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