BY Chris Erwin
Note to readers: This is the second of a three-part series on the sights and sounds of Reelfoot Lake.
The shallow water and sea of Cyprus stumps on Reelfoot Lake make this lake unique in the methods and high population of both big bluegills and crappie. Today Soc Clay and I will be guided by National Crappie Champion Jeff Riddle. Riddle’s boat is a Ranger Bass boat setup for Spider fishing.
I think it’s worth explaining just what spider fishing is, I know many of our readers don’t need this explained; however, if you are learning about fishing, I don’t want to leave you wondering what we are talking about. Typically they are two people fishing in the front of the boat using four rods each. Unlike a regular bass boat, these boats are set up with two bass chairs side-by-side, each fisherman or woman has rod holders to hold four to six rods. These rods are usually 12-foot B&M rods using light tackle spinning reels. Looking at this setup from a distance, it looks like a spider with its many legs reaching out over the water.
On this lake where the water is only about three feet deep, that is about all the line you have out. We used two different rigs. One was just a crappie hook that held a live minnow; it had a #5 split shot about a foot up the line and nothing else. The second rig used a 32oz jig with a small twister tail and two Crappie Nibbles. Crappie Nibbles is a prepared bait you buy in a jar that looks like little miniature marshmallows about the size of the eraser on a pencil. I might add that the second rig consistently out fished the live bait.
In our case, we just drifted across the stumps, three of us fishing we had12 rods in the water. You place the rods in the holders and watch your four rods when you get a bite the rod bends down to nearly touching the water.
This is easy fishing, and the stories that were told were as much fun and the dancing fish as we pulled them to the top of the water. Jeff would then wheel his dip net that had a handle on it as long as a pole vaulting pole so he could dip the fish without swinging them into the boat.
We had some wind that day, and Riddle needed to slow the boat down. His answer for this was to throw out a 10-foot logging chain tied to a rope at the back of the boat. This chain never got snagged on anything, but the added drag kept us moving slowly, keeping us on the spot long enough to take fish from each cluster of stumps.
Riddle is another guide that has been working at Blue Bank Resort since he was 14 years old. He spends nearly every day on the water during the fishing season. In the offseason, he guides waterfowl hunting trips. This lake has some of the best duck hunting you could ask for. I saw duck blinds everywhere on the lake.
After about two hours, we had a box full of crappie, and Soc decided it was time to head in. There is nothing fancy about fishing Reelfoot, but it’s a great time on the water. Blue Bank Resort also has one of the most extensive butterfly gardens anywhere, and it’s worth taking an excellent camera. Everything about this area makes you want to take pictures. If you want to book a trip call 1-877-258-3226 I hope to go back myself they tell me the fall fishing is excellent. Chris Erwin is the founder and publisher of Kentucky Angling News an online magazine available at www.kentuckyangling.com/magazine Chris can be reached by email chris@ashlandbeacon.com
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