This is an interesting one and probably one of the most misunderstood bait species we have in the north. As a bass fisherman, I believe some of that confusion stems from the role shad play in the food chain in most southern lakes. All the Bassmaster articles I read growing up really centered around southern fishing and the word shad was on repeat throughout. Given my interest in science, I was aware that we didn’t have shad populations in the natural lakes I grew up fishing. But it was pretty common to hear people talk about the “bass over there eating shad”, no matter what lake we were on. Then there’s always the “threadfin shad” talk. Temperatures are limiting for both species but threadfins cannot survive in Michigan waters. A common misconception is that if the shad are small then they are “threadfin shad”.

It’s inconclusive whether gizzard shad were native to the Great Lakes or expanded via the connections of rivers and canals. It’s also thought that various warm water discharges around the Great Lakes helped expand their populations. Cold temperatures often cause shad die offs and those places provided thermal refuge in winter and ideal conditions to thrive other times of the year. They’ve also found their way into a few inland lakes in Michigan (Belleville Lake). Locally they are a big part of the food chain from White Lake in Whitehall and every river or drowned river mouth lake to the south. I cannot speak to the lakes from Ludington on north but I am sure they are part of the food chain there too, although likely because of the cooler temperatures aren’t as abundant.

So what is a gizzard shad? In the early stages of life they are a small silvery fish with a distinctive dot behind their gill plate. The dot often fades as they get larger and they have a small mouth relative to their size. Mouth size is a very easy way to tell an alewife and a gizzard shad apart in Michigan waters. They are the 2 easiest bait fish species to confuse in West Michigan. You’ll also notice that gizzard shad have a rounded face. They filter feed by using their gill rakers to concentrate prey so you’ll notice they are always on the move. I’ve mostly observed phytoplankton in gizzard shad stomachs but zooplankton are a common food item too. The diets of young fish are often composed entirely of zooplankton.

I have seen some huge gizzard shad, in the 18-20 inch range. One funny story about big shad, during a tournament several years ago on Lake Macatawa. My tournament partner hooked a fish on a squarebill. I scooped that fish up in the net along with 2 big shad that were swimming with the hooked bass. I don’t really know how to explain that one but you can see them in the picture and that bass is over a 14 inch keeper. Usually they are much smaller than that, especially when predators really key in on them. The cycle we see most in West Michigan is that they usually become a really important prey item sometime in August. Like any baitfish the most abundant age class is the YOY (young of year). Usually sometime in August these YOY gizzard shad grow big enough to capture the attention of largemouth and smallmouth bass. Often getting trapped in shallow weedy areas and repeatedly ambushed. It can provide some amazing topwater fishing but it can also be one of the most frustrating events to watch. I’ve seen it several times where there are bass blowing up on these small 1 to 2 inch shad everywhere, yet I cannot get a bite. They can get so dialed into to eating them that it can be almost impossible to fool them with artificial lures. This trend of YOY shad being really important will continue on into the fall until the ice comes.

The YOY shad aren’t just hanging out in the shallow weeds or areas with current flow. The channels connecting the drowned river mouth lakes to Lake Michigan and the open waters of Lake Michigan near the harbors are full of them too. This is more of an opportunity for walleyes and then cold water species like brown trout, steelhead, and lake trout. Lakers especially are really keying in on the shad buffet that time of year and provide an awesome angling opportunity if it is calm enough to get out there.

Obviously other year classes of shad are a prey item until they outgrow predators as well. Their large size presents an opportunity to utilize big baits like glidebaits but it is just not as easy to identify times of when that might be effective. You just don’t notice big schools of them like you do the small and abundant YOY fish. You also won’t notice big schools shad once the ice comes off again in the spring time. I suspect one reason for that is that winter temperatures are hard on them. Die offs are common in cold water and the fish that survived will power the coming years boom of small shad.

All that being said if you fish the Great Lakes or connecting waters, you should pay attention to the gizzard shad.

Featured