Holy Red Ear!!!!! Musky Mod, that is a beauty!!!

Bruce, I know what I know only because of groups like this, and asking the experts such as yourself and Daryl!!!!!

I'm joining now........................someday I'll catch one.

Nice one, Musky Mod!

Nice fish Mod, I plan on going soon to the river near my home, the shellcracker gather in groups in deep holes, hope to be able to post some southern cracker pics next month.

oh yes i call um chinks ,short for chinquapin,we fish them on fly rods,in the timber,
artificial (flies)i tie my own,although my wife fishes with live bait most of the time.i am slooowly converting he to flies.
i have been looking for this site for yrs now thanks for the opportunnity to join.shooter


gators stink

There are certain lakes in the southern 2/3 of Iowa that have redear sunfish. Apparently they aren't native to Iowa, but were all stocked from a Missouri strain.

how many here fly fish for shellcrackers(chinks)using flies,and what fly is your top producer for these fish,here is mine.
this fly is tied on a #4 mustad hook #3260:

I've definitely tried to catch chinks/shellcrackers/redears on a fly! ;-)

They're very, very challenging, but I've caught a few. My biggest concern is having the patience to keep it low 'n' slow. I've just used a little micro beadhead pattern with lots of olive color in it to try to mimic a damselfly nymph. I don't know nearly as much about fly fishing as you guys do, but I'm learning! Maybe by next spring my proficiency will improve a little bit.

the lake i fish has a lot of cover with cypress , tupelo gum and button wood bushes.
the chinks feed at the submerged roots of all three for snails shrimp and various nymps.
i fish these trees and bushes close ,and yes low and slow.
most of the beds in this lake have these trees and bushes in and around them,making fly fishing them a challenge.
after forty+ yrs of trial and error i have finally got to the point where i have some success catching these fish on flies.
the only advise that i can give to anyone that wants to catch these fish on flies is "endeavor to persevere" and low and slow is the right approach.
i can tell you this trout do not have anything on chinks when it comes to flies,chinks can be just as selective ,and if i had kept score through the years it would be chinks 100 me 10.

I have never caught one on a fly. but I have tried. I do have excuses tho. lol It's just so hard to pick up a flyrod when you know you can catch alot more on worms. most of the time where I fish, they are at a depth of say 12-14 feet. that makes it tough.

I think a weighted fly/jig would be the way to go. and as for color selection, I'd go with black, brown or olive. mr. byrd of byrdultrafly in georgia has caught many on his own dumbell weighted eyed fly. black marabou and the weighted eyes. he had a name for it, I'll try to find it.

The Shellcrackers...suh-weet.

I thought I had already joined this fine group. I enjoy fishing for the Shellcracker when I get the chance, usually out in Iowa. I have a tale to tell about a local experiance with them. We have a local public strip pit of a little over 10 acres. There was quite a problem with worms in the bluegill. I called the local fisheries bioligest and asked permission to buy and stock red ear hoping it would help. He was impressed,but said there are too many bass there and would scarf up the size fish available for purchase. He said he would get adult fish and stock it when he got time . 2 weeks later there were a set of tracks backing down to the water. This all occured a couple years ago. I stopped fishing that lake for 2 years hoping to remove all the pressure I could. This fall, I returned with a set of rules. No keeping the largest of the bluegill males and no Red Ear. The first 5 fish I caught were Red Ear! They weren't real big at 1/2 to 3/4 lb. but plump and healthy. The next was a big bull bluegill. Finally I got on a nice batch of mid sized gills. When I cleaned them I found no worms.
Did I personally make a difference? Really hard to tell, but to my satisfaction ,The overall size of the gills has improved greatly, worms are about all gone, and have an upcomming red ear population to enjoy.
This is a public lake so I'll be keeping my fingers crossed, but looking good for now.. ole Mike

Shooter, that's an interesting fly. Is that "mono eyes" near the hook bend?

hi David,yes mono,i make them from mono off a broom,it makes great eyes.
it is an easy fly to tie ,just wrap the shank add 4 pcs of flash and wrap,i let the flash run out on both ends of the hook.i cut two short and leave two long at the head and cut them all the same at the tail. (i add a little super glue before i wrap the pearl estaz on ) makes a stronger fly,you know those gills and chinks can be rough on a fly. then trim the top and sides,your are done,i fish it weighted and not. some thank the #4 hook is to large but it works for me and i get better hookups .some times i add a little red underneath with a marker.
i use a lot of pearl estaz in my flys,as it takes marker pin color well,so i just keep a good supply of peral.

