JIM HATCH

[jalama]

whay are some of your favorite patterns for redear?

[Jim Hatch]

Hey Jalama,

I catch most of my red ears in 3 feet
of water or less. Mostly in areas of mild
cypress swamps or stands of cypress on the
shallow flats.

I catch fully half of my red ears on
a brown, grey, or olive scud. They seem to
love them. The rest of them usually fall
for a grey thread midge or nymph. I usually
fish them about 18 inches under a small
popper or minnow imitation. In late summer
and fall I fish them under a hopper pattern.
Most go for the subsurface but enough will
take the popper or hopper to keep it fun. I catch a lot of them right on through summer in the heat of the
day by putting my fly against the cypress
trees on the shady side. Hope this helps.
Warm regards, Jim

[Jim Hatch]

Hey Pete,

No buddy, I didn't forget them. They
are great flies. Just that I'll normally
catch 2 or 3 gills on a PT nymph to each
redear whereas on the scuds I get 2 or 3
redears to every gill.*G* I will say, the
PT nymphs you tie are as good as I've ever
fished.*G* Warm regards, Jim

[rrhyne56]

now that is very interesting. Those ratios that is to say.

I am going to hazard a guess that since the redears are bottom-oriented, snails and such, that the scuds must more closely resemble what they tend to eat on a regular basis.



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RRhyne56
[url=http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com:400f4]http://www.robinscustomleadersandflies.com[/url:400f4]
IM = robinrhyne@hotmail.com

[Jim Hatch]

Hey Robin,

About 4 years ago I got into trying to
concentrate more on the red eared sunfish.
I'd find them mingling with their cousins
the bluegills. While the PT nymphs would
quickly elicit a strike, it was more often
than not one of the gills. For a brief
period that spring we had clearer than
normal waters for whatever reason and I
could see the big hulking redears watching
my flies but not really arguing the point
with the gills. It was RG I believe that
originally suggested the scuds and they
were an instant success. They still catch
the odd bluegill, but the redears are more
agressive with the scuds and I catch fewer
bluegills. Not that I've ever complained
about catching bluegills, but redears here
on the Santee Cooper Lakes have to be seen
to be believed.*G* I have yet to try a
snail pattern on them but understand that
they are a favorite of the redears and the
primary reason they are called "shellcrackers" here in the South.
I hope to resolve that issue in the next
few weeks. Warm regards, Jim

[jlm]

thanks jim

i have been told that the shellcrackers bed earlier than the bluegill, maybe even in feb. here in mississippi, and that they usually only bed once per year. in the lake that i fish the red ear are respectable but many of the bluegill are stunted and will readily bite anything they can. to my knowledge i have never seen a scud and am curious to see how they will work here. i assume from your last post that you must have some type of snail pattern. i hope my blue gill are educated enough to leave the scuds for the big shellcrackers and that the shellcrackers realize what a delicacy i am presenting to them! thanks again for all your help. if you care to share a snail pattern i would appreciat it.

[Jim Hatch]

Hi JLM,

When I find it I'll be happy to share
it. *G* Still looking. Any of you folks
out there with snail patterns you'd like to
swap for "When Pigs Fly" or my latest top
water minnow or hula popper dremel bugs, let
me know.*G*

JLM, one thing I believe is that our
redears here on the lakes will spawn every
full moon through the warmer months. That
certainly seems to be the case. Based on my
personal experience, I do believe your right
about the red ears initial bedding being
earlier than the bluegills. I suspect the
next full moon will be it here. Warm
regards, Jim

[ohiotuber]

1) I WILL fish with Jim Hatch within the next 12-14 months!
2) If ANYONE deserves to catch a world record redear, it is Jim...I just hope he does it! So much knowledge & he's always willing to share it.
Mike

[dixieangler]

Previous thread on redear (shellcracker) .
[url=http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum20/HTML/001032.html:02815]http://www.flyanglersonline.com/bb/Forum20/HTML/001032.html[/url:02815]


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Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL

"Flip a fly"

[millerwb]

JLM,

If you are fishing somewhere and teh BG are stunted due to over population (VERY EASY for them to do), You need to not put them back in the water when you catch them. The only way to cure the overpopulation and resulting stunting is to reduce the population by no C&R on that one species.