Finding flat areas is fairly easy with the great electronic mapping available to today’s anglers. Hackney runs a Garmin unit on his Phoenix boat and can quickly look for areas with flat contours.
“The shad will be right on top of the high spots, but flat areas are key,” he said. “Finding them is easy to see on a good map.”
So how shallow does Hackney fish this time of year? The answer may surprise some.
“It can be as shallow as 10-inches or less and if the shad are there, the bass will be with them,” said the Louisiana pro. “They are only up there to eat and are usually pretty active, if you can find them during one of those feeding windows.”
LURE SELECTION FOR THE FALL DRAWDOWN
There are many different lures that will work when bass are active and feeding on shad up shallow, but
Hackney does have some favorites. Topwater baits allow him to quickly cover water and also prevent him from getting hung up in super-shallow water.
“I use a Strike King Sexy Dawg as well as the Jr. size,” he said. “It just depends on the size of the baitfish I am seeing.”
Other top picks for shallow shad eaters are soft plastic jerkbaits like a Strike King Caffeine Shad, spinnerbaits and small swimbaits.
“A shallow square bill crankbait will work at times, but if they are really shallow it will just get hung up too much,” he added. “Spinnerbaits and small swimbaits are great, if you have a little wind; because you can cover a lot of water, looking for active fish.
Hackney will also have a wacky-rig ready to go for when things slow down. “If the shad are in a wad up shallow, there will be bass around them,” he said. “I know they are right there, they just may not be active right then. You can often throw a worm around the shad and pick up a few more bass.”
FALL 2017
31