Reel Foot Lake Adventure - The Rendezvous

[Johnny wilkins]

Conditions were horrible from mid-day on. LOFR-BR nailed it.

In hot, hot weather - this place is a puzzle, wrapped in a mystery but the fish are there because it is jurassic!!!!

Adventure 

I took a stump in the rump on the way out (while it was described to me- I wasn't really hearing that we would be banging off stumps in the front, middle and motor). I nearly jumped out of my skin right after the stump hit when a 25 lb. -  fish jumped up about 3 foot from me to my back and then smashed down in the water like a cannon shot, dropping spray over the bow where I was sitting. I peed a little...

 

White caps off to the left coming all the way across the lake and sending current into the canal spillway we were fishing gave a few fish the wake-up call. No matter where you fish, this can happen and 2 days can be bad with one day good - that is fishing. We never really got to the really good but I know this lake is magical. 

I got to see it all while I was there - giant jumping fish (still need to catch one in a net), boat-bumping travel across fields of submerged stumps and a really swampy-look'n cyrpess paradise along with some of the best Southern hospitality you could imagine. I am still full from all the food that LOFR-BR (Lord of the Fly Rods & BBQ Ribs) prepared for us before the trip started and during the trip!!! The members that shared their passion for fishing, lots of stories and even a tackle-swap you could find no where on the planet, this was a really great time. Adventure!

Fishing Reel Foot in Slow Bite

Reel Foot has a lot more to offer so we will have to visit it when the temperatures haven't reached 100 or when they have started down in the 60's because it should offer up monsters on structure consistently. I didn't set a personal best there for fish, but I did for BBG.com adventures.

I think I cracked a little bit of the code late on the last night - and I caught one hump-head mixed with 8 cats or so. I had a Green sunfish earlier so I got to see them.

These fish were literally on lock-down. They were deep in the base of those stumps and not coming out. We switched sides of the lake for the evening and the temperature came down 15 degrees, wind-whipped shores on the South end got the fish going a bit. This is where the spillway was.

We should rotate back on this lake during a slightly better fishing period (later September, early October or in Spring) because I know this lake has beast fish hidden in it. In order to fish this you have to snag up on cypress root - if you aren't snag'n - you aint catch'n.  That said, I did have some success with chumming the fish to bring them up a bit. This is tricky business because if you do it wrong- you will actually drive the fish deeper down into these roots (rooty fish cribs). If you do it correctly - you can put some interest above the roots and get the fish to slowly come up to the root edge and strike.

Tackle Down

This would have to be done anchoring at each stump this time of year with the most delicate gear you can use. I picked up on some local posts where they were talking about going to 1/80 oz. jigs and, I think a 1/1,000th ounce hook was the way to go. I had a chance to fish my prototype hooks and they held on some small and  medium-sized channel cats- I didn't get a hook to straighten up. I had one hook pull out early, but I think I only got a tiny piece of lip on that fish (guessed it was a bullhead from the fight). The hook points didn't dull too fast, of course, I caught as many cypress stumps as I did fish so the hook got a little work-out. We can do better on a mission hooking a volume of gills to test these hook points but early returns are that they are very good. 

Float Rigs

Where I fished that evening, I was able to do two things that I couldn't on the boat. I used the tree I fished to hold the rod tip in place. This kept the bait still down below - despite some good surface current. If you are not controlling your float by holding back on the pole tip or float tip (I used both a rod and a telescopic pole the same. Using the longer rod 10' with a spinning reel, I was able to hold onto some bigger fish). I did land a small 2 lb. cat on the telescopic pole. The extended pole lengths gave me enough reach to get to the outside of the tree trunk where I could hold the hook bait in place. If the hook bait is still below- the fish can easily "sip it in" - see the video on my page. If the hook is moving and the fish are in a funky mood- they won't chase.