I find that in the area that I fish, the dog days of summer are the best for shellcrackers, it simply cannot get too hot for them. remember, they spend alot of time on the bottom, and it's hard to go wrong putting your bait there. If you like watching a bobber try this. Put a slip bobber on your line without any bobber stop. and put enough split shot above your hook to take the bait down. now, wherever you throw that rig the bait will be on the bottom. you don't even have to keep a tight line, give it a little slack. when he takes it, you will either see the horizontal bobber jiggling and pointing in the direction of the fish, or you'll see the slack line on the surface shooting thru the bobber. most of the time they swallow the hook, so you have plenty of time to set the hook. buy your hooks by the hundred. size 4 or size 2 aberdeen crappie hooks, depending on the size of the fish. a 1 1/2 lb. shellcracker will swallow a 7" bass worm with a 3/0 hook.

some good info on red ear feeding habits:
Food habits: Trophic classifications and mode for this species: Invertivore, benthic and drift; crusher. Main food items are snails and small mussels, with aquatic insects taken also. Because of feeding mode, this species is known as the shell cracker in some parts of range (Goldstein and Simon 1999). Seldom feeds at surface; aquatic snails are major food item throughout range; diet also includes insect larvae and cladocerans (Carlander 1977, Lee 1980). Huish (1958) and Wilbur (1969) note this species feeding primarily on bottom-inhabiting organisms; common foods including mollusks (primarily small snails), midge larvae (chironomids), amphipods, and mayfly and dragonfly larvae. Individuals may swim head-down into the bottom, raising a cloud of sand or mud, when feeding on bottom-inhabiting prey such as mayflies or snails (Wilbur 1969). The feeding pattern of this species, crushing and consuming large numbers of snails, is unique among sunfishes found in Texas. To accommodate feeding, both the bones of the pharyngeal jaws are enlarged, as are muscles responsible for the crushing movement. Species also shows a specialized pattern of muscle contraction that is not found in other, nonmolluskan-feeding sunfishes (Wainwright and Lauder 1992). Feeding involves acquiring a snail using the jaws, followed by the transfer of the snail to the pharyngeal area for crushing. After crushing shell, the soft tissues are held between upper chewing pad and pharyngeal teeth, remnants of the shell (about 85% of shell material) is then expelled (Stein et al. 1984). Major food items in Lake Ponchartrain, Louisiana, included mud crabs (Rhithropanopeus), other small crustaceans (especially gammarid amphipods) and midges. Midges more important in diet of small individuals; large large fish fed primarily on mud crabs

I have caught many Shell Crackers in Lake Guntersville Alabama in the Spring. Depending upon what the weather patterns and water conditions have been the months of April thru May are good fishing. When Shell Crackers are on the beds they are very aggressive and will hit a small Beetle Spin (1/32 to 1/16 Oz.) with a Gold Blade that is dressed with a Black/Chartreuse Crayfish. I use Mega-Strike as a scent on the whole Beetle Spin and a portion of the fishing line one foot above the bait. Just cast out and let the Beetle Spin fall all the way to the bottom, then start reeling in slowly. I use 4 to 6 pound test line on a spinning rod and reel. When the Shell Crackers are on the beds they really pound the bait and fight like heck. The small shallow cuts in the lakes shore line seem to produce the best because they are protected from the prevailing winds and warm up first.

hey kip,you are right ,dog days of summer i love them,hot and still,very few fishermen on the lake. but the chinks are there like you said on the bottom just waiting. man we need some good hot louisiana weather.eight weeks tell spring,i guess i will tie a few more flies.


gators bite

Eggman that is a chink for sure aka shellcracker,or redear sunfish,one and the same. a nice fish too.



gators stink

Happiness is a case of cold beer and a spawning bed of 10.5 inch shellcrackers!!!

