I did better with the sexy shad in early spring and mid spring. I never understood why it was such a great color, until one of my catfishing friends that netted live shad for bait showed me some early shad he netted in late april - identical to the sexy shad pattern. I don't know if their color pattern differs throughout the year or not - but in the spring they are the spittin image of each other.

As far as the spoons go, I have had some luck this year dropping them down deeper ledges with isolated brush. If you get on an active ledge, you will often see your line take off sideways before it hits the bottom. Also, I don't know if you are familiar with stroking a jig - but you can fish these just the same, but instead of quick upward jerks, use a slow sweep off the bottom or edge of a ledge (pop it up a good 5 feet) and let it flutter back down. I had the best luck with these, just after the bass got done being very aggressive and chasing big crankbaits, but before the slow botton (heavy jig, c-rig, and t-rig) bite became the dominate pattern. I am guessing they will be good again the middle to end of september. But right now, I am only catching them on slower patterns.