Fishing Reelfoot in a FG bassboat
I am currently living at my lake house at Barkley and am getting ready to move home to Texas. Before I leave I would like to fish Reelfoot, if slow and careful, any real problem fishing it in a 520 Ranger. I grew up fishing Rayburn, Toledo Bend and Livingston in the late 60's and 70's when they were filled with standing timber as well as stumps, so I'm pretty comfortable easing over and through that stuff. Thanks
stumps.jpg
This is what Reelfoot looks like during low water.
We used to fish Reelfoot lake a couple weekends every spring.
We haven't been the last 3 years. Were hopping to go in 2 weeks if work allows.
Normal lake pool levels are about a foot over the stumps in the picture above.
Just be careful and plan on hitting a few stumps.
The average depth of Reelfoot is 5.2 feet and the deepest is 18 feet and that is in the lower blue basin.
Mike
2019 Phoenix 721 pro xp
Mercury 250 pro xs
2B575862
You can fish it in a fiberglass boat.. I'd advise with the trolling motor.. fortunately Reelfoot is loaded with ramps so a big portion of that lake has decent close ramp access... even at idle you're going to hit some stuff.. you'll likely not see another fiberglass boat while you're there but many do. As stated above it is a minefield of cyprus knees and stumps just below water surface. beautiful and very unique lake.. Scenery there is like almost nowhere I've been. In the spring when the rivers are flooding it can be quite a mess.. might want to check conditions prior to taking a drive. If the Mississippi is flooded into it. It would make for a pretty tough day.
Thanks for the replies and for the pic Mike, good visual for if the water is higher when there. And yes Bobby, that is my plan, to hop around using the ramps to reach different areas. Hell, I do that on the twins just to save gas and avoid getting caught 50 miles from the ramp if the wind gets up. I also have a fishing kayak as an option. I would need to put some time in to set it up better as I bought it to use for treating my pond at my previous property. Plan to make a hillbilly power pole (spike) and install an old manual anchor rein I have laying around but haven't had the chance yet. My real concern there is that I would think such a shallow lake could get pretty rough with any decent wind. Is that the case, or do all the trees break the wind? I should mention I'm going for bass not panfish and would prefer to wait til 1st of April if I'm here that long. Thanks again guys, I'll post back with results if I end up going.
Surprisingly parts of it can get pretty rough in the wind.. It's bowl shaped and in a part of the state that is flat and similar to the flatlands west of it.. So pretty much always windy. Still you can generally find a ramp to get out of it. Enjoy... it really is a spectacularly beautiful lake once it greens up in the spring and summer.Originally Posted by bassmagic60
Reelfoot is very high right now. You can move around most of the lake with no problems, to the point of running on plane if you know where to run. Parts of the lake you will need to stay on the trolling motor. What day are you wanting to go, I might be able to show you how to get around?
Unfortunately my truck is in the shop, was supposed to be finished last Friday, but when I checked yesterday they hadn't yet started after waiting for parts they had to order. I would hope to have it back early next week, but who knows. My plan was to wait a couple of weeks for the water to warm up s bit, though I haven't checked temps there. As shallow as it is I would expect it to warm up quicker than normal lakes, but with the recent extreme cold I would expect it's low to mid 40's now. I do appreciate the offer and will shoot you a pm when I know my schedule. Thanks
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