Hey Dick, got my bobbers in the mail yesterday at work. Ran down, while screaming in excitement. Looked over, and spotted my blunder. I presumed to have order 6 additional 2.5" but ended up with 1. Looked back at my receipt, and surely enough, I ended up with one. I guess the online cart was a bit messed up when it was suppose to calculate for the 6. Yeeeeaaa..Who cares. Got what I wanted, and a spare.
Re-spooled my reels with fresh braid after doing light maintenance last night. Will be testing the bobbers out tonight if I get home before sundown. Otherwise, I'll be testing it out on Friday. Wife wants to hunt down snowboard gears so she and I can hit the slopes with the kids and friends later.
Fish professor I hope to get out this afternoon for a short while. I'll have the bullet on and see what it really does. Ill keep everyone informed + I'll get to try some of my fresh worms from the worm bed. How sweet life is. Later and GOOD LUCK if you should happen to get out there yourself.
Leo I believe you are underestimating your knowledge and input on this site. Leo you are a true inovator and experimentor and take the time to tell others of your exploits and this knowledge helps all of us on this site. Hey Dick don't worry about spending the money that the fish profesor LEO has got you to try. He even has me thinking about a tube!! Don't think my old back would handle it though! KEEP ON SHARING LEO cause that's what we are all here for.
DICK your stories of your youth are beyond compare and I relish what I'm going to read everyday I'm on the computoid.
You know I'm really not good at putting things into words. One thing I realize is the more I do write more old memories appear. I'm really kind of amazed at how often I really went and old memories are there, I'm just sorry that I don't have pictures to put with the memories but in the 50's we didn't take many picture's
HEY DICK , your stories paint all the pictures we need and you put em down so well I for one don't have anyyyyyy trouble visualizing them at all. YEP DICK and the more you guys tell stories it has brought back some memories for me to that I had'nt thought about or told in years either.
Don't know if you've seen this report from Diamond Valley lake here in So. Calif. New lake record for a Reddear @ 4.48 Lbs caught Feb 22nd.. Here is link:
It is early spring but the Bluegill and shellcracker should be on the move toward the shallows. The first full moon will be this week the eight of March and they should be on the shallows looking for bedding spots here in the south. Especially the Shellcracker..Good luck guys and gals have a great spring
Really wanted to get out this weekend Vic. Had the weekend off from work and time to go fishing. But the wind was really howling this weekend. Saw a photo of a guy out on a local lake in his kayak. 2' waves and white caps everywhere. Not a pretty picture. Hopefully the weather will warm and the winds will die down.
Went out on Saturday morning. I searched the shallow beds, and surely enough, there were plenty of beds made. However, all of them were snatched off by aliens (bass chasers). For those who hunt the Perris ground, they're hiding the submerged tules, right next to the outcrops of sunken branches and bushes. If you're on boat, you'll get a paint job scratch up. If you're on floats, well, better wear that PFD and ready for a bail out. If not, head to the shallow east side. The water temp went up in the low 60 there. It's a massive spawning ground now.
Steve, I know exactly the feeling about the white caps. Same guy took a nice cold bath starting at 0800hrs. He gave up at 0930hrs after the wind kicked up from 15mph to 20mph. Luckily, my pontoon was high off the water just enough to prevent the white caps from drenching me. Rather than cutting through the water, I was an inflatable balloon blowing the wind the second I stop rowing.
The wind is the only thing (and my job) that keeps me off the water. No matter what kind of water craft you are in, the wind will always cause you problems. You can always read or hear of someone being rescued from being capsized in windy conditions. There will ALWAYS be other, better days to fish.
Ok guys I missed the week, but it is now the 18th of march and my fishing buddy and me smoked them thar Shellcrackin stumpnockers. It's kinda like when Rooster Cogburn looked into that sack of corn dodgers and said there must be about a hundred fifty or so of um in there. Not really but close to 75 My last count..3 little basses and several Big Bluegill.
The pond we used to go to has "private property" signs posted every few yards around the entire pond. It took us a while to find another local lake. Well, we finally found one that has good fishing possibilities. Today we caught 14 red ear and 2 crappie ranging between 7 to 10 inches in length. I will post pics later.
These are shellcrackers that I caught on my Louisiana trip earlier this month....You hear a lot of folks saying fish the bottom or near bottom for Red Ears and they're giving good advice, but during the spawn you can catch these guys on the surface fly fishing or under a cork as well....The fish I caught were on a small brown popping bug and what a blast....They're just waking up in my North Carolina rivers so I'm looking forward to catching a few....Good luck to the "Shellcrackers"!
