hurry,” said the Bassmaster Elite Series standout from Oklahoma. “Shad spawns have become one of my favorite times to fish because, if you find the right little stretch, you can start your day off really good.
“There’s always fish doing other things, but if you’re fishing the shad spawn, it can be tough to catch up if you miss it that morning.”
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In an effort to help anglers dial in their shad spawn game plan, Christie points out a handful of key considerations.
Early Birds Shad spawn overnight, so anglers launching at safe light generally catch the tail end of this reproductive activity. Christie knows he has to hustle, as this deal usually ends about an hour after sunrise.
Habitat Preference Specific targets vary lake to lake, but Christie’s generally looking for hard cover. This comes in varying degrees of rigidity, but the shad will do their thing with some type of solid backdrop.
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“It may be rocky banks, riprap, boat docks; I’ve seen them spawn in water willow and shallow grass,” he said. “What’s weird is you’ll go to one lake that has docks, but the shad don’t spawn there; they spawn on the rocks. Then the next place, they spawn on docks.
“It’s kind of like bass — the shad have their preferred structure at every lake. But anything hard that they can move shallow on can hold a shad spawn.
Christie has come to favor the Covert Finesse double willow-leaf model in the white/silver scale color way. Location Logic Nature relies on environmental cues and shad ensure their reproductive viability by staging their spawns during optimal water temperatures.
“There will be areas of the lake that’s farther along, like the upper end of the lake typically gets warmer first, so the shad typically will spawn up there earlier,” Christie said. “Just like bass, they follow that water temperature.”
Geographically, Christie favors a lake’s east side, because of sun angles.
“That’s where the sun comes up and it gives you a little more time to fish the shad spawn because of the shade line,” he said. “If you’re on the other side of the lake, it seems like lickity split, it’s over.
“Also, if the wind blows really south on Tuesday and you’re fishing on Wednesday, you might look on those north banks because a lot of shad will get blown up there.”
The Extenders To that point, Christie said those cloudy, rainy mornings that dim the natural lighting allow shad more time to spawn. Like any situation, get while the gettin’s good, so if the little silver shards are still flickering, it’s game on.
Geography and landscapes also influence the shad spawn’s duration.
“The higher the taller the trees, the more shade you’re going to have and the longer it’s going to last,” Christie said.
Trust the Locals Nature operates on simple, yet dependable survival principles. Foremost is the fact that predators focus on concentrated feeding opportunities.
“Birds give away a shad spawn better than anything,” Christie said. “You can drive down the lake and whenever you see the birds, you know there’s something going on.
“The flying birds like seagulls and terns or wading birds like herons and (great egrets) work, but I like to see birds flying, sitting in the trees and walking the bank. You may have one bird every 100 yards, but if you see 10 birds on a 2-yard stretch, that’s probably a good spot to try.”
Best Baits for the Shad Spawn From his experience, Christie knows you can’t go wrong with a spinnerbait. A few years ago, he helped BOOYAH develop the Covert lineup, from which he’s come to favor the Covert Finesse double willow-leaf model in the white/silver scale color way.
“I like the profile, it’s really small and the blades are small,” Christie said. “A lot of times, the shad that spawn that time of year are a couple inches long.”
Other productive shad spawn baits: Shallow running squarebill, buzzbait, frogs, and a white swim jig.”
Those cloudy, rainy mornings that dim the natural lighting allow shad more time to spawn. The After Party For a parting tip, Christie warns against completely abandoning an area after the shad spawn ceases. Shad are unlikely to make a marathon move, so neither will the bass. You don’t have to commit the day to one bank, but poking around for another 30 minutes or so might connect you with a fish that’s still in breakfast mode.
“When it’s over, those fish will hang around those same areas,” Christie said. “They’re harder to catch because they’ve been (focused) on that shad spawn.”
The key is transitioning from baits that run higher in the water column to those the reach progressively deeper. Christie’s go-tos include deeper running crankbaits, jigs or Texas-rigged soft plastics.
“They just lose that (aggressive mood) after the shad spawn ends,” Christie said. “They know they don’t have to feed all day because they know the next night same thing is gonna happen again and it’s just too easy for them to get up there and trap them on the bank and eat.
“It’s almost like a current deal; that shad spawn triggers those fish to get up there and eat.”
