Shellcrackers in fall at Ky or Barkley ?

[brucehampton]

Where are the redear in the fall ? Any success stories in sept oct
at Ky or Barkley ? If I can't catch a bass....maybe a cracker.
All help appreciated !

[kc]

I have never caught any quantities of shell crackers other than when they are on the beds in the spring but I have caught them in the late summer/ fall on gravel banks up in the big bays on KY. I have caught them on small crank baits (ultra-light) or small bluegill-sized jigs. They are always on gravel and I can't remember ever catching more than a couple on any one spot. They also tend to be on gravel banks that have deeper water near by. I haven't found them in the backs of the bays in the fall.

kc

[the_donger]

I tight line bottom fish for anything that will bite a nightcrawler and I have lots of success with shellcrackers off of my dock. I am in a small cove, towards the back end. That is about all I know.

[brucehampton]

Thanks for your help fellas.....I have to find something
that might bite this time of year. Sounds like gravel
could be the key here...maybe 10 feet deep ? or would
they be deeper or more shallow ?

[Danny]

Hey Bruce,

Are you just looking for Bream? If so, I found a bank quite by accident in a tournament once that held a lot of huge bream. If you go out of KY Lake Marina right by the dam, and go straight across the lake, at a little angle south to avoid some shallow water, you will be heading toward the canal. Well, just north of the canal is a bank where there is a bay for loading barges with coal. We were fishing the main lake shoreline there one afternoon, and there was a lot of wood in the water. We caught several huge bream, of some particular type, I call them all bluegills...LOL. But we caught them on bass baits, crankbaits primarily.

I don't know if that was an annomally or if they hold there. The fish were biting in about 7-10 feet. I've not been back, as I don't normally fish for 'gills, but you might try it out.

Danny

[kc]

Most of the fish I have caught on the small crank baits are shallow. I mostly fish north of the bridge and just crank shallow gravel bars in the bays. It is a fun technique in that you can catch about anything on those small cranks. Early and late when the sun is off of the water is best.

kc

[apextrail]

The wife and I found some real nice shell crackers on rocky points near deep water in Sugar Bay this weekend. She had a ball and I have to admit they were fun catching on the ultralights.

[brucehampton]

Thanks for all the help.....I will try the suggestions soon.

[the_donger]

I had limited success off the dock, in the grass this weekend. We were casting into between 10-15 ft. of water. With and without bobbers.

[kc]

Sugar bay is great. Did you catch the shell crackers on artificials or live bait?

kc

[the_donger]

Nightcrawlers

[apextrail]

1/8 oz. rooster tails. I was throwing black and the wife was throwing white. They hit both equally well. Really nice size also.