| Reelfoot Lake is a natural lake that is in | | | | center of the lake or just at the mouth of |
| northern Tennessee and more specifically in | | | | the coves. On other lakes in the late winter |
| Fulton county. It was once the only | | | | or early spring I have had great luck fishing |
| commercially fished lake for crappie. With | | | | right were the plant life begins in the cove. |
| this said it would might be easy to find a | | | | Bait fish will go where they can find food |
| decent crappie in the lake's various coves | | | | and plant life is often a good indicator of |
| and other holes. This particular lake looks | | | | that food. |
| like a reservoir for good reason. It is | | | | |
| suggested in the annals of history that the | | | | Once spring has set in, late April or early |
| Mississippi river flowed backwards after an | | | | May, you should start to move your crappie |
| earthquake to fill this shallow valley with | | | | fishing to the shores where the water |
| water. Regardless of how the lake was formed | | | | temperatures are about 60 degrees. Crappie |
| we know that it is a great source for | | | | will spawn between 60 and 65 degrees |
| crappie. | | | | depending on the weather and some other |
| | | | variables. No matter when they spawn it |
| The best crappie fishing will be found in | | | | means good bites for you. Spawning requires |
| late April or early May. With that said let | | | | lots of energy and there is also a self |
| me focus on the other times of the year first | | | | preservation aspect here. If your bait looks |
| and save the best for last. | | | | like it might eat the young crappie it has a |
| | | | really good chance of being ate. |
| Let us start with late winter and early | | | | |
| spring on Reelfoot, this is a shallow lake, | | | | During spawning times use a small jig. There |
| at most 18 foot deep, and these deep areas | | | | is no need to use live bait at this time of |
| are where the crappie are going to spend the | | | | year as they will eat almost anything. I |
| winter. To fish these waters during this | | | | would avoid brightly colored jigs as they |
| time of year it is important to know what the | | | | seem to be unnatural and I just have never |
| temperature of the water is. For crappie 50 | | | | had good luck with them during spawning. |
| degrees seems to be a magic number, warmer | | | | Basic rule for the spring crappie is just |
| temperatures and they are super active and | | | | practice moderation and only take a few. |
| colder they turn into a couch potatoes. Use | | | | |
| large jigs or minnows during these colder | | | | Spring is over and the spawning is done so |
| times. Most of this lake is a shallow lake | | | | the Crappie are getting picky about what they |
| so look for the ledges. I know that these | | | | eat. In these shallow waters what you |
| really don't exist on this lake but you can | | | | present may not be as important as where you |
| always hope. The whole trick is to follow | | | | present it. As summer sets in and the waters |
| the bait fish but knowing that some of the | | | | begin to warm expect crappie to be hanging |
| edges or coves might have warmer waters | | | | out in the colder waters and this means |
| during the day the bait fish are looking for | | | | deeper waters. Lakes shaped like this seem |
| a constant temperature. | | | | to age and fill in from the center so the |
| | | | mouths of the coves have slightly deeper |
| Before the spring spawning try to catch the | | | | areas. |
| crappie in the deeper waters so stick to the | | | | |