• Massive Shell Cracker Bed!

    by
    Alphahawk
    Published on 05-09-2021 12:58 AM
    6 Comments Comments
    So far this year has been off the charts good for me for fishing…and everything else really. The spinal surgery I had back in November allowed me to hit the water more often….not to mention being able to trout fish more in 2021 than I have over the last 5 years…if not more. Today I had the best fishing day I have ever experienced with panfish. I found a massive bed of shell cracker….the overwhelming majority 10 inches or better with some 11 inch fish in the mix. When I pulled off the bed I had boated 93 shell cracker! It only took a little less than 4 hours to do it. I stayed spot locked in the same place the whole time. Not another boat in sight. These fish were out in the middle of a big bay….not in a pocket or next to the bank. I learned to look out in open water years ago with the si unit when I found a big bed of bluegill in open water at Laurel Hill. Once again I used the Abu Garcia Diplomat Extreme 6’ 2” UL Area Trout Rod strung up with 1.8# test polyester line. The lure of the day…is there anything else….LOL….a Bison colored Trout Magnet on a 1.5 gram jig head with a #8 hook. Life is most assuredly good!

    Regards

    This article was originally published in forum thread: Massive Shell Cracker Bed! started by Alphahawk View original post
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    Comments 6 Comments
    1. "G"'s Avatar
      "G" - 05-09-2021, 05:46 AM
      Nice fish.....glad everything is going well for you
    1. Speck Detector's Avatar
      Speck Detector - 05-09-2021, 08:15 AM
      That's what you've gotta love about fishing, after all them fish boated over the yrs, a day like this comes along, know your on cloud 9...
    1. Barnacle Bill's Avatar
      Barnacle Bill - 05-09-2021, 04:54 PM
      Very nice
    1. hdhntr's Avatar
      hdhntr - 05-10-2021, 08:11 AM
      That is just incredible! Havn't ever looked for beds of any panfish in middle of a bay, always look along shore line. Great idea and GFY!
    1. Fisher-o-Men's Avatar
      Fisher-o-Men - 05-10-2021, 03:53 PM
      Now that's an awesome trip! I've never attempted to target shellcracker, but I'm planning on trying this month. A couple of quick questions. The lightest outfit I have is an ultralight designed for crappie with 4 lb test. Will this suffice? And secondly, what depth water should I begin my search? I've heard as many say deeper water as very shallow water! Lastly, was your technique to reel the lure slowly along the bottom, or was another technique better? Thank you in advance for any info that would help me try to have a day half as good as yours!
    1. Alphahawk's Avatar
      Alphahawk - 05-10-2021, 06:57 PM
      Quote Originally Posted by Fisher-o-Men View Post
      Now that's an awesome trip! I've never attempted to target shellcracker, but I'm planning on trying this month. A couple of quick questions. The lightest outfit I have is an ultralight designed for crappie with 4 lb test. Will this suffice? And secondly, what depth water should I begin my search? I've heard as many say deeper water as very shallow water! Lastly, was your technique to reel the lure slowly along the bottom, or was another technique better? Thank you in advance for any info that would help me try to have a day half as good as yours!
      Your setup is fine...I used 1.8# test line catching these and and a UL rod. I would look in water depth from 2-10 feet....these came out of 6 feet of water. I cast out and slowly twitch the jig back to me....keeping it as close to the bottom as I can. Here is a video that hopefully you can tell a little about my technique. In this video the shell cracker were in 4 feet of water.



      Regards
      76 Shell Cracker on JDM Ultra Light. - YouTube

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