cant find em

[slipfloater]

I have a hard time locating shellcrackers . They dont seem to be where I used to catch em. One place I could count on every year but now they aint there. i can find bluegill alright,but crackers is another story. By the way I fish ky lake. Thanks. Oh yeah, where do they go later in the summer. Deep? Thank you.

[PANPHYSHER]

I have a hard time locating shellcrackers . They dont seem to be where I used to catch em. One place I could count on every year but now they aint there. i can find bluegill alright,but crackers is another story. By the way I fish ky lake. Thanks. Oh yeah, where do they go later in the summer. Deep? Thank you.

I dont know about Ky lake and I am not a expert but I have had luck late spring and summer fishing on the bottom around sandy points and mid lake humps right around 12 to 15 foot deep. I like red wigglers for bait. Some times to find the fish I ancor in the shallow part of the hump or point then I take a jig head or a mini fish finder style rig tipped with worm, cast it deep and crawl it up the slope very slowley. Or you can do it by ancoring deep and casting shallow but the first way seems to work best for me.

[bcgamecock]

I occasionally catch a number of shellcrackers in the shallower water while bluegill fishing. But when I'm targetting shellcrackers, I use worms for bait and fish on the bottom. If I'm catching bluegills with a bobber, I'll remove the bobber and fish about 5-7 feet from the bluegill bed towards deeper water. I'll move a little deeper at a time until I start catching 'crackers. sometimes I just have to move all together but I always eventually find them like that. The biggest ones I've ever caught were in about 15 feet of water, right on the bottom, and about 50 feet from the shore.

[slipfloater]

Thanks guys. I will try these techniques when it gets cracker time.:D

[mepperson]

I occasionally catch a number of shellcrackers in the shallower water while bluegill fishing. But when I'm targetting shellcrackers, I use worms for bait and fish on the bottom. If I'm catching bluegills with a bobber, I'll remove the bobber and fish about 5-7 feet from the bluegill bed towards deeper water. I'll move a little deeper at a time until I start catching 'crackers. sometimes I just have to move all together but I always eventually find them like that. The biggest ones I've ever caught were in about 15 feet of water, right on the bottom, and about 50 feet from the shore.

Ditto, but I have caught them right up in the same bedding areas, but working the bait on the bottom is the key. I also catch a few in the hydrilla beds. They love to eat the snails in and around the plants.

[ShellQuacker]

I have a hard time locating shellcrackers . They dont seem to be where I used to catch em. One place I could count on every year but now they aint there. i can find bluegill alright,but crackers is another story. By the way I fish ky lake. Thanks. Oh yeah, where do they go later in the summer. Deep? Thank you.

I noticed the same phenomenon in the lakes I fish. Then, a few years later, the original spot will be hot again. Does the lake you fish have mussel beds?
If so, they are a preferred forage for crackers. If it's a reservoir, water level fluctuations can effect the mussel populations, making some areas that were unsuitable before, perfect for them now, and vice versa.
This is not scientific, but it's the best explanation I could come up with.

[IceWarriorGill]

ShellQuacker's right again about this!!! You will find the largest and most productive Shellcracker areas where the lake or pond's Mussel beds are (assuming your lake or pond has good populations of Mussels!!) Fish your worms or baits right on the bottom or no more than a foot off the bottom in deeper water next to shallow bedding areas (where Mussel beds are) to find the larger Shellcracker specimens!!!

[queyit]

had better luck in 5 to 10 ft of water in and around freshwater shells...they love those freshwater mussels. Good luck..

[slipfloater]

we have a good population of mussels on Ky Lake. I may target some known areas where I have seen people diving for mussels. Thanks for all info.:D