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| I have been focusing on a few small lakes which hold (from what I have read) 4-5 schools of gizzard shad. We have been lucky and bumped into them on occasion and found multiple muskies working them. Often we are only "on" the schools for a short time before they get away from us. Rarely do we see any surface activity from these schools so it is hard to determine which direction they are headed. Once we find a school, how do we determine its direction in an attempt to move with it? |
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| Over the years Ive found that ciscoes, and for the purpose of this answer Ill presume it to be true for gizard shad, tend to follow certain predictable routes around a lake. Further they will start a movement on these routes in a semi-predictable time frame.On our clear water lakes one of the main movements will be at moonrise and another at dusk if the two dont coincide. Once you determine this route and general time frame you are in business. The routes generally seem to circle the main "bowl" or "bowls" of the lake staying off shore structure but related to certain elements of it.Surface activity usually means predation from game fish below the school-They are not jumping for the excersize.If no surface activity is happening Ill usually use a vexilar type locator and/or camera to try to find the school. Running your baot directly into the school can spook these schools and they seem to disappear. Fish the edges of the schools rather than tossing directly into them.The "injured straggler" look to your lure choice is key.If your not sure of these routes search with the tools above several times before fishing-The reseach will definately pay off as these routes and general time frames are so predictable that on my lakes I dont need to see them on a locator or otherwise-I know the schools are there . |
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| Once you have located a school of baitfish, I personally don't think you need to stay right on top of them. Fish the school like you would a piece of structure. The muskies are going to target the stragglers. Finding the school is the big ticket. Once you have located it, work the general area in a large radius and at varying depths. If there are muskies there and they are feeding, you will see them. If you can't troll, I would fan cast the general area quickly. If you don't have any action, move on. Stop back and check out the vacinity again to see if the baitfish are still stacked up.
If you can troll, I would make several passes through the area. Again, if you don't have any action in a short period of time, I generally move on and come back again later just to see if the baitfish are still stacked up in the vacinity. |
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| I had the best succes when I motored the boat away from the school and started trolling or casting when there were no longer fish on the depthfinder. So outside the school of fish. PIke/muskie don't lie right in the middle of the school of baitfish, they follow around it. |
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| A trick we use for rockfish(stripers) might just work for skis also..often times we will let the bait sink deeper below the bait as the bigger fish seem to be under or deeper around the shad...just a thought! Also they will "herd" the gizzards to a flat or steep bank or cut + feed heavily....they do seem to follow pretty much a standard route + will follow the wind driven planton produced from the sun. Like 7 island said they seem to hang around channels etc....
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