New Here - Decatur Area

Hello all. I'm in the Decatur area and mostly fish Flint Creek and Hartselle areas. Has anyone here had any success fishing for shellcracker or bluegill using artificial bait and if so, what type? The crappie here are so-so at the moment although I've managed a decent dinner or two in the last couple weeks, thank goodness for McCullum"s. Anyone else here fish Smith lake around Cullman? How's the fishing so far this year? I'm a retired diver and know most of the water anywhere in North AL if anyone has any questions.

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Originally Posted by Skipmeister

Hello all. I'm in the Decatur area and mostly fish Flint Creek and Hartselle areas. Has anyone here had any success fishing for shellcracker or bluegill using artificial bait and if so, what type? The crappie here are so-so at the moment although I've managed a decent dinner or two in the last couple weeks, thank goodness for McCullum"s. Anyone else here fish Smith lake around Cullman? How's the fishing so far this year? I'm a retired diver and know most of the water anywhere in North AL if anyone has any questions.

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Hello, I am from the West Point/Vinemont area I fish Smith, and Tenn. river from Wheeler Dam to the Decatur boat harbor. If you are interested seeing what I have to offer. Send me a message via message board or private message. My e-mail is [email protected]

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Originally Posted by Skipmeister

Hello all. I'm in the Decatur area and mostly fish Flint Creek and Hartselle areas. Has anyone here had any success fishing for shellcracker or bluegill using artificial bait and if so, what type? The crappie here are so-so at the moment although I've managed a decent dinner or two in the last couple weeks, thank goodness for McCullum"s. Anyone else here fish Smith lake around Cullman? How's the fishing so far this year? I'm a retired diver and know most of the water anywhere in North AL if anyone has any questions.

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Hello & Welcome; Skipmeister, Since your a retired diver you should know where all those big slabs hide at, hehe, I'll bet you've seen some big fish under that water huh? Tell us some tales, We'd be intrested. Been wanting to fish smith lake just had'nt found the time yet, I fish where i know the best. LOL on fishin. :) :) :)

Welcome Skipmeister. This is a great forum for people who love to fish. Look forward to your posts.

Skipmeister, I fish alot for bluegill and shellcracker in Northeast Alabama. I fish around the Scottsboro and Stevenson areas, and the Tennessee river. I found the shellcracker and bluegills moving in to search for beds to fan out. They were not on bed yet, but getting close. I caught about 100, and about 25 of them were real good size and the rest were decent. Squirrel tail jigs work well, along with small beetlespins. The best artificial bait in my opinion is the keystone minnow, it is very effective when the fish are bedding. There was 7 other boats fishing real close to me, and they were all catching fish very well. I think most of them were fishing the keystone minnow.