Thanks Jim. That fish along with several others that size came from a pond that's different than any other I've ever fished. I've never caught gills there. It's loaded with crackers and redbreasts though. Every cracker there is close to a pound and bigger. There are some massive redbreasts there also. Hopefully, I'll get back there some this year!! I'd say there are some 2lb crackers there and maybe some state record threatening redbreasts.
Wow...those are sensational fish! I'd be careful who you tell about that one, and release the majority of those trophies to sustain the fishery. One of my better ponds suffered 2 separate fish kills last year, and most of the 10 inch class gills were lost...what a shame!
the water temp is right the rain slowed the fish down a little but i caught some nice chinks on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. .
the mud temp was at 68 to 70 ,while the water was running around 74 to 80 on the surface from morning to evening .
the fish have started fanning the beds and i thank they are laying now .
the lake i fish is Chicot lake, located in south central Louisiana,the lake has a huge watershed and is situated in Chicot state park a 10,000 acrer wild life refuge of hard wood bottoms and ridges.the park is surrounded by lakes and a 2 inch rain will raise the lake over night thus the water temp is affected by spring rains and runoff. we just got 5 inches last week and the water temp was cooled of by as much as 8 degrees over night and the lake rose 18" in two days and is still above normal stage.
the chinks(shellcrackers) unlike the blue gill seem to go to the beds early although these early fish are not bedding they are always big fish .
watching these beds you will see a boil and cast to it and catch large chinks,although the water temps will be in the low 60s.
i call this bumping the beds and do this every year starting in march and have caught these fish in water as cold as 58,bluegill do not do this but the chinks do,they are truly a strange fish in many ways.
Ok, I'm convinced. You talked me into it. I've caught a total of 8 RES since building my pond in 2013. Largest one 9". Caught 4 of the 8 all within about an hour a few weeks ago in 2-3' of water at about sunset on small plastic jig. Have caught all of them on either plastic jigs or crankbaits near sunset. I suspect they are coming up into shallow water to feed on snails, of which my pond has plenty.
Super fish, beautiful mount, and looking at the back ground behind Hector, fond memories of growing up in the high and low desert of Southern California. That could be around Perris Lake, but I believe the record was caught up on Lake Havasu on the Colorado River...At any rate congratulations to Hector on a very fine fish.
Yeah, that's the Havasu fish. Just googled the details, seems he was dropshotting the crawler in 10 feet of water when the redear freight train came along.
Dang Bruce, if you have Diet Dew and spirits, can't imagine you not having any friends. But the last post in this thread being 2008 one has to wonder. I'll bite and add a picture of a RES. I also am a fan of them. If only I could catch more!A little fella
Leo Nguyen
Hey Dick, got my bobbers in the mail yesterday at work. Ran down, while screaming in excitement. Looked over, and spotted my blunder. I presumed to have order 6 additional 2.5" but ended up with 1. Looked back at my receipt, and surely enough, I ended up with one. I guess the online cart was a bit messed up when it was suppose to calculate for the 6. Yeeeeaaa..Who cares. Got what I wanted, and a spare.
Re-spooled my reels with fresh braid after doing light maintenance last night. Will be testing the bobbers out tonight if I get home before sundown. Otherwise, I'll be testing it out on Friday. Wife wants to hunt down snowboard gears so she and I can hit the slopes with the kids and friends later.
Feb 29, 2012
dick tabbert
Fish professor I hope to get out this afternoon for a short while. I'll have the bullet on and see what it really does. Ill keep everyone informed + I'll get to try some of my fresh worms from the worm bed. How sweet life is. Later and GOOD LUCK if you should happen to get out there yourself.
Feb 29, 2012
DAVID L EITUTIS
HEY LEO AND DICK,
Leo I believe you are underestimating your knowledge and input on this site. Leo you are a true inovator and experimentor and take the time to tell others of your exploits and this knowledge helps all of us on this site. Hey Dick don't worry about spending the money that the fish profesor LEO has got you to try. He even has me thinking about a tube!! Don't think my old back would handle it though! KEEP ON SHARING LEO cause that's what we are all here for.
DICK your stories of your youth are beyond compare and I relish what I'm going to read everyday I'm on the computoid.
TOOTY
Feb 29, 2012
dick tabbert
You know I'm really not good at putting things into words. One thing I realize is the more I do write more old memories appear. I'm really kind of amazed at how often I really went and old memories are there, I'm just sorry that I don't have pictures to put with the memories but in the 50's we didn't take many picture's
Feb 29, 2012
DAVID L EITUTIS
HEY DICK , your stories paint all the pictures we need and you put em down so well I for one don't have anyyyyyy trouble visualizing them at all.
