Respite from hot weather a relief for fishermen and hunters
Respite from hot weather a relief for fishermen and hunters Posted: Friday, September 10, 2010 9:43 am
Maybe you’re not the hunting type and like to only fish. This fall should prove for some good fishing, that’s for sure. Reelfoot Lake continues its downward turn toward lower water levels. I have had reports that some ramps are still good for unloading and loading your boats. Be careful no matter what ramp you may decide to use. Not much rain anywhere in the area of the lake over the past several weeks to benefit Reelfoot. Hopefully, this late week rain chance will give a little relief. We missed a good opportunity at mid-week with a tropical system that passed to our west. Water levels on Reelfoot Lake are in the 15 to 17 inch below normal levels for the lake. The evaporation rate continues but maybe not near as rapid as it was back in July and August. Water temperatures have cooled a bit since my last report. Water temps are in the upper 70s to just above 80 degrees in places. Water color is not that bad from some reports. It does still have a greenish tint. I have been told that the crappie bite has picked back up just a little. Most folks are doing their catching using jigs in the Lower Blue Basin area of the lake. For bass, the key is baitfish. You find baifish, you’ll find the bass. Buzzbaits, spinnerbaits, swim jigs and some frog baits are working in areas of lily pads and near mouths of ditches. Also, head out and fish around the deeper of cypress trees. I mentioned hunting. This weekend is the early Tennessee teal/wood duck season. The Tennessee early wood duck and teal season will be Saturday through Wednesday. Daily bag limit is four ducks per person not to exceed two wood ducks. For more information, visit the TWRA website. Be extremely careful getting into duck blinds as you might have a special guest waiting on you — a snake! Yes, during the summer months and even spring, duck blinds become areas where snakes and other creatures take up residence for a few days. Wasp and other flying insects also take cover in these blinds. Just watch your back and check things out very well before loading down a blind full of people with a surprise waiting to appear. I have been in contact with several landowners across our area on the recent opening of the 2010 dove season. Many hunters report good hunts with pleasant weather, especially over this past holiday weekend. Once the cool weather settled in, some of the doves in our area relocated in other regions, according to some reports also. The 21st Annual Reelfoot Lake Waterfowl Festival is just a month away. Plans have been in the making since last year’s ended. Dates for this years event are Oct. 9-10. The event location is on Lake Drive in Samburg. Times are from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. both days. The Grand American Duck Calling Championships and Reelfoot Lake Metal Reed National Championship will be conducted at this event as well. For more information, you can call 731-536-0266 and 270-830-6505 or visit their website at www.reelfootwaterfowl.com Ben Parker, a well-known bass angler from the Obion County area who now resides in Springville, will be fishing in his last of three BassMaster Northern Opens, which will be held on the Chesapeake Bay in Cecil County, Md., the middle of September. Ben, who is currently 19th in the overall points standings, has his eye on making the top 12 when the year-end points are totaled with all three tournaments complete. If he does, Ben will qualify for the 2011 BassMaster Elite Series Pro Tournament Trail, basically, the best in the world trail. Ben will be fishing Sept. 16-17 hoping to make the final day, Sept. 18. Hopefully, it will propel Ben into his dream come true. Good luck Ben, we’re pulling for you. Don’t forget, you can help the Friends of West Tennessee National Wildlife Refuges still requesting North American waterfowl mount donations for the West Tennessee National Wildlife Refuge Complex to use during educational programs. These waterfowl mounts will be used strictly for student career fairs, local events such as National Wildlife Refuge week to teach waterfowl identification, a variety of school programs, and mostly for the Jr. Duck Stamp program. The Jr. Duck Stamp Program introduces youth grades K-12 to the world of waterfowl. Students combine science with art to learn about native north American waterfowl and their habitats. The Friends of West Tennessee National Wildlife Refuges requests that donated waterfowl mounts be anywhere from fair to excellent condition. For questions please contact Tara Dowdy at the Reelfoot National Wildlife Refuge, 4343 Highway 157, Union City, 731-538-2481 or e-mail Tara at Tara_Dowdy@fws.gov. That’s all for this weeks report and information. Please, if you have any information pertaining to the outdoors or photos that you would like to share with our readers, please do so by passing along your info to me at 446-3678 or e-mail me at brentcallicott@gmail.com. ‘Til next week’s report.. Catch ya on t he water folks.. Brent
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