There are many ways to fish a SteelShad, it is one of the most versatile lures ever designed. A SteelShad can be fished at any depth, and it will catch a wide variety of gamefish.

In the spring, my preferred method of fishing a SteelShad is to fish it like a lipless crankbait in the shallows. Many fishermen don’t think of presenting a SteelShad in this manner, but it is highly effective. The SteelShad is a crankbait too. The flash and vibration in a SteelShad draws some viscous strikes in shallow water.

Submerged vegetation like hydrilla or milfoil are ideal forms of shallow cover to throw a SteelShad around. I like to go with the 3/8 oz model in red color for fishing shallow grass in the spring.

The basic presentation is just a cast and retrieve, just as you would with a lipless crankbait. If you make contact with the grass, pause for a second and snap the bait free. Often this will trigger a strike. Try fishing a SteelShad shallow this spring. Few people throw this bait up shallow, so it’s something the shallow fish haven’t seen much of. It’s a great alternative to a lipless crankbait in heavily pressured shallow water in the spring.