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I have a pond full of small black brownish looking snail's in a shell.I'm thinking if I get some and crack them open and put the snail on a popeye the cracker's will tear them up,or fish on the bottom with a small hook and weight.Has anyone tried this? That's why they call them shellcrackers only I'm going to crack it open for them.Please let me know what ya think.
I've never tried snails before. I think ANY live bait fished on or near the bottom will take shellcrackers, so I don't know if snails would be worth the effort. Can't hurt to try, though.
Catch enough shellcrackers to make sure you have males and females then stock them in your pond. In a couple of years you should have some BIG fish and not so many snails.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slipped Cork
Out here in SoCal we have recently been infested with the Quagga Mussell. I am hoping that the silver lining will be more lakes stocked with Shell Crackers that grow BIG.
I'm not even sure you'd need to shell them. Hooking the snail would probably release scent. I've thought about it, but never tried it.Quote:
Originally Posted by Slipped Cork
I read one report where a guy shelled mussels and used them. Not much success, nightcrawlers were better.
This year I'm going to try small crawdads if they reproduce in the pond.
Which I'm assuming they will.
Small garden/leaf worms are hard to beat though.
It might work, but, it is real hard to beat a worm for shellcrackers. I experimented and tried crickets on beds that were real active, nope, they wanted worms instead. I'm going to buy worms in bulk this year, it is almost time for them in my area. Good luck this season guys/gals.:D
Jr. B
When I was a kid we would use muscles from the river. That always worked really well.
Unfortunately, with pollution, draught and what not, there aren't near as many large muscles around as there use to be.
Oscar
The river that runs through our back yard is loaded with mussels.I have tried them with not much succes (except for the sm green carps).I find it very hard to beat a pinch of night crawler or just a ole red worm from under a piece of wood laying around your place.
Snails may work,as I have never tried them.
Anyone know if shellcrackers eat zebra muscles? If they do, we could use a ton of them here in NY.
from what I've read the Zebra muscle is exactly what is growin em so big in South Carolina's Santee Cooper diversion canal where the current world record was caught.
Thank's for the reply all. When the snail's appear this year I'll let ya know what happen's.Also I did put shellcracker's in the pond about 4 yrs ago and they're getting up pretty good.I caught a couple last year somewhere around a pound.The one's I put in were pretty good one's,nowhere a pound though.I only put around 30 then and it's common to catch a deacent one.
Be looking forward to the report.Good luck when you start using them.
I've done really good on garden slugs with a salmon egg hook. Was the only bait available at the time. Does seem to emit a slime that the panfish really liked.
Tony,my friend take's those slugs and cut's one end off,turn's them inside out with a small twig and wear's the chanel catfish out.I never thought about redear.I'll try anything related to fishing a few times just to give it a chance.You just never know what work's,like the time i heard to use a crappie tounge on a jig for crappie.It flat smack wear's them out.