Shell-Crackin’ The Code
Keith Lusher 05.30.23
When it comes to fishing, there’s always something we can learn as far as techniques used to catch more fish. But how about bream fishing? I mean, how much more advanced can you get? It’s a simple bobber and hook with either a worm or a cricket, right?
Ray Miller of Madisonville, La has been bream fishing all his life and said one of his favorite bream to target are shell crackers aka Chinquapin. Over the years Miller has learned more about these fish by trying different techniques. I made a trip to the Tchefuncte River with Miller to learn what techniques he uses to target these fish that are highly prized for their girth and the amount of meat they provide when filleted.
Miller put his flatboat in at the Menetre Boat Launch in Covington and headed south under the Interstate 12 overpass. About a half mile past the overpass, Miller turned into a canal just off of the river. After he lowered his trolling motor, he opened a styrofoam box filled with dirt and night crawlers. He handed one to me and it was fluorescent green. Miller adds a product called Worm-Glo. “It’s actually worm food. They eat it and it turns them bright green,” he said. I threaded a small pinch about one inch long onto my hook and casted out near the shoreline.
Miller casted out and immediately caught a 7-inch shell cracker. My cork shot under as I joined in on the action. I reeled in a 6-inch Bluegill. As we made out way down the canal, I noticed Miller was catching shell crackers and I seemed to be catching other types of bream. The 73-year-old told me a little about what he’s learned about the fish through the years. “Shell crackers like the bait moving so when you cast out, let it sit for a second, then slowly lift your rod tip pulling the cork towards you,” he said.
I did exactly what he said and lo and behold, my cork shot under as I raised my rod. Immediately, the shell cracker splashed the surface and I reeled it in. “That’s another thing about these fish. When you set the hook on them, they head towards the surface,” Miller said.
After that, I kept raving my rod ever so slightly so that my cork would pull through the water slowly. From then on I started catching shell crackers 3-1 over other types of bream.
Miller said this is the way to get more meat in your freezer with less work at the cleaning station. “If you look closely at shell crackers you’ll notice that they are thicker than regular bream. This makes for a really nice fillet after you’re done cleaning them,” he said. We fished until noon when the sun really started beating down un us and counted 34 bream. Miller said the spawn should go strong through the rest of the month and advises using night crawlers rigged three feet under a pencil cork.
