Sorry , I was offline... just so happens the shad are hold overs from last year and they are big... So, size your bates accordingly.... A Zara Spook would have worked but I have found a bait that is heavier and casts further(mirrolure top dog or top pup(red and white mirrored side))... I don't like getting to close to these fish because they spook so easily(although they can come right up on you and that is fine... just don't plow into them).
Just so happened on this day(fri morn) there was little preasure in the area... there were 4 or 5 boats but they knew to keep the distance. This allowed the wiper to make return trips... the wipers would surface about every 10 minutes or so and they did that for about and hour and a half. When the wipers go down I then jig with a soft bait again sizing to the shad. This helps pass the time between the top water action. Plus you do catch fish because the fish and the shad are still in the area.
As I said earlier, i had seen the shad coming out of the water and they were big... I pulled a 6 '' shad out of the 12 lbr.... There are plenty of these fish to go around just be curtious and quite and you will hav your turn... it is to much of a blast not to share... hope this helps...
