Originally Posted by
Alphahawk
Shell cracker can be very tough to find after the spawn. Old Alabama shell cracker guides referred to them as the "Mystery Fish". VFW Lake is only 22 acres...yet finding shell cracker there after the spawn can be tough....and it holds a lot of quality shell cracker. I have been able to find them with my di unit on a couple of occasions and work them over pretty good using a jig...the Trout Magnet. But the best way to do it is rig a rod for drop shot....use a small piece of nightcrawler and slowly drift the boat along with the crawler maintaining contact with the bottom. If you find a spot that they are stacked up then you can try a jig. I have not done this in awhile. The reason is I no longer like to fool with bait...I would rather go someplace else and use the jig and catch 50-100 Spotted bass and crappie this time of year. Using the drift method will produce shell cracker.....just not in great numbers as during the spawn. Not that long ago I would use this method at VFW and Laurel Hill and stay on the water for 8-9 hours. Nowadays I am only good for about 4-5 hours on the water. As has already been said....they are not always deep but as summer drags on the deeper they will go. Many think the shell cracker will spawn again in fall but I have never seen that. But for whatever reason they will move into the shallows again in mid fall.
Regards