Thread: Reelfoot lake

This is my opinion. I think there is an accumulation of events that have hurt the fishing. Many try to blame it on a lingering winter and the jumping carp.

I think we are seeing the results of a few years of less than favorable spring spawning successes. That in itself is enough to hurt the fishing to the point it is now. The flood in 2011 was of no help and neither was the low lake levels I believe in the spring of 2012.(I think that was the correct year that had the low lake levels). During the low lake levels, there was some heavy harvest on the fish.

Nature being what it is, the lake will bounce back, but it might take a couple of years to do so. It depends on the success of this years spawn(and last years). Crappie, like many other fish and animals, are cyclical in nature and there are great years and not so great years. The problem with the down turn now is the fact that we just came off some super years on the lake.