Shell Crackers

[DaveS]

Does anyone else on the hunting forums fish for "Shell Crackers" ? I love it. LBL just opened back up today after flooding, and I'm going after a load of "Stump Knockers" tomorrow. Will let ya'll know how I do.

[Guest Grout]

I enjoy fishing for pan fish (shell cracker,bream,bluegill) they have been hitting pretty good for the last several weeks.Back in March I caught the largest bream of my life.It was at least 10 inches long and wider than my hand and weighed well over a pound.I knew they got that big but had never caught one myself.I checked and the state record is 3lbs.I can't imagine a bream that big.

[DaveS]

They have been bitting good for a couple weeks. All the boat ramps in this area were/are closed and no one had access to the fish. Some ramps just opened back up today. It's game on!

[ShaunM]

I mainly fish for bass and catfish but I still love pan fishing. Well I guess I bream fish when I bass fish since they are in the same family.

[DaveS]

Yes Sir....sunfish family!

[KahrMan]

Did someone say something about large sunfish....

This guy was caught on May 2nd in Lake Havasu. It is the new AZ state record and ties the world record for red ear sunfish. 5lbs 8oz. It is actually 1 oz larger than the previous record but IGFA rules state that you have to beat the record by 2 oz to be considered a new record.

Photos: New Potential World Record Sunfish from Arizona's Lake Havasu | Field & Stream

[DaveS]

Now that's a sunfish!

[Oh Shoot]

It's just about time to really start taking them on topwater, too. The cool water temps have probably delayed that a little, though I haven't fished in several years, so don't know for sure.

My ultimate favorite bream fishing is with flyrod. You can use wet fly stuff anytime, but there's nothing like grabbing them when they go savage on popping bucks/sponge spiders, whatever. Especially savage when they're on the nesting beds, the males will strike out of defensive even if not hungry, and the females stay hungry because they are confined to the bed until they've laid their eggs.

The occasional nice bass you grab this way even on very small lures are always a bonus, too.

- OS

[JAB]

I am pretty much a bank fisherman. We had a boat for a while but I still did better from the bank and the boat was a PITA so it got sold. The biggest bream I have ever caught (and they still weren't anywhere near a record but not bad sized fish) have been on a live nightcrawler rigged like you would rig a plastic in a Texas rig. I work it just about like you would a Texas rig (but slowly.) Sometimes (at least where I usually fish, in Watts Bar and Loudon lakes) it seems like the little 'gills, etc. swim around near the top while the bigger fellas stay closer to the bottom. At least, any bream of any decent size I have ever caught were caught pretty deep.

To me, bream are just about as good eating as crappie (which is my favorite freshwater fish to eat.) If only I could catch bream big enough to fool with. I don't like 'cooking on the bone' - I prefer fish that are big enough to filet. I've caught a few bream big enough to filet but those are few and far between. The smaller ones I usually just turn loose. Those little dudes are fun to catch, though - if they were large fish with the same fighting spirit, we might never land one.

Edited May 20, 2011 by JAB

[ShaunM]

Did someone say something about large sunfish....

This guy was caught on May 2nd in Lake Havasu. It is the new AZ state record and ties the world record for red ear sunfish. 5lbs 8oz. It is actually 1 oz larger than the previous record but IGFA rules state that you have to beat the record by 2 oz to be considered a new record.

Photos: New Potential World Record Sunfish from Arizona's Lake Havasu | Field & Stream

WOW!!!!!!!!!

[DaveS]

I love crappie, bass and catfish. I love smoking salmon and trout as well.....but for some reason.....those bream are about as fine eating as you would want. I usually carry the stuff in my bass rig to cook shore lunches. My favorite is Fried Bluegill, Fried Potatoes and pork & Beans. Cooked on a driftwood fire on the banks of Kentucky Lake! And by the way...I caught NOTHING today! HumBug!

[ShaunM]

I love crappie, bass and catfish. I love smoking salmon and trout as well.....but for some reason.....those bream are about as fine eating as you would want. I usually carry the stuff in my bass rig to cook shore lunches. My favorite is Fried Bluegill, Fried Potatoes and pork & Beans. Cooked on a driftwood fire on the banks of Kentucky Lake! And by the way...I caught NOTHING today! HumBug!

