Thread: Shellcracker and bluegill tips as taught to me 40 yrs. ago in Florida

learn something every day

Realy good post Mike, liked the added humor to post............but you sure got your
story across.

Keep it up.

great story and wish there were more of them.seriously thinking about starting a blog about LOW TECH fishing.you know fishing with your eyes and instinct.get worn out by all the way points and map aps and the the lot.had a old dude up here in illinois tell me similar things.first they do foam up the water.have witnessed this myself.he told me to that they smell lie watermelon.never have but have heard of it more than once.i caught bluegills on the beds on and off from may thru july last year and a few in august.maybe the horrible winter but i flyfish for gills a couple evenings a week all summer.never saw the spawn go on for 4 months.so you can fish season after season and see stuff you never have or defies all the supposed science and rules.my fish finder is my eyes with some good sunglasses and more years than i want to acknowledge now that their getting short

Great post, I enjoyed the local language plus the information.

On the oil slick I've heard several old timers mention that as their way of finding the pan-fish. Caught this monster at Lake Thunderbird in Cherokee Village, ARK while on spring break in light rain.

When you smell those fish beds, your chances typically go up significantly on catching fish. Shellcrackers have one of the strongest fish smells, next to the yellow perch on a lot of the water I fish.

Great story thanks for the telling, makes good sense.

The key to all of this during spawning time is hard sandy or shell bottom in the lake, canal, or pond. All year I test the bottom of an area I fish. Record it. You will know year after year where the spawning area will be. Then you look for the bubbles, smell, and other indication of their presence. Saves time. This is the way I do it in south louisiana. Just adding to all the great tips mentioned above.