YEP DICK and the more you guys tell stories it has brought back some memories for me to that I had'nt thought about or told in years either.
TOOTSTER
Feb 29, 2012
Jack Kline
Don't know if you've seen this report from Diamond Valley lake here in So. Calif. New lake record for a Reddear @ 4.48 Lbs caught Feb 22nd.. Here is link:
http://www.sportfishingreport.com/pages/detail_fresh.php?id=43238
Feb 29, 2012
Vic Tankersley
It is early spring but the Bluegill and shellcracker should be on the move toward the shallows. The first full moon will be this week the eight of March and they should be on the shallows looking for bedding spots here in the south. Especially the Shellcracker..Good luck guys and gals have a great spring
Mar 5, 2012
Steve Crowder
Really wanted to get out this weekend Vic. Had the weekend off from work and time to go fishing. But the wind was really howling this weekend. Saw a photo of a guy out on a local lake in his kayak. 2' waves and white caps everywhere. Not a pretty picture. Hopefully the weather will warm and the winds will die down.
Mar 5, 2012
Leo Nguyen
Went out on Saturday morning. I searched the shallow beds, and surely enough, there were plenty of beds made. However, all of them were snatched off by aliens (bass chasers). For those who hunt the Perris ground, they're hiding the submerged tules, right next to the outcrops of sunken branches and bushes. If you're on boat, you'll get a paint job scratch up. If you're on floats, well, better wear that PFD and ready for a bail out. If not, head to the shallow east side. The water temp went up in the low 60 there. It's a massive spawning ground now.
Mar 5, 2012
Leo Nguyen
Steve, I know exactly the feeling about the white caps. Same guy took a nice cold bath starting at 0800hrs. He gave up at 0930hrs after the wind kicked up from 15mph to 20mph. Luckily, my pontoon was high off the water just enough to prevent the white caps from drenching me. Rather than cutting through the water, I was an inflatable balloon blowing the wind the second I stop rowing.
Mar 5, 2012
Steve Crowder
The wind is the only thing (and my job) that keeps me off the water. No matter what kind of water craft you are in, the wind will always cause you problems. You can always read or hear of someone being rescued from being capsized in windy conditions. There will ALWAYS be other, better days to fish.
Mar 5, 2012
Vic Tankersley
Ok guys I missed the week, but it is now the 18th of march and my fishing buddy and me smoked them thar Shellcrackin stumpnockers. It's kinda like when Rooster Cogburn looked into that sack of corn dodgers and said there must be about a hundred fifty or so of um in there. Not really but close to 75 My last count..3 little basses and several Big Bluegill.
Mar 18, 2012
dick tabbert
Nice
Mar 18, 2012
Mary Baker
The pond we used to go to has "private property" signs posted every few yards around the entire pond. It took us a while to find another local lake. Well, we finally found one that has good fishing possibilities. Today we caught 14 red ear and 2 crappie ranging between 7 to 10 inches in length. I will post pics later.
Mar 23, 2012
Iteago L. Felton
It's good to see people who respect "private property" signs, because at my pond they don't and they and trash the area around the pond.
Mar 26, 2012
Jeffrey D. Abney
These are shellcrackers that I caught on my Louisiana trip earlier this month....You hear a lot of folks saying fish the bottom or near bottom for Red Ears and they're giving good advice, but during the spawn you can catch these guys on the surface fly fishing or under a cork as well....The fish I caught were on a small brown popping bug and what a blast....They're just waking up in my North Carolina rivers so I'm looking forward to catching a few....Good luck to the "Shellcrackers"!
Mar 31, 2012
10.5" RES Sharon
baby redear:
Apr 29, 2012
dick tabbert
Nice one Sharon, I had no idea you had Red Ears also. Nice catch.
Apr 29, 2012
10.5" RES Sharon
I caught this today in my pond. 10.5" which is my personal best.
Sep 27, 2012
dick tabbert
Great Redear Sharon your fish are gettin bigger all the time.
Sep 27, 2012
Josh Milczski (Omaha)
Impressive redear Sharon. Congrats!
Sep 28, 2012
10.5" RES Sharon
It was very exciting to catch, they fight as well as bass
Sep 28, 2012
Jim Gronaw
Congrats on the new PR RE!
Sep 29, 2012
Jeffrey D. Abney
Great Redear Sharon does this call for a new screen name...LOL
Sep 29, 2012
dick tabbert
I'm thinking a new name is in order Lady Sharon Gill Assassin.
Sep 29, 2012
10.5" RES Sharon
Done!
Sep 29, 2012
Jim Gronaw
Now THAT'S cool!
Sep 29, 2012
Jeffrey D. Abney
Sounds better every time......
