Reelfoot tips wanted

[Lincoya]

Hello to everyone,
I will be making my first crappie fishing trip to Reelfoot Lake on March 10-12. I would like to ask if any of you have any suggestions on lure types and colors and locations/structures. I will be staying on the south end of the lake. Thanks for your help.

Gene

[speck chaser]

I have fished reelfoot several times we always stay at cypress point
resort we fished lower blue basin the way we fished was use 17 pound test line this sounds big but there is a lot of stumps in this lake you will get hung up a lot we drifted with the wind this time of year fish will be out in deep water find a area you want to fish and turn you boat side ways and drift across the area you want to fish I used 1/16 ounce flies tipped with minnows
to rig your rods tie one fly up about 2 foot add and egg sinker heavy enough to hold line straight down loop line through egg sinker 3 times and then add another fly. We also done good using hook and minnows.We caught a lot of fish using this technique. basically just like slow trolling. IF wind is not blowing you can use lighter line.But wind always blowed every time i was there. BE careful if you take your boat we used there boats .you will hit stumps.good luck hope this helps you will love reel foot.

[mrbigfish]

Hello to everyone,
I will be making my first crappie fishing trip to Reelfoot Lake on March 10-12. I would like to ask if any of you have any suggestions on lure types and colors and locations/structures. I will be staying on the south end of the lake. Thanks for your help.

Gene

Speck Chaser has some good tecks that really work. If you dont want to go through the hassel of riggging up with egg sinkers and flies, you can always use a crappie rig sold at most all tackel and bait shops in the area. this will save time and hassel. the heavy egg sinker on the bottom of the rig will allow you to free snagged hooks by bouncing the sinker up and down. I always fish a spot called Green Island Point. This is a great spot that hold good crappie. All stores and bait shops will have free maps to look over. Just drift along with wind or troll the points. 8ft water is idea fishing 6ft deep. Jig tipped with minnows or single minnows are best. heavy line is a must, (hidden stumps will hurt, be cautious take it slow-----three new props to prove it)

[crappie ranger]

Hello Lincoya,

I grew up on Reelfoot and still fish it about three weeks out of the year. On the south end at that time of the year they are usually out in the deep or at least on the outside trees of course deep is only 6 to 8 ft.. If the wind is bad (coming from the north or northeast) water will be churning. My suggestion is to to go to Champions Pocket. They have a ramp there and anyone can tell you how to get there. Be careful of the stumps. You will see usually some metal rods with black and white jugs tied on them, this is the excursion boat path and it is free of stumps. If you have any questions just ask someone there. As long as you are polite the people there will help you tremendous. Good luck and hope you have a great time.

[crappietime]

Acorn Point is a good place to stay at Reelfoot Lake. You may also check and see if a guy named Patrick Johnson is around he is a real good guy and has alot of crappie exp on that lake up there.

[charliev55]

Trip is over how did you do

[RM Fishin]

The wife and I went there the 17th thru the 20th. 1st time ever. We stayed at the northern end. We were about a month early, being from upstate ny we thought that it should be a lot warmer after driving almost 925 miles south. WRONG! But we will go back next year in late april. The size of the crappie and panfish were fantastic. Caught a few stripers as a bonus. Did'nt like thewind either. I will definitely do it more and try some of the others areas as well. Went home thru kentucky/barkly lake area, that was pretty but I don't care for big water all that much. Just logged on to this site and will visit it often I crappie fish all yearlong somewhere all the time.

[Lincoya]

Sorry to be so long in responding. My March 10-12 trip was pretty much uneventful. There were five of us in the group and between us we had 11 keeper crappie and none of those were worth bragging about. We had a major cold front come in on Thursday the 10th. Temps were in the 40's and the wind was 15 to 25 mph. On Friday morning we didn't even get on the lake. Saturday was a better day for conditions but the fish still didn't co-operate.

I returned again this past Saturday and Sunday with high hopes but I quickly had my spirits busted. Two of us fished about 6 hours on both days and only caught 4 crappie and none of those were keepers. The only consolation for both trips is that everyone that we talked to weren't catching either.

I am returning on May 12-14 to take my wife bluegill fishing. Hopefully that trip will work out.

Thanks again for all of the information.

Gene

[joewildlife]

Gene,
I have fished for 'gils at Reelfoot a couple weekends and both times, everyone said how sorry it was that weekend. Story of my life!

I'm going the weekend of the 20th, any tips would be appreciated. You had post-front conditions I imagine. full moon on the 23rd, I'm hopeful about next weekend.

Joe

[TAZ]

Gene- I've fished Reelfoot a few times for gills but not in the last 4yrs. I did my best with a small grizzly jig all black tipped with a grubco giant meal worm on a 11 ft B& M pole. We would locate a bed along the shore or in weed beds. I fished out of Grays Camp on the northern lake. Also done real good in the middle lake floating meal worms one yr but it was early. I would use a very small bobber and lay it near the nest and look out! I sure miss fishing there. I could'nt use my boat there so I found a place on Barkley. Those old stump jumpers I rented just killed my back. Hope this helped.