I fish western branch resivoir for shell crackers mostly.

i like to fish points, that drop off to 12-15fow, that have some (a lot) of stumps near by. Sandy bottom is needed, for me anyways, crackers eat the clams that live in the sand. Too shallow and no bites, too deep no bites, no structure, no bites.

Rigging is is pretty simple, about 10 pound mono, a #4 or #6 GOLD HOOK, and 2-3-4 split shot about a foot up the line. No leader is needed. The 10 pound mono is strong enough to straighten out the GOLD hook when it snags, and it will. If your not getting snagged, you probably won't find many big shell crackers. PUT YOUR ROD IN A ROD HOLDER. Ive seen about a 1/2 dozen rods snatched off the deck of my boat over the last 20 years, guests that didn't think a "brim" was capable of pulling a pole in the water.. Well that day they learned a new trick.

Bait is simple too, whole night crawlers. Hook them twice in the light colored band and toss them out. Leave your bait open. They will knock the dickens out of it and take off running. I've caught them on red worms, yard worms, crickets, and even small shiners, but the night crawlers are our bread and butter. We usually grab 4-5 boxes a person, and plan on being done by noon time or sooner. Then we go play with the gars or catfish. Don't forget a cooler and ice for your worms.

Ive vet tried small circle hooks and closed bail, but the snags made it cost prohibitive. The brown hooks don't straighten out, and you usually loose everything.