Would Reelfoot be a good choice to catch a few BIG bluegills to put on the wall or would another mid south lake be better. Thanks
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Would Reelfoot be a good choice to catch a few BIG bluegills to put on the wall or would another mid south lake be better. Thanks
I wouldnt go there..........there is a guy on here that guides on some private ponds in TN that would prob put you on better numbers and larger Gills.......
Much thanks, Young Gun! I fished Reelfoot a couple times years ago, and while the bluegill there are definitely bigger than at the average public lake, I have half a dozen ponds that stomp Reelfoot.
Here are a few that were caught last year from ponds I guide on:
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8066/8...4bfd1ffa38.jpg 10-7-8-july-26t [/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8335/8...16b4efc41e.jpg by tnpondmanager, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8039/8...a9287b00ac.jpg bluegill oct 1 by tnpondmanager, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/8...743f97614e.jpg BBGfri by tnpondmanager, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/8...f71545087f.jpg fifth-fish-#2-july-26 by tnpondmanager, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/8...7090e5d1ea.jpg bluegill june 5 by tnpondmanager, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/8...b31de97b36.jpg bluegill 3 june 5 by tnpondmanager, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8175/7...522c81d740.jpg big hybrid april 7 by tnpondmanager, on Flickr[/IMG]
[IMG]http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/8...9b5182f1f3.jpg hybrid-on-ruler-oct-4 by tnpondmanager, on Flickr[/IMG]
I don't allow pure-strain bluegill over 9" to be kept, but I would allow a big hybrid bluegill to be kept, and if you wanted to make a replica of a pure-strain I know the best bluegill taxidermist in the country and he specializes in replicas. Give me a shout.
Reelfoot has bigger than average size and plenty of them. I haven't really seen any over 1lb. although I'm sure there must be plenty in there. But a cooler full of 1/2 - 3/4 pounders is easy to come by in good conditions.
Every fish I posted a photo of above is a pound or better; all but one of them are twenty ounces or better, and the biggest two that were weighed (the two biggest northern-strain weren't weighed, as I wasn't there when they were caught) went 28 and 31 oz.
It's rare that I fish any of my best ponds without catching at least one bluegill over a pound; they averaged over a pound apiece last year in my best pond. I charge $75 a day more than guides on Reelfoot do; if you want to catch the bluegill of a lifetime, it's a pretty easy decision.
If you like to bream fish and big bream kentucky and barkley is unreal for numbers and size known for big bass and lots of crappie the bream fishing is outstanding!!!!
I have fished Reelfoot lake and North Central part of Kentucky Lake, and aside from one big Redear and 4 or 5 of the biggest Bluegills All the fish I have caught at Kentucky Lake out do Reelfoot. There are some big fish in both but I am heading for Kentucky lake in 3-4 weeks to fish for a week and gills and ears are my primary goal. Tnpondmanager has the chops and locations to get you some big fish no doubt. If I were in his neck of the woods, I would beg him for advice and save my pennies for a guide trip. Maybe I should start posting pics here too...:fish
I've fished Reelfoot many times late May to early June, and caught tons of bull bluegill. Its a cheap trip, and lots of fun. Or stop at Kentucky lake, and catch some monster redear.
If you are wanting a real trophy fish Walt's ponds. If you want some really good Gills to take home go to Kentucky Lake or Barkley.
Regards
Thanks! After seeing those pictures of the big Bluegills,:yikes I don't think our wall is strong enough to hold up a few mountings. Thanks again.
You could always reinforce it ahead of time...Quote:
Originally Posted by Fugsy
The biggest blue gills ive caught were at tunica lake mississippi...kept 32 fish, each one weighed at least 1 pound...even if you dont gamble, there are several nice hotels/casinos just up the highway...only draw back is that tunica lake now has big flying fish...also, one trip to tunica can result in a years worth of crappie...
Quote:
Originally Posted by hoxiedog
Been there myself and the Gills there are huge. I think there are still some folks who guide there. I had forgotten about it but you are right.....it holds some monster fish.
Regards
Is the fishing at Tunica as good as it was a few years ago? Read a while back that the trash fish had hurt the spawn of the game fish. I also never understood what kind of license you needed to fish there. Do you need 2 license?
Nice gills!!!
only additional license i ever got was temp mississippi...the only increase in trash fish i know of is the flying carp...need to wait until the mighty missip water level in down in the high teens, not sure what is the exact level...do a search on tunica lake, i think there is info on web sites...i used a fly rod with just a bream hook on the tippet and just enough lead to pull the cricket under...no doubt when they smacked the cricket, fly line jumps...we call bream that big "tiddy bream" cause you cant hold them with one hand, have to put it under your arm to hold it to get the hook out...arkansas joke...dont go to tunica lake on my account, not trying to convince anyone that this is the only place that has big bream...
I just fished Reelfoot (4-6 thru 11th) for 4 days and didn't catch 1 Blue Gill. They were nowhere to be found. Crappie were slow as well, still in 12 to 16 feet of water. We were about a week early for the spring spawn. They should be in the shallows by now and smashing. White bass were present but slow as well.
Seeing those pics makes me hungry.
they have those "tiddy bream" in lake okeechobee florida.Quote:
Originally Posted by hoxiedog
late may we caught a ton of good gills at reelfoot in the pads but dont put your pole down the cannel cats are thick
and make for interesting fight on light gear
I can vouch for that! Wife and I went in 2008 and 2009 first of May and we had some real tussles with 2-5 pound cats while pounding the gills as well. Good time!Quote:
Originally Posted by elfros