Sep 29, 2012
David, aka, "McScruff"
This is the group for me. Gimme them chinquapin, them red ear, them SHELLCRACKERS!
Feb 7, 2013
Vic Tankersley
Hello folks, it's getting close to bedding time for the bluegill and shellcrackers...i'm bored with winter,so let the spring begin
Feb 11, 2013
dick tabbert
Amen on spring
Feb 11, 2013
Jason Preslar
My best cracker!
Mar 4, 2013
Jeffrey D. Abney
Here's a link to a fact sheet for fishing Shellcrackers in North Carolina.....Redear_Sunfish_profile.pdf
Mar 6, 2013
Jim Gronaw
That's a great fish, Jason!
Mar 6, 2013
Jason Preslar
Mar 6, 2013
Jim Gronaw
Wow...those are sensational fish! I'd be careful who you tell about that one, and release the majority of those trophies to sustain the fishery. One of my better ponds suffered 2 separate fish kills last year, and most of the 10 inch class gills were lost...what a shame!
Mar 6, 2013
Jason Preslar
Mar 7, 2013
Jason Preslar
Mar 7, 2013
Kevin Schlatterer
redear.jpg
Apr 8, 2013
dick tabbert
Nice RedEar Kevin
Apr 9, 2013
shooter
the water temp is right the rain slowed the fish down a little but i caught some nice chinks on Wednesday and Thursday of last week. .
the mud temp was at 68 to 70 ,while the water was running around 74 to 80 on the surface from morning to evening .
the fish have started fanning the beds and i thank they are laying now .
the lake i fish is Chicot lake, located in south central Louisiana,the lake has a huge watershed and is situated in Chicot state park a 10,000 acrer wild life refuge of hard wood bottoms and ridges.the park is surrounded by lakes and a 2 inch rain will raise the lake over night thus the water temp is affected by spring rains and runoff. we just got 5 inches last week and the water temp was cooled of by as much as 8 degrees over night and the lake rose 18" in two days and is still above normal stage.
the chinks(shellcrackers) unlike the blue gill seem to go to the beds early although these early fish are not bedding they are always big fish .
watching these beds you will see a boil and cast to it and catch large chinks,although the water temps will be in the low 60s.
i call this bumping the beds and do this every year starting in march and have caught these fish in water as cold as 58,bluegill do not do this but the chinks do,they are truly a strange fish in many ways.
nothing like a big'O thumper on a fly rod .
May 28, 2013
Eric Pierce
Thank you for the warm welcome... I'll do my best to keep up with you all on these fine fish....Eric
Apr 14, 2014
John Burns
Ok, I'm convinced. You talked me into it. I've caught a total of 8 RES since building my pond in 2013. Largest one 9". Caught 4 of the 8 all within about an hour a few weeks ago in 2-3' of water at about sunset on small plastic jig. Have caught all of them on either plastic jigs or crankbaits near sunset. I suspect they are coming up into shallow water to feed on snails, of which my pond has plenty.
Nov 22, 2014
Tim Overbaugh
Sorry guys, should have added this earlier but, better late than never........
Hector's 5 pound 12 oz. new World Record Redear Sunfish. Caught February 16, 2014 on a night crawler. Congratulations Hector!
The Replicas
I had the honor to mold this beautiful specimen and preserve it in 3D history.
I made two molds of this fish in different positions. This is the first cast from the first mold.....
This is the first cast from the second mold........
This female Redear Sunfish measured 17 inches long with a 19 inch girth.
Feb 16, 2015
carl hendrix
that is one heck of a trophy !! world record !! and on a nite crawler!! way to go Hector!!
Feb 16, 2015
Slip Sinker
very nice mount Tim!!
Feb 16, 2015
Eric Pierce
Super fish, beautiful mount, and looking at the back ground behind Hector, fond memories of growing up in the high and low desert of Southern California. That could be around Perris Lake, but I believe the record was caught up on Lake Havasu on the Colorado River...At any rate congratulations to Hector on a very fine fish.
Feb 16, 2015
JBplusThuy
Yeah, that's the Havasu fish. Just googled the details, seems he was dropshotting the crawler in 10 feet of water when the redear freight train came along.
Truly a beautiful mount!
Feb 16, 2015
Jim Gronaw
Stunning work, Tim! That second mold has a beautiful, natural relaxed pose to it...absolutely splendid!
Feb 16, 2015
John Burns
Dang Bruce, if you have Diet Dew and spirits, can't imagine you not having any friends. But the last post in this thread being 2008 one has to wonder. I'll bite and add a picture of a RES. I also am a fan of them. If only I could catch more!
A little fella
Sep 20, 2016