1st Time on Reelfoot April 20-22

We are booked at Blue Bank and will be bringing our own boats. I've gone back through the archives and read as much as I can on the lake from spring time posts. I think I've watched every video on YT associated w Reelfoot. I've been studying the lake on my navionics app and It seems Blue Bank is in more "open" "deeper" water. Is that correct or are there plenty of stumps, cypress and pads/weeds near that launch as well?

We are hoping to be able to single pole during this trip. If we have to go up the lake into skinnier water or protected areas to get wind breaks or to find stump fields and pads etc, are we safe to motor at speed in the open part of the lake near the resort? Are there any boat channels that we can safely motor in at mid to high speed?

Lastly, in mid to late April are there any suggestions of what type of structure and water depths we should focus on?

I would appreciate any help you can provide. This will be a special trip. My cousin and I have coordinated this and are bringing our dads. Funny how the sons start taking the dads at some point...I love it! We plan to have some friendly competition and lots of great fellowship. We are hoping to make this an annual meet-up.

single pole fishing should be going very good at that time. since you never have been on the lake you are not safe to boat at any speed other than idle. they are boat roads but some are not marked really well. since you are bringing your on boat yall will be better off driving to different ramps along the lake instead of navigating bye water. There is many ramps all over the lake that provide short boat rides to great fishing. The guys at Blue Bank will steer you right, they are great people and will help out as much as they can., dont be afraid to ask them questions.

Lilly pads and trees should be good then. its great time to catch multi species while jigging, you will catch crappie, big bluegill, and prolly a few channel cats off the trees in late April. swing bye grizzly jig on your way over and pick up you a dozen or so lil grizzly jigs and tip them with a wax worm or crappie nibble. fish every tree you see. you will eventually find them

Thanks quadlee I thought we might need to launch closer to where we decide to fish...assuming we don't think we can catch fish near the resort. I'm hopeful the staff can direct us to other launches or areas of the lake if it comes to that.

I did a similar trip a few years ago to lake Conway which I've heard compares to Reelfoot. It was a horrible trip and about 100 degrees every day and I don't think I could pay my dad to go back there w me again 😬. I'm trying really hard to be as prepared as I can be for this trip.

Thanks again for the reply.

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Get you some yo-yos and hang them on some trees before dark and bait them with worms to catch channel cat at night. It's a lot of fun.

Definitely run some yo-yo's. We ran about twenty baited with night crawlers each day in trees just down from the state park campground which is right next to bluebank. We pretty much picked up a mess like this each day during late april last year.Attachment 259895

https://outlook.office.com/owa/servi...gePreview=True

Place is full of snakes.

if there are duck blinds they can be very good structure like docks for holding crappie. jig in lilly pads pick up weedless hooks and CB sliders and you can really be aggressive. jig all around the trees, if it's warm enough I have waded around them, easier than fooling with your boat. then drift across stump fields with two poles each and have a ball but should be plenty of exposed stumps near Blue bank that billy and the boys can put you on and just hit em all.

hire Billy or one of his crew for one day and they will show you how to do it and price is very reasonable for what you are given. that is a very different lake and money would be wise investment. then you can go after them on your own.

as several have said put out the Yo Yo's, a staple of getting a lot of eating size channels to take home.

Specks are shallow right now, caught em in 2FOW today tight-lining! Can't say what percentage of ppl are catching them right now, seen a lot of boats today but only seen me and 2 other boats put fish in the cooler

Were you up on the north end or down south ? Heading over tomorrow.

North End

It was a VERY light bite

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