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Tips for fishing shell beds

Shell and rock are oftentimes mixed together, and the bank’s composition may hint to what’s below your boat. Trees sweeten the spot. Photo by Gary Tramontina

Bass don't eat mussels, as far as we know.

But for some reason, bass and mussels go together like oysters and Louisiana hot sauce. In most lakes around the country, if you find shell bottom, you find bass for a major part of the year. It’s likely that the hard stratum is the base of a food chain that attracts crawfish and minnows, which in turn attract gamefish. In any case, shellbeds are go-to fishing spots for many top pros across a wide swath of bassing America.