You making me hungry for some fish. I guess I need to hit up the rock quarry.

[Oh Shoot]

....To me, bream are just about as good eating as crappie (which is my favorite freshwater fish to eat.) If only I could catch bream big enough to fool with. I don't like 'cooking on the bone' - I prefer fish that are big enough to filet. I've caught a few bream big enough to filet but those are few and far between. ...

Bream have much better flavor to me. Crappie texture is very nice, but bland. I actually like stripe (white bass) better than crappie.

But anyway, I've always filleted hand sized bream. I scale and leave skin on, do most all fish this way. Little finger sized fillets are just fine, and the skin keeps them together.

I've done more fishing in the Keys in last 20 years than fresh water; down there, the mainstay "panfish" is the blue striped grunt; it tastes remarkably like bluegill to me, but average about a pound or a tad less, a whopper is over two. I know of no better tasting fish.

- OS

[ShaunM]

OhShoot your right there. Stripe, Hybrids and White bass do taste better than Crappie. What I like about Bream is you can drive almost anywhere and catch them pretty easily in most days.

[DaveS]

Cross Creeks Wildlife Refuge just opened back up after flooding (time to go back to work with GW's). I know a couple of bream holes there that me and my wife are gonna hit tomorrow. One of our favorite ways to cook bream, is to make "poor man's shrimp". Filet and remove the skin. Drop in shrimp boil for about 1 minute. Very hard to beat!!!

[memphismason]

I am with you WD-40. I love Bream. I would pick bream over catfish, trout, crappie, bass, and etc. It tastes great!

[DaveS]

We ended up with 3 nice White Bass, 20 bigger than hand size bream and a decent channel cat. One fine supper is coming this week!

[DaveS]

Going jug fishing for cats tomorrow. Never been before. Game Warden friend is going to teach me how. Man, I can't wait! I can trotline fish, but have never jug fished before. I built my jugs (pool noodles) as directed. Now, I just need to know how to fish them!

[Guest Jcochran88]

Nothing like shell cracker, we usually catch them on mill worms.

[R_Bert]

Going jug fishing for cats tomorrow. Never been before. Game Warden friend is going to teach me how. Man, I can't wait! I can trotline fish, but have never jug fished before. I built my jugs (pool noodles) as directed. Now, I just need to know how to fish them!

<lights fuse, hands to warden> "you gonna hold that, or fish ??"

[DaveS]

lol That's about right!

[Guest SUNTZU]

It's just about time to really start taking them on topwater, too. The cool water temps have probably delayed that a little, though I haven't fished in several years, so don't know for sure.

My ultimate favorite bream fishing is with flyrod. You can use wet fly stuff anytime, but there's nothing like grabbing them when they go savage on popping bucks/sponge spiders, whatever. Especially savage when they're on the nesting beds, the males will strike out of defensive even if not hungry, and the females stay hungry because they are confined to the bed until they've laid their eggs.

The occasional nice bass you grab this way even on very small lures are always a bonus, too.

- OS

Watch out for water moccasins and blue hoop snakes while fly fishing around here.

And screw you guys, I'm going fishing. It sucks looking at a pond that's 100 yards away with fish jumping in it left and right while working a ten hour day.

[Oh Shoot]

Watch out for water moccasins and blue hoop snakes while fly fishing around here.

If you take along your black panther, it will kill them for you. A BigFoot is worthless for this, though - he'll just want you to bait his hook while he drinks all your beer.

And screw you guys, I'm going fishing. It sucks looking at a pond that's 100 yards away with fish jumping in it left and right while working a ten hour day.

“Three fourths of the Earth’s surface is water, and one forth is land, therefore, it is clear the good lord intended a man spend three times as much time fishing as he does working.”

- OS

[memphismason]

“Three fourths of the Earth’s surface is water, and one forth is land, therefore, it is clear the good lord intended a man spend three times as much time fishing as he does working.”

- OS

That is awesome. I will be stealing that and posting it on the ole Facebook. I will credit the great -OS

[Oh Shoot]

That is awesome. I will be stealing that and posting it on the ole Facebook. I will credit the great -OS

Nah, I heard it as a kid, have even seen it on wall plaques and whatnot.

- OS