Redear

Shellcrackers...redear are called this since they feed on, among other things, snails. They have pharyngeal teeth in their throat that allow them to crush shells. Like many, I find myself searching for these "bream with shoulders" each spring when they are considered easiest to find and catch, and this spring was no exception.

Some of my hot spots were already occupied when I reached the lake, but fortunately my favorite location was unmolested. In my Outcast Super Fat Cat I slowly made my way from the boat ramp across the lake in hopes of tempting some of these brutes. Kicking furiously, I managed to arrive near enough to my favorite locale that a newly arriving fishing tandem graciously chose not to muscle in.

Honestly, it is really one of those places that most will overlook, or, fortunately for me, decide it is too small and shallow to consider fishing. Even though the area is small and shallow, the underwater highway the fish use is a small creek channel, almost a ditch, that winds it's way from the back of the pool to the deeper channel of the cove. I've yet to be disappointed in this general area when the lake level is near normal pool. If the water level is higher...it's good. If the lake is three or more feet below normal...fuhgeddaboudit.

This year taught me something that I had either overlooked in the past, or was just unique to this day...I'm eager to return to the lake a time or two before the full moon Thursday the 27th to test this theory. I found that the redear brought to hand almost always came on the first bump of the cast. If I missed the first bump, but managed a hook-up on a second, third, etc., bump, all but one of the fish were bluegill or some other sunfish. So, the rule of the day appeared to be "lay down your best cast and be ready for that first lick if you want to do the dance with the redear".

In two hours, give or take, I tangled with 25+ bream, 2 largemouth bass, 2 drum, 1 spotted bass, and at least 13 redear. Three or four were rather small in the 4-5 inch range. The others, however, were really nice fish in the 8-11 inch range. All fish brought to hand were admired briefly and then returned to their watery abode and are hopefully preparing to do the deed that will keep me coming back.