Thread: Barkley Lake Hog Shellcrackers from this morning

Very nice. Congratulations.

I've been taking care of them at home for you.

yeap those are hogs. real nice

I see you have Locator, good ears for back home. I'm ruined now, can't imagine having to be satisfied with our fishing now that I've tasted Barkley's offerings. We started to shrug off one pound redear, back home that's a trophy fish. I'll bet we caught at least twenty or so fish that were over 1.8lbs, caught tons of 1.6 lb shellcrackers. I missed some monsters that pulled the hooks on my monofilament line...braided lines didn't pull one hook all week. I think I'll switch all of my reels over to braid, these big fish sure do tax your knots and test your knot tying skills too.

Anyone willing to tell me where and how to fish for redears. I have never gone to ky lake to fish for redears but would love to try it.

Originally Posted by reggis

Anyone willing to tell me where and how to fish for redears. I have never gone to ky lake to fish for redears but would love to try it.

Check these out :

Catching Redear on Barkley - YouTube

Bluegill & Red Ear Fishing on Lake Barkley - YouTube

.... cp

Great trip and pics. Same info as before as to where and how you caught them? Did your spot reload or did you have to move? Did you find they bit better in the morning or the afternoon or pretty much all day? Details are always appreciated. I liked the pic with the big bluegills so people could get an idea of how much bigger a shellcracker gets. Thanks, good post.

I got lucky and sort of stumbled upon them the second day, they were found in 3-4ft of water way back in one of the main coves on the Northern end of the lake. I have a general idea of what I'm looking for regarding water depth, shore structure, cover next to bank etc., and then try to find the exact mix of conditions I'm looking for and simply drop anchor and fish. If you're fishing steep banks or even semi steep banks, you probably won't do well IMO. Redworms outfish other presentations even though many people like nightcrawlers and other baits. When you hook into these size fish hang on and hope your knots are well tied, they will put a hurtin on lightweight gear real quick.

I noticed the bite was good in the morning and evening, it slowed down significantly during the middle of the day though. Redear are very tough to locate and they don't get this big by being stupid. We had the good fortune of simply going back to the same ole spot day after day and seeing it produce better and better as each day passed. This week should be GREAT down there, wish I was still there. If you're not on bottom you will not have success.