Fishing on Sycamore Lake or Pine Lake Near Lexington, TN

[lcm]

Hey guys, I go to school over in Henderson and I was wondering what anyone knew about these lakes. It's not too far of a drive for me and I wondered if there are crappie in the lake? Bass? Catfish? Any information on either of these lakes would be great! Thanks so much.

[speck tackler]

Don't know a lot about Pine, other than that it is full of REALLY small crappie. If I was going to crappie fish one of those 2 lakes, I would opt for Sycamore. Not a whole lot of big fish, but definately bigger than Pine. There are some good crappie in Sycamore. One of our club members caught the one in the pic below back in November, over 2 lbs.



I've caught quite a few nice bass while crappie fishing Sycamore, as well. If you decide to try Sycamore, give me a call and I'll share a few productive spots.

George
731-267-2322

[Dickieboy]

I got hooked on the BRWDA lakes when gas got so high two years ago. They have kinda spoiled me as I rarely go to the river now. I agree with what George said above. The crappie in Sycamore ARE larger. I also caught one over two pounds spring b4 last. Also caught an 8lb bass while trolling and SEVERAL 3-5lber's. Never done much good catfishing. I have fished Pine a few times but never seemed to get on anything predictable. I have also spent alot of time on Beech, Cedar, Pin Oak, Redbud and a little at Dogwood. The crappie on Beech and Redbud are like Pine, small. Pin Oak has the most consistently larger crappie. Cedar is the most productive for crappie and bass, by far, trolling like I do, but the fish run smaller.

Bass heads are bad on Pin Oak and Beech screaming around and such.

[Towrope]

Dickieboy, I fished Dogwood a few times last year. The small bass wore our jigs and minnows out but no crappie. You ever do any good there?

[lcm]

So just from doing a quick internet search I saw where there is a $15 fee to fish these lakes, is that correct? If so where would I be able to get the permit? Also thanks for the info. I don't have my boat up here at school right now but I was hoping possibly when the crappie make the move to shallow water here in a few weeks I could fish from the bank, would this be possible? I'm kinda new to all of the TN laws and what not being from north AL and mostly fishing pickwick.

[lcm]

Looks like a very nice fish. I wish I had a mess like that right now!

[Dickieboy]

So just from doing a quick internet search I saw where there is a $15 fee to fish these lakes, is that correct? If so where would I be able to get the permit? Also thanks for the info. I don't have my boat up here at school right now but I was hoping possibly when the crappie make the move to shallow water here in a few weeks I could fish from the bank, would this be possible? I'm kinda new to all of the TN laws and what not being from north AL and mostly fishing pickwick.

It's kinda complicated but I will try to explain. I'm not sure about the cost but will be close.

BRWDA lakes - Beech, Pine, Sycamore, Cedar, Redbud and Dogwood - offer a day permit $5 per person per day. $20-25per person per year. They can be purchased about anywhere in Lexington eg. BP, Walmart, City Hall, ect.

Pin Oak is a state park lake thus a different permit. $5 per person per day or $30per BOAT per year. These are only available at the Lodge.

Also close are the TWRA lakes - Browns Creek, Maples, Cub and Graham - These are different permits and are like the BRWDA prices. These are available at any source that sells licenses.

[speck tackler]

Also close are the TWRA lakes - Browns Creek, Maples, Cub and Graham - These are different permits and are like the BRWDA prices. These are available at any source that sells licenses.

lcm, you mentioned not having your boat up here. A couple of the TWRA lakes, Browns Creek and Graham, have rental boats. Not sure of the cost, but I imagine that it is pretty inexpensive. You can purchase the TWRA lake permits at the ramp locations at both of these lakes.

[Dickieboy]

Speck is right again. I forgot about the boat rentals. There were $5per day last year for a 14' aluminum john. There are life jackets and paddles at both. Graham bait shop also rents trolling motor/batteries but I don't know the cost. It is a full service store. Browns Creek is a self service area. There is a drop box and envelopes that one fills out with Lic.# , inserts $ amount and drops in box. Based on the description of your status, Browns sounds like the ticket. It is close to Lexington, has cheap boats and good fish. The lake is moderately sized so nagivating with paddle is no problem. I have taken some 1-1.5lb crappie in numbers several times. Have also caught some 3-5lb bass and 4-8lb channel and blue catfish. It is probably the best all around species lake. It is a no wake lake so bass heads are a non-issue.

Coincidently, the state record black crappie was caught there but the lake was drained since.

[lcm]

Thanks for all of the info. Hopefully in the next few weeks I will be able to get out to one of these places and catch some fish. Unfortunately I'm not going to get to fish the next couple of weekends.