“Fall Fishing with Shane Anderson and Brad Whitehead and the Mister Mino at Pickwick, Bear Creek and Wilson Lakes”
Part 4: Bream Fishing with Shane Anderson
Editor’s Note: Shane Anderson of Corinth, Mississippi, guides and fishes on Pickwick Lake on the Mississippi/Tennessee/Alabama border.
Question: Shane, how do you use the Mister Mino to catch bluegills and shellcrackers (redear sunfish)?
Anderson: I’ll put the Mister Mino on the back of a Mepps #0 spinner, which works especially well when the bluegills and the shellcrackers are holding on a stake bed. That spinner gives the Mister Mino flash and a little bit of action that attracts bluegills and shellcrackers. With the flash of a blade like the Mepps spinner and a natural-looking bait, like the Mister Mino, you not only will catch bluegills and shellcrackers.You’ll catch any fish holding in the region around where the bluegills and shellcrackers are bedding, including largemouth bass and/or catfish.  Think of the Mister Mino as if it’s a live minnow, and then you can use it in combination with any type of lure to catch any species of fish that will eat a live minnow.
To locate a bluegill or a shellcracker bed, use an ultra-light rod like the B’n’M SharpShooter with 4- to 6-pound-test line, and cast down the bank. When you catch a bluegill or a shellcracker, cast back to that same spot with the Mepps spinner/Mister Mino combo. If you catch a second bream out of this same region, you’ll know you’ve found a bream bed. Once I locate a bream bed, I’ll try to fish the edges of the bed to catch the fish bedding further away from the center of the bedding area. When I hook a fish, and it runs for deep water, then that fish won’t spook the other fish holding on the bed.  Remember that there are generally bluegills bedding well away from the bank in 6 to 8 feet of water. Therefore, swim the Mepps spinner/Mister Mino combo very slowly out to deep water, which often is where you’ll locate the biggest bluegills.
Big bluegills tend to bed in deeper water. You’ll often find shellcrackers and bluegills holding along wing walls below dams. I like to cast parallel to the dam wall and retrieve the bait right down the side of the wing wall because that’s where shad minnows usually run and feed. So, when you provide the flash of the Mepps spinner to the Mister Twister Mister Mino, you’ll attract and catch any fish holding on that wing wall.
Although I primarily use the Mister Mino to catch crappie, I’ve also learned to use it to catch bluegills and other species of fish.  Because the Mister Mino and the Mepps spinner are easy to cast and fish, this bait combination is an excellent choice for youngsters to use. Remember that youngsters like to catch a number of any kinds of fish. They’re wired for action. Since the Mepps spinner and the Mister Mino will catch any fish that swims, this lure combination is tailored for young people. I call it the 6-to-80 bait because any one from 6- to 80-years old can catch a fish using this combination.
For more information on fishing with Shane Anderson, call (662) 416-1874.
| 
My Account 
Print This Page 
E-mail This Page