Chum + Loose-Feed - Draw Them Out

One, I was able to feed a small area with a very, very little bit of loose grub and tiny amounts of ground bait. The ground bait was imported and was cut down to simulate how I normally fish. Imported ground baits are very rich! Too rich for our fish. Exotic flavors are not needed. I add some crumbs to the bait to both cut down on my cost (crumb is 1/4 the price of some ground baits) My ground bait had freeze-dried grass shrimp and bloodworm in it. The fish really dig this in the water column - it perks them up, gets them moving around and looking instead of just sitting and sulking. The fish activity above the roots then attracts the fish to look and move closer.  Note that I was catching channel cats about 8" off the bottom. I was going for bream - but I am not picky when a chunky cat is going to take my hook bait. Eventually I did draw a hump-head gill out of the cover so - they were in there. Now I think back at all the stumps I could have chummed when I was there!!

Return to Reel Foot

Well, I can go visit them again because they have been there for several hundred years. I will again pack fresh grubs and try to really crack the code of Reel Foot Lake. With another day and some good weather, I think we could have seen some more gills and more cats. Keith had put out a bunch of jugs - really cool foam jug lines he made and the fish were just picking at the hook bait. We didn't get a single bite to stick on those lines. This was telling as to how little the fish were feeding and how light the bite was under the conditions. The lake had several weeks of high 90's so these fish were sulking and melting in that water. A front came through very late in the day and actual cool winds started changing the game. This happens on trips. My next trip I will plan three days on the water to make sure I get one real good day and hopefully a chunk of time on the other two days.

Reel Foot- you have not beaten us, we are plotting and rigging. A plan is forming.

[jim cosgrove]

i do know that silt is a problem and sounds like those carp have invaded.they have wrecked whole stretches of the illinois river.it is a huge lake or a huge flooded forest surrounding a lake.they commercial fished to control the crappie population.lake okeechobee did the same thing and supposedly the crappie sizes increased.i only went to reelfoot the once and would have gone back but we have some real good crappie laked in southern illinois now and its just closer.but as crappies make a comeback the gills are getting smaller it seems nature does what it wants .i hope all the pressure on crappies will give some of the gill populations that had large males over harvested ,time to recharge.you sure cant catch fish that aren't there

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Okay, I'll stand corrected.

[Walt Foreman]

David, I found the info that you reference on Wikipedia; however, it doesn't agree with what I learned growing up here, which is what the state records as the history of the lake: that Reelfoot was formed when the Mississippi River flowed north during the earthquakes:

http://www.tennessee.gov/tsla/exhibits/parks/reelfoot.htm

So, that would make it an oxbow after all.  A very big one, though it has shrunk roughly 67% over the years due to sedimentation.  

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Ken, heres a tidbit: its not an oxbow.

It was formed by an earth quake in 1812 - one of the few lakes in the world to be directly attributed to that kind of formation. According to the United States Geological Survey, Reelfoot Lake was formed when the region subsided during the New Madrid earthquakes of 1811–1812.

Its officially called a "sag pond." Much of it is really more of a swamp, with bayou-like ditches (some natural, some man-made) connecting more open bodies of water called basins.

[Allen Morgan]

Leo, you're probably thinking about my drift sock.  It's only a 30".  I don't use it to stop me, just to slow me down.  I do have a couple different anchors.  I rarely use them.

[jim cosgrove]

when i was there it was late march 2003.we fished 2 and1/2.days.took my son there for his high school graduation.read about the lake a lot before going.used their boat.brought a trolling motor.depth finder would have been useless and i had a good topo map.first afternoon was warm and windy.saw alot of boats out in the middle anchored like walleye guys up north.we drifted over the open water over stump fields and got nice white crappies and some pretty good white bass.next morning huge cold front north wind blue skies and 3o degree temp drop.we asked the resort where they would go.we went to the north side of the lake deep into the trees and fished mostly around duck blinds.caught tons of big black crappies and some gills.the last day was even colder with flurries but the blacks cooperated.we fished in less than 2 feet of water mostly.we filled another basket.when we got back one boat had caught a mess of gills on flies and many people got skunked,the resort people could not believe the size and amount of black crappies we caught.they had told us to go north into the trees and throw tubes for bass.once you catch a fish or two on a certain kind of structure or weed bed or whatever keep looking for spots that have similar conditions.reelfoot has ALOT OF TREES.but not that many that have duckblinds among them.that was the key.there is always a key,and a shallow lake they cannot go deep so they seek shelter in other ways and a minnow in front of a crappie in spring aint gonna live long.and i say the next trip should be like florida in february,it's really cold here in february and i gave up ice fishing.

