Thread: Ky Lake gills and redear - what bait?

All the above. Good luck to ya

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KY Afield's former host (Tim Farmer) did a couple shows with a guide ... and he (the guide) used a small black grub with (4) rubber legs, and tipped the hook with a small piece of worm, fished under a float and retrieved over the beds. Caught nice Bluegill, but HUGE Shellcrackers !!

When I've fished for Shellcracker, in a small lake in central Ky, I've had the best results with a black jighead & a piece of the darker end of a nightcrawler covering the hook.

I have never used anything but jigs usually 1/32 oz and 1/16 oz. Roadrunner head and or plain lead head. Used a combination of different jig bodies from tube style to swim minnow style jigs,to curl tails etc. Always tipped with a crappie nibble. I just switch up a few different colors until I find one they are hot for. Shell crackers eat water snails and small mussels mainly. When you fill a livewell with them later the whole bottom of the livewell will be full of the shells they spit up.Thats why redworms on the bottom work because that is typically where they feed and redworms are similar to the mollusk they typically eat.

It's about dragging it through the bed,a lot of it is a reactionary strike to something invading their nest. Sometimes it works okay to hang it over them on a bobber or retrieve it over the top of them a little,but other days you need to pull it right into their bed.Ky Lake has an abundance of aggressive small fish that try to rob the beds all the time and the bedding fish have to be aggresive gaurding them.



When you find the right jig everything will hit it. Bass are around the beds and sometimes channel cat trying to pick off not just the bluegill but other species that are there to rob the nest. Just off the bluegill beds and maybe a little deeper if there are a couple stumps or a little wood you may still catch some crappie and possibly a sauger or yellow perch.Smallmouth and largemouth bass and of course the occasional drum.

Vary your retrieve speed so your jig or bait follows the contour of the bottom and just hugs it and makes contact a little. I usually fish from 2 to 8 ft or so deep concentrating on 3 to 5ft mostly. Cover some water and find those beds and spawning banks and work through them.Once you have found something they hit with zeal then you just have to cover some water and mow that bottom along the spawning areas.

Phyllis's Bluegill Bugs (grub with legs) by Shelton Lures have been a staple for 40 years. Available in most bait shops, Shop-A-Roma.


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I use a Popeye hair jig tipped with a waxworm. Did pretty good last week this way. Good luck on your Ky lake trip. I really enjoyed mine.

Del Monte whole kernel yellow corn and a red #4 hook.

Also. You can use this type clear torpedo float (2 inch for me) and tie to your Snoopy Zebco rig. Tie about a 16 inch leader with a small popper bug (or any floating fly) for great action with the bream near the bush.

The float lays on it side. Work the float to make the popper bug tickle the water. Tickle, stop. Tickle stop. Tickle WHOP!!!!!!!!!

This is fun for all, especially old men and young kiddies.

This float lays on its side, skinny end tied to Snoopy line.

torpedo bobber float clear plastic to cast flies-Gofastandlight.com

Strike King Bitsy minnow is a good lure to use when searching for fish