How to find Shad bank fishing?

Hey everyone,

After watching more videos by the great Mr. Richard Gene he always preaches that the way to locate crappie on any body of water is to find the shad, their main forage….however, how in the heck do I do that bank fishing? Theirs a few coves and creek arms off the main lake I’ll fish that look like perfect crappie habitat but I won’t catch a single fish. I’m assuming because theirs no baitfish around….so how do I eliminate these dead water areas and find the shad that the crappie follow to be more on the fish? I get the sense without electronics it’s basically impossible.

At times birds will be preying on shad when they are on the surface.

:hesaid

Usually while the birds are diving the fish will be crashing them from below. I see it sometimes in the middle of the river from the bridge on my way home from work.

It is all well and good to look for shad but there are other things you can do also. Google Maps is your friend. From 2004-2015 I was bank bound. I used Google maps to scout for bank fishing spots that might hold crappie. I found many that I would go and check out. If after fishing spots several times and it did not produce I moved on to other spots. I found many spots that produced tons of crappie. Some of those spots are bays…bridges. Even though I got back into boat fishing in 2015 many of those spots were so good I continue to bank fish them to this day. Two of my spots are an 85 mile drive one way. In fishing these places for almost 18 years they still produce tons of fish. It is rare I do a crappie fishing post on the forum. If you check out my YouTube channel “TroutMagnetMan” you can see what one of these spots look like. If you watch some of the bridge videos you will notice in nearly all of them I am the only person there. There are tons of these places out there and Google Maps will help you find them. I still use Google Maps to help me find places to fish not only from the bank but from the boat also. Check out this screenshot from Google Maps…this is a huge bluegill bedding area. Just pulled up the coordinates and went right to it…and yes the bluegill bed there every year.

Regards
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Google Earth is a very good scouting resource

herons often give up where the baitfish are close to the bank , electronics in a boat help , but off the bank it is a totally different venue .
reliance on the old school methods of ketchn often include , facing the wind ,the bank fishing birds do .....just saying
flickering on the surface often gives up the shad as well , let mother nature guide you .....
the real world and its natural splendor is a good thing :highfive

In addition to looking for the birds, I also search the bank for overhanging branches that will provide shade and small bugs that fall in the water, bridge pilings I can reach, laydowns with multiple branches in the water or vegetation close to the shore that I can reach by casting to it. Baitfish use these places for shade and shelter.

When you find these places, use a weighted slip float to increase your casting distance, put some "Slab Sauce" on your offering and go catch your supper. Have confidence in your presentation. Use 1/16th ounce jig heads or #4 hooks for Crappie. Use 1/64th or #8 hooks for Bluegill or Bream with your offering.

Get your Hot Sauce and your Hush Puppies ready and feed your family. You will bring home dinner.

Here is the proof. You can catch Crappie from the bank. Believe in yourself, your lure, and your ability.

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