Thread: Shellcracker City!

Originally Posted by Ketchn

looks like some serious fun to me ....very nice .....
btw why do some red ear have very yellow bellies and others are quite pale ?
i noticed this and wondered if it has to do with the spring or its just the way they are

We were talking about this yesterday. Nearly all the fish we caught were females....their colors are nowhere near as bright as the males. We were trying to figure out where the males were that would be in spawning colors. A lot of it has to do with water also. I have caught shellcrackers with virtually no colors....not even the red tip on the operculum.....the ear. Males will have a bright cherry red ear tip and females will have an orange ear tip. Here is a pic of a male for sure with the bright red ear tip.

Regards

Originally Posted by no luck

How did you put that little bait on a1/16 jig head with out tearing it up

The jig head has a #8 hook so really no different than using the 1/64. On days like yesterday I will sometimes Super Glue the body on and flatten the barb so I don't have to change the body as much and also when we are catching them that fast I want to get back in the water as quick as possible and don't want to fool with getting a barbed hook out of the mouth....takes away my catching time...LOL. You do lose a few when you flatten the barb but you are able to get your jig back in the water much faster.

Regards

i wondered myself when i managed a few back in the winter months ....some sure had bright yellow bellies and others were just white . interesting for sure
we dont have many red ear in these parts for some reason but my bud did ketch one yesterday that was rather pale at a spot that used to have quite few according to the state folks

In my experience the ones with the yellow bellies are the girl fish. I poured some 1/16 oz underspins to use trout magnets on. If the rain dont cool the water it should in full swing this weekend.

I poured some 1/16 oz underspins to use trout magnets on. If the rain dont cool the water it should in full swing this weekend.

That should be interesting.


Regards

You da man ! i sure wished I knew a couple good ol boys like you that knows how to put a whooping on them fish.maybe I could learn how to do it if I could find a fried like you! U sure are a believer in that bison color magnet too.

Love it, Awesome post and pics!

Nice bunch of fish alpha... Always good to see your posts