Redear sunfish have earned a reputation as the king of Bama's bream species. Photo courtesy of Polly Dean.

Perhaps no fish swimming in Alabama waters pays more attention to nature's clock than the shellcracker. Like a precision timepiece, the big panfish heeds nature's call in mid-spring, performs its duties to propagate the species, and then disappears for much of the remainder of the year.

With that clock ticking for only a short period each year, north Alabama bream fishermen ply the waters of the Tennessee Valley Authority reservoirs and the Coosa River lakes in search of 'crackers. Their reward is the biggest and the "baddest" of the bream, a great sporting fish on light tackle and excellent eating as well.

Shellcrackers are the king of the panfish, earning a dominant perch among the clan collectively labeled "bream," which also includes bluegills and the various other sunfish species. Formally known as redear sunfish, 'crackers grow bigger, fight more aggressively, and fillet into slab-size chunks suitable for the frying pan.

The best fishing occurs in a two- to three-week window in late April or early May. That is the time when the bigger shellcrackers move to the spawning areas, reproduce in tightly woven colonies, and then retreat to parts unknown. Not to say that shellcrackers never appear at other times of the year -- lucky anglers happen on numbers of the big panfish around willow fly hatches later in the summer. But for consistent action, the period leading up to the peak spawn is the time to take shellcrackers in numbers.

Shellcracker anglers keep an eye on the thermometer as spring replaces the wintry blasts in March and early April. When the water hits 60 degrees, the excitement starts to build.

"That's what triggers it," said TVA fisheries biologist Donny Lowery. "The whole spawning activity is predicated on water temperature. There will be some spawning activity as early as April in north Alabama, and sometimes, the water temp cools down and the fish re-absorb their eggs. They will begin to spawn again when the water warms back up.

"Usually around 60 to 62 is when they will start, up to about 65. And they will spawn in even warmer waters. Sometimes earlier in the year, and later in some years, depending on the weather conditions. Usually around early May is an optimum time for the redears to spawn."

At this time, anglers can find shellcrackers guarding their domains in shallow water. Unfortunately, they seem to disappear by the summer months.

"I don't know where they go," said Boaz guide Charles Slaton, who targets the various bream species exclusively on Lake Guntersville from mid-April until the end of May. "I don't know anyone who can tell you where they go. The bluegills spawn on every full moon through September, but the shellcrackers just seem to disappear. They probably move out into deeper water, much like bass do, but I don't know anyone who catches a lot of them after the end of May."