# Magnum Shellcrackers



## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

I took a longtime friend and her husband fishing for the first time yesterday to my favorite lake (Yates). Unsure of their skill level, I figured bream fishing would be entertaining. Husband is a semi-retired doctor and had not fished since college. After tweaking up his technique a bit (holding spinning reel upside down), we found a shellcracker bed holding some studs.

The good doctor caught on quickly, and the two of them caught some of the finest shellcrackers I've ever seen - six of them over 12" with three of them right at 13".

I stayed busy unhooking fish and retying hooks and baiting hooks and letting the bream pee on the missus, much to her delight (NOT!).

Kept a mixed bag of 23 shellcrackers, bluegills, and spotted bass.


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## TeaSea (Sep 28, 2013)

Every time I read one of your posts I want to beg a trip fishing up there with ya!!


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## Jeffbro999#2 (Feb 17, 2014)

Man, nice catches! Those spots get lost in there with all those big gills and shellcrackers! Great job putting them on some fish.


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## 69Viking (Oct 30, 2008)

TeaSea said:


> Every time I read one of your posts I want to beg a trip fishing up there with ya!!


+1 I know what you mean!


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## jcoss15 (Oct 11, 2010)

that's fine!


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## GROUPERKING (Sep 28, 2011)

Yes sir, super nice crackers !


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

TeaSea said:


> Every time I read one of your posts I want to beg a trip fishing up there with ya!!


You guys only hear about the good trips, but thanks just the same.

I put a lot of pressure on myself to produce and yesterday was very lucky. We found ONE bed full of bigguns. All my secondary spots were a bust. Thank goodness for that one spot.


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## Try'n Hard (Oct 23, 2008)

DANG!!..................just DANG!!!
Earthworms?


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## Triton1 (Jan 31, 2010)

Great looking shell crackers! The ones I catch are lighter in color and definitely not that big. Jealous  way to go


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

Try'n Hard said:


> DANG!!..................just DANG!!!
> Earthworms?


Yep. I brought 2 boxes of pink worms and 2 boxes of what they call "super reds" or "giant reds". Caught all of them on ONE box of giant reds. They were catching two or three fish on one worm.

Fun day. And they took home some of the sweetest meat freshwater has to offer. :thumbsup:


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## Jason (Oct 2, 2007)

Man that's an AWESOME time fer all....maybe you sparked your friends to start fishing again!!!


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

Triton1 said:


> Great looking shell crackers! The ones I catch are lighter in color and definitely not that big. Jealous  way to go


Yeah, these fish all looked almost black, and I'm assuming it's a spawning thing. Possibly these are the males prepping the bed for the females? All of the fish were very robust (thick) like they were just begining to bed. After they've been on the bed a while, they start looking a little thin.

Pic below is one I caught a week ago not on the bed (lighter color).


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## Bodupp (Oct 3, 2007)

Jason said:


> Man that's an AWESOME time fer all....maybe you sparked your friends to start fishing again!!!


I think that was the doc's wife's intentions with him going into full retirement soon. 

If he didn't have fun yesterday, fishing just ain't his thing.


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## born2fizh (Feb 6, 2008)

The black ones are the males..


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## Try'n Hard (Oct 23, 2008)

Bodupp said:


> Yep. I brought 2 boxes of pink worms and 2 boxes of what they call "super reds" or "giant reds". Caught all of them on ONE box of giant reds. They were catching two or three fish on one worm.
> 
> Fun day. And they took home some of the sweetest meat freshwater has to offer. :thumbsup:



With all the different names I just ask for the worms in sawdust!


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