The Reelfoot Lake Experience

In May I was invited by a couple of good friends of mine to go bluegill fishing down on Reelfoot Lake in Tennessee. I had been there before but not for bluegill fishing which it is known for. Jason and I met up early on Sunday morning and headed down to meet up with the rest of the group. We made it to the T intersection of Route 3 and Route 149 when I noticed an army of jon boats waiting for us. Five boats total and ten guys ready to go and catch them. I knew right then that these guys were serious about bluegill fishing. We made it there in less than three hours to the lake. Once there we unloaded our gear and everyone headed out. Jason and I got on the water around noon and went searching. It took a while to get used to the ten foot fishing poles and sitting down while I fish. A pan fish boat is totally different than fishing out of a bass boat but I got used to it real quick. I spooled all of our rods with Vicious Pan Fish Line in six pound test. It proved to be tough as we put it to the test throughout the week around lily pads and lay downs. Jason and I finally got on a spot the first day that yielded 97 slab bluegill. I will tell you that the guys I went down there with fish for bluegill a lot different than I am used to. The whole set up is different. We use 1/80 ounce jig heads, Thill pencil bobbers, and these ridiculously long rods. But it worked like a charm. That night Jason’s older brothers, Kevin and Brian bragged a little on their 137 fish catch. I was impressed. They had gotten on a bed and caught one after another for several hours. In fact our entire group did great. Everyone caught fish and a lot of them. The next day we set out and again all of us loaded our coolers. The one key was to fish out away from the bank until you caught a big black male. Once you did that you could anchor and start catching them. Over the next several days our group caught over 800 bluegill and 125 catfish. We had hit it right and the big males were biting. I have been around bass fishermen all of my life and these guys were just as serious about bluegill fishing as most bass tournament anglers. I was so excited I even bought a ten foot rod for next year. I want to thank Jason and Kevin for inviting me and I look forward to going again next year.