Reelfoot fishing

[00buckhunting]

I will be fishing at reelfoot at the end of march can anybody give a new comer some good info. It sure would be a big help Thanks

[Larry C]

They're catching some nice crappie now in the deeper water on the Lower Blue Basin. If you're going the last week in March, the crappie should be moving towards the shallow water or will already be there. But it depends on the weather and water temps. They've had a pretty mild winter so the water hasn't cooled down very much.

I always go the 2nd or 3rd week of April and they are usually spawning or close to it. If you look for boats all bunched up in a certain location such as Green Island Point that will tell you the fish are biting there. That is the deepest water on the lake. Swan Basin is just around the corner from Green Island and has water ranging from 3-10 ft deep.

If the crappie are in shallow, you can try Bell's Stumps (4-8 ft), If they are already in the trees spawning, Kirby's Pocket, Eagle Nest Timber and Buzzards Slough are good places to try.

The locals spider rig and slow troll over the stumps. If you can get a day where the wind is 3-4 mph it's just as easy to drift sideways with the wind and drag jigs and minnows at different levels. When you start catching fish, mark the area, and keep drifting over the area. I take a trolling motor and depth finder with me when we go. Have had good luck on red/char, black/char and blue/white tubes or bubblegum/char, orange/char or all charetuse curly tail grubs.

If it is windy, and it will be (always is) you can try fishing the lily pads in close to the bank or in the canals for bluegill out of the wind. That lake gets very dangerous when the wind blows so use your head about your safety. I have spent a couple days on my trips several times sitting on the bank watching the waves crash onshore. You'll be fishing in a 12 ft jon boat with a 6 hp motor and that's not a good match against a 15-20 wind.

Good luck and I hope this helps you some. I'll be there the 3rd week of April this year so don't catch all the big ones.

[crappiencali]

I went to Reelfoot last March and we did well using a fly-n-float from the boat beating the shores. Used blue and white and black and charteuse. If not troll Reelfoot rigs wig shiners.

[Crappie Xtreme]

Believe what Larry C is telling you about the wind it gets bad on that lake. I fish reelfoot several times a year and have been for a long time. Great place to fish but if it is windy it is dangerous. If you don't know where you can run the motor if a storm blows in you will be in trouble. I have a 2003 18 foot polar craft with a 60 horse on the back and got caught out there a few years back with my wife and kids in a storm. Nice day then the storm blew in out of no where and we could not get across the lake fast enough to avoid it. The waves were so big as we were going across the lake, I was sitting at the console and the waves were hitting the back of the boat and going over my head to the front of my boat. We were scared out of our minds. The bad thing is it was open water. Because of the stumps we could not run the motor to get away fast enough and we were only 1/4 to a 1/2 mile from the ramp. When we got to the ramp the waves literally picked my boat up and sat it on the bank. Three locals that were at the ramp saw what happened and helped me get the boat back in the water and on the trailer. If it were not for them I don't know what I would have done. That was the scariest time I have ever been on the water because of my wife and my two boys.
Kirby's pocket is an excellent place to fish and if it does get a little windy you can get in the cypress tree's there to avoid some of it.
Be careful and good fishing it is a great lake to fish.
P/S lots of over hanging limbs on them there cypress tree's and the snakes love to lay on them so look above your head before you go under a limb.

[00buckhunting]

Thanks for all info guy I really i'am looking forward to going down there

Thanks Again

[BIG M]

Check The Wind And See Which Way It Is Blowing, You Can Go To Different Areas Of The Lake To Get Out Of It, Hopefully You Will Not Have Any Wind, Green Island Point And Champys Pocket Are Some Good Fishing, I Hear There Catching Some Big Uns @ The Air Park Also. Get Ready To Catch Your Limit And Then Some Of Stumps, Lake Is Full Of Them. Great Crappie Fishin. Bring Plenty Of Crappie Rigs Your Going To Need Them, For The First Time.