"Most fishermen swiftly learn that it's a pretty good rule never to show a favorite spot to any fisherman you wouldn't trust with your wife"

gators are ugly

I have two big rules about fishing ,First dont go out there when they are not biting, Second is you have got to know more than the fish,they're pretty smart they hang out in schools

I have actually caught many shellcrackers on a flyrod on the St. Johns river in Florida in shallow water on a floating foam rubber spyder during nesting time although I was told that shellcrackers don't hit on top.

Lord of the Fly,Rods :oh i must respectfully disagree they are always biting where i fish.



gators have big teeth

john i catch chinks(shellcrackers) on fly rods and flies all the time,when they are not spawning ,they seem to like deep water with cover,or cover close to deep water. i fish them low and slow,but you are right during the spawn they will feed like gills and take spiders and most nymphs,i have caught a few on top but just a few.
you are more likely to find chinks in shallow water on or around the full moon ,although the big fish seem to come and go near and in the beds at this time of the month.

I'm honored to join the Shellcrackers Forum as they (and Big Gills) are my favorite fish to catch followed by trophy Pumpkinseeds and Slab Crappies. Looks like you all have some great information on here!!!!

It all started when I took a buddy from church "bass fishing" and he brought a fly rod and live crickets. As I was trolling the banks with a rubber worm he was catching a pile of different types of panfish! I was hooked! I don't think I have fished for bass since.

ok the moon in full on march ,Wednesday, 11 March 2009, 03:37:36 am .
they will be starting to bed ,this weekend should be good,work them beds all day the big fish will be moving in and out. the the odds are females will not be laying this early here,but the big males will be cruising the beds.i catch more big male chinks this time of year in March and April then any other
time.
i can not speak for more northern latitudes,but here in south central Louisiana ,this holds true for me.
the gators are out

Shooter ,what's the water temp. down at Chico?

Southern Indiana it all starts rocking on the full moon of May. I have caught them in april but may is the magic month.

lord of the fly,rods/the water temp is running at 58 in the shallows that are protected from the wind. we had a cold front move in
this past weekend and the temps at night went from the 50s to the 30s.but it will warm up Wednesday the 4th with highs in the 70s and 80 through the weekend,the lows are to be in the 60s.
so it is on ,i will be in the lake all weekend,chasing chinks.

Joe B
may is always hot down here too,some of the best gill,and chink fishing happens on the week of the full moon in may. nothing like catching them gills & chinks when the bedding is hot.

gators like hot water

Thanks Shooter, question ,are the snakes as bad down there as I remember, I always said big snakes know where the big fish are.

Mr. Merical...

The magic water temp here in Southern California seems to be right around 67 degrees for spawning Redear... That's usual early to mid May here...They start moving up closer to shore when the water gets close to 64 degrees, in anticipation of their forthcoming antics. This is when you can get some Monsters. The Full Moon certainly seems to affect these fish (Bluegill too) and if you can get to the lake during that time in May you should have some fun. My friend Jim holds the lake Perris record with a beautiful fish of 2 lbs 12 ozs.

If there is one secret to catching Redears consistently it's probably fish
S L O W... and when you think you are fishing slow enough... fish S L O W E R... Many people don't realize how much line their fishing reels retrieve with just one complete turn of the handle. Some of the reels out there today can retrieve up to 30 inches of line per handle turn. Imagine your bait on the bottom and you turn the handle a complete turn... in just a few seconds... you've just moved your bait about a yard. I try to use quarter turns (that's still almost 6 inches on my Sustain)... it's harder to do than you might think... but if you can control yourself it can be well worth the effort.

Shellcrackers have a special set of 'Teeth' in their throats in order to help them crush snails and such... any bait that looks like a snail or scud will work. We have success with night crawlers... I actually have a fly I bought from Rainy that looks just like a tiny snail that you might find in your garden. It works very well.
One of the Biggest Redears I've ever seen caught (well over 2 lbs) was caught on a Crawdad (crayfish)... Crustaceans would seem the way to go...

Tight Lines

Rob

Excellent advice, Rob. Thanks!

Time of year may be a bit earlier for you, since you are a fair bit south of my location. I suspect the water temps would be a good indicator, however.
In your experience on the lakes you fish....do the redears spawn slightly later, earlier, or about the same time as bluegills? Do they bed as shallow, or a bit deeper than bluegills?

