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Where are the Reelfoot reports? I have heard great things the last few days about fishing,,, what's the report fellas?....I'm fixing to load up from Memphis and try it for first time here,,,,,Only real question I have is it safe for a glass boat to fish there?
Yes, but watch how everyone trims the motor up and goes SLOW! My son and I were there yesterday and we caught limits some nice fish and a lot of eaters!
Seems to me people are very tight lipped about Reelfoot on here. Can't blame them.
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From the pictures and reports I have seen people are gonna have to start "truck/boat pooling"!! Trucks and trailers parked everywhere and one fella said he was 1 of probably 200 boats fishing one area, said him and his father still caught their limit and had a ball doing it!
Yeah I just hope the old girl can hold up under all the pressure. I've never seen so many boats in all the years I've been fishing it. Wouldn't hurt my feelings if they dropped the limit down and put a length limit on them. Would have to enforce it of coarse.
I'd be happy with a 10 inch length and 20 fish limit.
You are right about enforcing it. I have had my license checked once on Reelfoot since 1989...................
I spoke with some TWRA officials at a lake meeting last year about a potential size limit. They were concerned that local business owners would throw a fit if they implemented a size limit. :dono
Yeah, its going to be interesting to see how this much pressure affects it. The lake is just now getting back to where it should be from quite a few years of pretty poor fishing. I was over on this Wednesday and could not believe how many boats were out there.
By the time spawning season hits it is going to be a circus to say the least! Just hope this doesn't set it back again.
Was out all last weekend and it was ridiculous. Went out first thing Sunday morning and the first 20 boats that I went by were all Missouri tags. I know you guys don't have many places to go but dang, yall are going to kill the dang lake. I know a lot of locals are really wanting to the highway patrol to close it down. That would really help her out.
So the MO boys shouldn't come to fish in TN but the TN boys should come to MO to duck and rabbit hunt??? I have no doubt Reelfoot can sustain itself. I counted 131 boats from Champy to GIP, and I'm gonna say that most of those were on the water bc it was a beautiful day. I'm sure most of them didn't have much luck bc they are weekend warriors and not die-hard fishermen. I also have to point out, anyone that has done much fishing on the foot knows that it is a super finicky lake, so if you aren't holding your mouth 110% correct, you're not gonna have any luck whatsoever.
I think actually enforcing the laws that are in place would help with the lake crowd.On more then one occasion I have been told by an out of state fishermen that they don't buy a license for everyone in the boat because they are never checked . Many have never heard of the Reelfoot preservation Permit which you must also have to fish the lake. Year license and permit for an out of state fishermen would be $116 the shortest is a 3 day license and with permit would be $57.50.
I think they TWRA needs to have agents at the ramps regularly checking licenses and catches.
To fish Reelfoot as a non resident for a year is $67. Annual Reelfoot Preserve $17.00 + Annual non-resident fishing license-no trout $50. But it could cost more depending on if you buy them online bc of the processing fee
Your right Will_P. I based my numbers on my Dads cost and he always gets the all species license which is $99.
I do agree with more checks from the Wardens though, I have fished it for the last 16 years and the only time I talked to a warden was at one of the watershed lakes. After talking to him for about 10-15 min I said "well I guess you need to see my fish and my license" and he said "nah, you're not nervous, so I know you're not doing anything illegal"
I hired a guide one time, and he said that he never buys a permit. Kind of blew my mind. Then again, it could be that the guides have a big say about this issue. Maybe not the guides that have a fulltime job and just guide on weekends per say, but the ones who make a living guiding.
Guiding without a permit is against the law. Turn them crooks in.
I impose a length limit on myself, if its not ten inches it goes back and on a few occasions released a big fat female that was ready to spawn. As far as the Wardens go I've been fishing the lake for over forty years and only been checked twice, don't know what they do during the day but know for sure they are not out on the lake enforcing laws.... No telling how many keep more then the limit when they know their not going to get checked. Not bashing the Wardens by no means but at least ride around the lake and check a few boats coming off the lake to at least keep them honest!! Just my 2 cents....
Fished UBB today and caught a few in 5-7 FOW. Found temps ranging from 59-64 degrees. Weren't near as many people out today as there were last weekend
got on water late Sunday afternoon kept 6 pretty fish in the last 3 hours of daylight. east wind was tough and cold. found what fish i kept in 9 fow.
:ThumbsUp
Fished Reelfoot Sunday through Wednesday. Got a bunch of babies. Must have been fishing in the nursery. Ill stick to watts bar.