Reelfoot Bluegills

[GatorBait]

My grandson has come of age for his first fishing trip away from momma... he is Playing hardball and will not be available to go fishing with grandpa til after june 20th... I really wanted to get him in some gills.... since the crappies would have slowed down by then...Should I be able to get into a fair number of nice gills at that time and I know they spawn but don't know aproximate time that happens... if anyone could chime in would really be appricated want this to go good for him!!!!

[tnriverluver]

On all the other lakes I fish here in West Tn June and July are my most productive time for gills usually in 18 in. to 3 FOW. Reelfoot should be similar but I have never fished Reelfoot for gills. Gills spawn several times a year and they are on the beds in June at my favorite lakes.

[kyfishman]

Folks around Reelfoot Lake say that the bluegill get really into the spawn about the time the spring wheat starts turning from green to golden. That's usually around Memorial Day weekend. I've caught spawning bluegill on the lake from mid May to mid June. Bluegill spawning times are always connected to the moon phases. You can count on it. Prior to the spawn and a couple of weeks after the spawn, I usually have the best luck fishing about 2 ft deep around Cypress trees that are in 4 to 8 ft of water. During the bedding times, most folks look for bluegill in the lily pads, so they get pretty heavily fished. I've fished Reelfoot enough over the years to know a number of bedding areas. But the best way to look for beds, in my opinion, is to start down a bank fan- casting or fish pockets in the cypress trees and grass with a float suspended over your bait about 2 to 3 ft deep. Of course, some beds are deeper than that. My favorite bait whether jigging around cypress trees or fishing beds is a Grizzly jig tipped with a Berkley's power wiggler fished under a small bobber. Hope that helps.

[GatorBait]

thank you two for info on lake will be there.... will try and move ahead a little earlier if ball schdule allows.... can't wait to see the expression on face on the grandsons face with a toad in the boat lol