What particular varieties of 'gills do you find to get largest? I think my biggest have been the chinquapin/redear/shellcrackers.
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Hi Roger,
The records for various areas with good
populations of both bluegills and red eared
sunfish seems to indicate the red ear will
often exceed the bluegill in size by 25 to
30 percent. That has been my experience
here as well.
It has been theorized that the Santee Cooper
Lakes record red ears may be related to an
effort some years back to erradicate certain
grasses in the lakes. As a result, a
species of snail became very prolific in
an area where the grasses were eliminated
and they are said to be a major food source
for the red ear. The last two world records
as well as several others that exceeded
5 pounds have been documented to be from this particular area of the lakes. If the
theory is valid, it might explain why
Florida and Louisiana are not the current
record holders. Warm regards, Jim
Very interesting. I do find the redears (we call them chinquapin)tend to run larger than the others. I also find I catch more some years than others…last spring was exceptional for example. They LOVE Jitterbees in the spring!
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Hey Roger,
I’m working on another theory as well.
It relates to your spring fishing. I’m
convinced that just prior to the full moon
in April, the redears stage in the shallows
much like the largemouth in a pre-spawn
mode. Prior to actually going on the beds,
these fish can accumulate in numbers with an
appetite and an attitude.G Failure to
locate them during this brief period I
believe means you have missed the best
opportunity of the year to catch them in
numbers and a size that may be hard to find
at other times. Warm regards, Jim
I’d have to agree with you…and I seem to recall that my father talked about fishing at that time exactly.
What kind of depths are you catching them in? Recall that my waters seldom run more than 4 feet, and 90 percent of the time are in the 1-3 feet range.
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I’ve found that in panhandle Florida (the Tallahassee area) the readear/shellcrackers are the heartiest, but occasionally i’ve found a bluegill or two that was really large. The giant bluegill have been few and far between, but as a whole, the shellcracker seems to be a thicker and heartier fish.
I’ve gotten mine in 1-3 ft. of water. The really big bluegill seem to be in 3-5 ft.
Hey, you guys! Don’t let Jim fool you! He is really only about 4’9" tall and everything he owns has been scaled to fit. That rod and those fish are really only the regular 7-9 inchers that the rest of us catch, but with Jim’s scaled down world displayed in the images they look huge.
Don
Man, if I EVER get back to NC, I am gonna HAVE to add a couple of days and come visit you Jim. Do you think us full sized guys will fit in your tiny boat?
Jim–I really enjoyed your article. Good luck in you quest for Breamzilla.
Can you post a few fly photos?
Also, when pursuing these monsters what size tippet are you using?
Thanks, and take care
Hey Roger,
I’m finding them pretty much as you are.
Particularly prespawn in water little more
than a foot deep. I also find they are
very shy then and easy to put down. The
thicker the cover, the more fish. A heavy
overcast or light rain however can make
them seemingly oblivious to your presence
and bring more of them into open waters.
Okie, I find the red ears a good bit
thicker across the shoulders and very strong
for their size. They remind me a lot of
the smallies I used to catch up in Ontario.
Don, at 6’2" and on the wrong side of 250#,
I think I could quickly disprove your petite
theory.G Yep, the boat will take two of
us any time. Come on down.
Warm regards, Jim
I find them usually in the spots where the roots or knees of a group of cypress trees form a sort of circle, or a niche, or something like that. There was a spot on the lake this spring that I went back to week after week and I don’t know if I was catching the same fish, but I caught a dozen or more every single time out of that spot. They loved a red-black Jitterbee under and indicator.
There were a lot of red-breasted bluegills mixed in with the redears, too, in that spot.
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I have read that often, you are more likely to catch big bass in the winter. Do you suppose it is possible that the same could hold true for the next record shellcracker?
Swamp
Hey Swampy,
In my opinion, No! Reason being, I
believe it’s going to take another big fat
female bursting at the gills with roe to
top the 5 pound 7 1/2 ounce record. But,
I could be wrong.G Warm regards, Jim
I really enjoyed your article Jim. Keep them coming! I seem to learn something most every day on this site. Do you tend to let your midges sit for a while, resting on the bottom, and then moving it occasionally? Or do you swim it along, varying the retrieve? Thanks.
Jim,
Nice article…You know it’s only a matter of time until Dotman & I free up some days at the same time & show up on your doorstep! IMHO, there is NOTHING like super huge gills & 'ears!
Mike
Hey Spence,
As my waters are generally pretty
skinny, mostly 3 foot or less where I prefer
to fish, I often tie my thread midges either
unweighted or lightly weighted. After my
cast I let them slowly settle to the bottom
while watching my line. Once it hits bottom
I slowly raise my rod tip and bring it to
the surface 2 or 3 feet closer to the boat
and let it settle again. Most of my hits
are on the drop and if the fish are gonna
cooperate, I’ll get them on the first or
second drop. If not, I cast to another
likely looking spot.
Hey Mike,
I’m all for it. Sounds like a good time
for sure. Bring your 6’ 8 wt swamp rods and
a bunch of 2/0 scuds. You’ll be all set.G
Warm regards, Jim
Jim,
Thanks for the reply. I’ve got to try fishing midges more often.
Hey, great article, Jim. Ditto here on big bream also but I tend to get more Gills and other bream than Shellcrackers (Redear Sunfish). Maybe I’m holding my mouth wrong 
. But I did get a 10 inch Shellcracker last season that was the biggest Shellcracker I’ve ever caught. I get a lot of Stumpknockers (Spotted Sunfish), Redbreast Sunfish, and Warmouth too. I agree with you and Roger. Seems to me that Shellcrackers tend to be larger and seem to fight harder than most Gills or other bream.
Robert B. McCorquodale
Sebring, FL
“Flip a fly”
Jim-
Good point. Catching a buck that size would be an accomplishment beyond imagination!
After reading this and the scuds and midges thread, I think my mistake in catching huge shellcrackers is I fish TOO FAST! I guess I always fish for redbreasts, which tend to be more aggressive. I’ll be ready in April…
Swamp
Jim, thanks for writing that great article. And especially, thanks for including the photo of the Twin Torpedoes (a photo you attached to a BB post reply you sent me this spring). Just looking at those fish again…they’re awe-inspiring.
It was in that same BB reply, if memory serves, that you mentioned one of the rods you frequently use – a 2 or 3-weight. Here is where my memory is on shaky ground: I recall you saying that the rod LENGTH is 6 feet. Is that correct? Do you actually fish for these monster 'ears and 'gills using a rod so light and short?
If so, how come? Does such rod shortness give you a tactical advantage when casting in swamp areas?
Joe
“Better small than not at all.”
Hello Joe,
Yes, my rods range in size from 4 to 6 1/2 feet. There are several reasons I fish
such short rods. First because they are in
fact much easier for me in the tighter areas
of the cypress swamps. When you view the
reachable waters and the obstructions that
confront you most of the time, it really is
much like small stream fishing. But mostly,
I do it because I enjoy it so darned much.
My favorite rods are a 5’ JP Ross slow action 3 weight and a 6 1/2’ Diamondback
med fast 3 wt. The first I mostly use for
dries or scuds without an indicator and the
other for indicators and nymphs or scuds.
It just works for me.G Warm regards, Jim