Shellcrackers are the rule, but a mixed creel is likely

Shellcrackers may be the target, but Lake Murray fishermen will likely wind up with a mixed bag that includes bluegill, largemouth bass, white perch, striped bass and catfish.

Retired guide Doug Lown said that when fishing for shellcrackers around high spots that drop into deep water, catching multiple species is pretty common.

“The species we’re after — and the one we’re most likely to catch — is shellcracker,” Lown said. “But when you cast a nightcrawler on places like this, you’re going to catch a variety of species. from an action and activity standpoint, that can be a very good thing. It keeps us busy catching fish, and most of the other fish are fun to catch and also make good table fare.”

Lown said not to skimp on bait, he sometimes uses a whole nightcrawler and he said he catches more big fish doing that.

“I’ve actually watched shellcrackers feed when fishing real clear water, and they’ll come up to a big gob of nightcrawler more quickly than a small piece of worm,” he said. “Also, with the whole worm, it will also wiggle a bit, and usually when it does, that shellcracker can’t stand it and will just suck the whole thing in. So even when I can’t see the bottom most of the time, I have a good idea what’s going on, so I use a whole worm and seem to catch bigger fish.

“Not only do we catch plenty of shellcracker, on a typical day, we’ll catch a mixed bag of fish including some big bluegill, plus several hefty white perch and occasionally some big largemouth bass. In addition, we’ve got a lot of 5- to 10-pound channel catfish, and the lake is full of blue, white and flatheads as well. It’s not unusual to hook any of these fish using nightcrawlers as bait. Sometimes we’ll hook a real big catfish, but catfish in the 5- to 10-pound class are frequently hooked and caught. Even though the focus is on shellcrackers, we’ll stay busy with other species as well.”

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Award-winning writer and photographer Terry Madewell of Ridgeway, S.C., has been an outdoors writer for more than 30 years. He has a degree in wildlife and fisheries management and has a long career as a professional wildlife biologist/natural resources manager.