I'll probably be fly-fishing for them, if I can get to them while they are still shallow. Its easy to go slow with a fly.

Redears here generally spawn a little before the Bluegills... Redear about 66 - 68 degrees Bluegills right around 69 - 71 degrees. Having said that... I've found them sharing beds on many occasions. Also keep in mind that they both spawn multiple times throughout the Spring Summer and Fall... never quite with the Fervor that they have for the initial spawn in the Spring but you can still find beds all Summer long.

Regards
Rob

It's been our experience here that the fish tend to 'Bed' with other fish of the same or similar size... The bigger Bull Gills seem to spawn deeper than the others... so if you find a bed in shallow water... go a little deeper in the same area and you might be surprised. The beds are harder to find (See) in the deeper water but if you look for a color change in the water you can spot them... if not use a 'Finder'.. if you do find a bed of Bull Gills... hold on for a fun time... nothing like it... except dinner with the Mother-in-law of course.

Rob

Great! Thanks Rob!

It makes some sense that bigger Bull Gills would build nests in deeper water...but I noticed last year in at least one pond I fish that the bigger bluegills actually had the nests closest to shore...in the shallowest water. It struck me as odd, but maybe they've learned that the smaller cuckolding males are less likely to navigate the maze of deeper nests & bulls to get to theirs?
Or, maybe that pond is just an anomaly.

If the pond is very quiet and doesn't get much foot traffic on or near the bank... you can come across Big Bluegills in shallow water.... quiet places that are not easily accessed and don't get fished too often are likely spots. The lake I fish has heavy shore traffic and quite a few Tubers launching their craft and such. This will spook all fish from spawning close to the shore. The Bull gills at Lake Perris generally spawn deeper than the smaller fish... although there is a quiet bay (won't say where) where the water heats up a little quicker because it is shallow across the entire bay... I've seen Bull gills in there nesting close to the shore and a week or so earlier than the rest of the lake... but as stated earlier it's hard to get to and most people don't want to make the extra effort to get access. One thing the Bluegill look for is not just that specific spawning temperature... they seem to know (a sixth sense almost) when the water will maintain that temperature in order to hatch their eggs...

LOTF,RODS
snakes we have our share ,but they are not to bad in Chicot lake,the Gators keep them down.
but you are right about big snakes and fish,but that holds true for big gators too.

i hate gators

Rob you got the water temps right on the chinks,the gills like that magic 70 ,although i have caught them on the beds in cooler water ,but no females always males the same for chinks. i have caught big male chinks in the beds in 55deg. water ,not fanning and not bedding but in the beds.
the big males seem to move in and out ,i have set on a bed and watched and waited for an hour or more ,you will see a boil or two. roll that fly in and work it slow ,bam big chink ,sometimes two or three then nothing,wait and watch and do the same thing again.they are a strange fish so different from the gills. in there habits and yet sometimes not.


gators eat my fish,i eat gators.

I can see right now I'm going have to take some photos out on the water this year, I've tried not to in the past because sometimes they could be considered evidence.

Hey Shooter, If you were to try float tubes down there when the water temp warms up do you think those gators would be sucking on your toes?

Very interesting about the spawning temp fluctuation due to demographic location.... In my area (Northern Illinois) the reds spawn right after the Gills when water temps are in the mid 70's.

Lord of the Fly,rods
a man in a float tube looks like an audurve to a gator,no man you could not melt me and pour me in a float tube in Chicot Lake.

gators "will" eat you

i went today,15 to 20 mph winds,out of the south,caught a few,not ready yet but close.
water temp dropped ,i had to go deep to find fish,would have been a nice day to go sailing.



gators are out for sure

Hey Shooter, I with you on that ,the scarest time I ever had down there was I was sculling from the front of the john boat and I hit a log right in the ribs with the paddle

well the weather just will not get right,the temp this am is 54 at sunrise,the water temp is in the upper sixteys,the wind is out of the north.
i guess i will go take a shot at those chinks this am.



gators stink

well it's on the water temp is 75,and the big,ole biguns are bumping the beds.
caught a nice mess this am,ugly green sinking spider,nothing like the wine of fly line in the am.

gators walk funny.