[Slip Sinker]

http://www.answers.com/Q/What_is_an_example_of_Oxbow_Lake

I knew it just by looking at it on the map

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

Master angler? I didn't say I've MASTERED 6 micro areas... Only that it's my goal limit!
LOL

I read that the practices that were harming Reelfoot were stopped, so some rebound should occur. What that means is certainly not in my scope. I can it hope it remains a viable BOW for years to come.
It still sounds like a good paddle craft lake.

[Leo Nguyen]

David, you're quite a biologist and observer, as well as a masterful angler. I have yet to see a fishing guide that boasts about mastering more than 3 water bodies at a time. Trusting a master guide that claim to know more than 3 major water bodies simply don't pan out with me. This includes fishing streams.

Reelfoot's agricultural impacts, as well as the influence of urbanization, also play critical roles in causing deterioration of certain species of aquatic life as negative effects, yet, boost certain species thriving rate as an unseen positive side effect. Not sure if the positive balance the negative. Sounds like Reelfoot got hammered with the negative, but rebounded heavily thanks to the negative effects.

Similar to Reelfoot, Salton Sea, Lake Perris, Lake Elsinore, and even Big Bear Lake/Silverwood Lake are victims of the same things. However, depending on the interventions, the negative influences can turn into a massive positive influences. Here's an example why:

Agricultural/Urbanization run-offs, if managed correctly using pre-treatment systems, can boost the amount of nutrients to add sizeable growth of habitats for the baitfishes. Improper balance will kill most, if not all, of the species. Pond Boss folks can validate. If done correctly, there will be a massive boom of growth on all levels, regardless of water levels.

Then balance of species through culling. If there's not enough anglers/predation to balance out the species, you have issues with stunt sizes. Once again, intervention required. From the info provided about Reelfoot, it's a great area for angling and hunting. But I see a massive lacking of management bodies to make this ecosystem a top tier hunting/angling body. There are way too many water bodies to manage in TN. That's a shame. Time to bring in private bodies that are willing to raise sizeable monsters for the water bodies. A dream.

[David, aka, "McScruff"]

LEO:

"To make sense of it all, you need to become the master of 1 to 2 waters at a time. There's no way to recognize more than 3. Why? So many conditions in play that the skills to master in merely catching a fish under the bizarre conditions must either contain pure high level of luck, or close to genius level of deduction."

Im lucky to have a BOW at my doorstep that makes Reelfoot look downright skimpy by comparison. It comprises three distinct biotopes and innumerable micro-environments.  I have ALWAYS approached it as Leo suggests, here - with the intent of mastering no more than 6 separate microclimes within the greater whole. TO try and take it all in is nuts. That's why I asked about something, somewhere on Reelfoot that is constant. It exists everywhere else, I'm sure it must exist there; surely some of the locals know.

DWAYNE:

Guys from up north, that fish deep lakes, try same kind of fishing at Reelfoot and find out, that type of fishing does not work there.

Each BOW has its own nuance, that's for sure.

David, it is not like it was 20yrs ago. Reelfoot had lots and lots of big Bluegill. Cannot be afraid to fish in the trees. Like the guys said, wind comes up fast at Reelfoot. I will be back down there, this upcoming spring

Reelfoot has suffered most notably from agricultural siltation, until the practices that caused it were banned. Sadly, the damage is done. The bottom line is, it remains listed as a shallow pan lake. That isnt going to change. The food and sheer volume of water and cover there has led to its ability to produce some great fish populations over the years. That will probably continue with good management.

I wish you luck this coming Spring.

David, it is not like it was 20yrs ago. Reelfoot had lots and lots of big Bluegill. Cannot be afraid to fish in the trees. Like the guys said, wind comes up fast at Reelfoot. I will be back down there, this upcoming spring

Reelfoot has suffered most notably from agricultural siltation, until the practices that caused it were banned. Sadly, the damage is done. The bottom line is, it remains listed as a shallow pan lake. That isnt going to change. The food and sheer volume of water and cover there has led to its ability to produce some great fish populations over the years. That will probably continue with good management.

I wish you luck this coming Spring.