Reelfoot Lake the Bluegill and Crappie capitol of the East Coast

BY Chris Erwin

Note to our Readers: This is the first of a series of articles on the sites and sounds of Reelfoot Lake. I hope to inform all of our readers how to take advantage of the outdoor opportunities this area has to offer.
This trip was put together by Soc Clay a lifetime member of the Kentucky Outdoor Press Association. I have been the Secretary of KOPA for the last 12 years, and during that time we have talked about this lake many times. It was well known to be on my bucket list of things I wanted to do.

KOPA tries to meet twice a year, once in the spring, and our annual business meeting in the fall. We feel this spring meeting helps writers travel to locations where they can build on their experience and meet business leaders to generate interest in the outdoors.
Clay asked me sometime back if I was well enough to make the trip to Reelfoot, it’s about an eight-hour drive to a little place called Hornbeak, TN. I was eager to get to go. Reelfoot has been on the front pages of every major outdoor magazine ever published in America.
Unlike most lakes on the east coast, Reelfoot Lake was not made by man. The lake was formed as the result of earthquakes known as the Madrid earthquakes of 1811. Locals say the quakes reversed the flow of the Mississippi River flooding the basin and creating some 50,000 acres of a shallow lake. Once the water receded the lake now covers about 18,000 acres. With the aid of a Dam, the water is very stable with an average water depth of about three feet. This shallow water and flooded stand of Bald Cypress Trees (Taxodium) has turned the lake into a Bluegill and Crappie producing machine.

One of the most significant areas of the lake is called the Blue Basin so it’s not surprising that the resort we would be visiting would be called Blue Bank Resort owned and operated by Mike Hayes. Hayes is a long time friend of Soc Clays, and he spared nothing to let us have an inside look at one of the most beautiful locations I have ever visited. The rooms were big, the beds were as good as they get and the food was A+ in every way. I had read so much about this place I knew it was going to be easy to be disappointed; however, not only was I not disappointed I felt like I made new friends from the dock workers to the owners.
Our first day I would be bluegill fishing with Soc Clay and Guide Billy Blakely. There is no high speed flying across this lake. Its nothing but a sea of cypress stumps just under the water in a lake where you could jump out of the boat anywhere and the water wouldn’t go over your head.

Blakely slowly moved along the shorelines using his side finder to spot bluegill beds, once he pinpointed them, we circled around and began fishing. We were using a 12ft B&M fishing rod and a light action spinning reel, spooled with 6lb monofilament line. The setup was a number eight Aberdeen hook and foot up the fishing line, we had a #5 split shot, followed by small slip bobber with a single bead and bobber stop about three foot up the line. Our bait was live crickets. There was nothing fancy about this fishing you just found the beds and dropped your cricket in the area and watch that bobber take off. Soc and I managed to catch a cooler full of bluegill that day, and we were back on the dock, drinking a cold drink and listening to live music before two o’clock. There is just too much to try to cover in the space I have here, please get your copy next week, and we will go crappie fishing. If you want to contact Blue Bank Resort, you can call 1-877-258-3226 or visit www.bluebankresort.com. 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