Entry 241-1

Fishing Reelfoot Lake with Billy Blakely for Bass and Catfish in March

Editor’s Note: Billy Blakely, chief hunting and fishing guide at Blue Bank Resort in Tiptonville, Tennessee, lives and works on the lake. From first light until dark, more than 350 days a year, Blakely is fishing for crappie or bass or duck hunting. With duck season just having ended, Blakely is turning his full attention to fishing for bass and catfish on Reelfoot Lake. When Strike King caught up to Blakely in mid-February, he said, “Wait a minute, because I’ve got another fish on the line. Then I’ll talk.”

Part 1: Go Shallow for Bass the End of February Through Mid-March

Question: Billy, I know that February’s a great month for catching bass on Reelfoot. How are you finding and catching them this month?

Blakely: On Reelfoot, at this time of year, in those lily-pad fields, you’ll find clumps of lily-pad roots that have turned loose from the bottom and are floating up to the surface. These lily-pad roots will be about the size of the hood of a pickup truck, creating cover and shade, which are great ambush points for the fish moving up in shallow water. Generally, there will be some type of hole in or on the side of that glob of roots.

I prefer to flip the Strike King swimming jig into the holes in those roots and work it up and down under the roots. I don’t ever let the jig go to the bottom. I just shake it and move it under that root system. I’ll also try to swim that jig around the edge of those root clumps, especially anywhere those clumps make a point. The bass usually will be lying under those clumps, and if I get their attention with the jig, I can catch them.

Question: What color jig are you using, Billy?

Blakely: I like a black-and-blue jig fished on 40-pound-test braided line with a 7-foot, heavy-action G. Loomis rod.

Question: Billy, how deep is the bottom around those lily-pad root clumps?

Blakely: It only will be 2- to 3-feet deep, so you have to be very quiet when you slip up next to those floating roots. The reason most people don’t catch these bass is they’re too noisy with their boat. I can fish behind a lot of people here on Reelfoot with my War Eagle boat and catch the fish they’ve either spooked or haven’t caught because they’re too noisy.

Question: Billy, what’s another tactic you’re using at this time of year to catch the bass at Reelfoot?

Blakely: When the weather’s cloudy, our bass will be out cruising in those lily pads. That’s when I’ll use the Strike King Wild Shiner. I’m not using the suspending Wild Shiner like many people do at this time of year. I prefer instead to fish the floating Wild Shiner. I fish it fast in that really-skinny water in the lily-pad fields. I’ll jerk the Wild Shiner three times, pause it, jerk three times, pause it and then jerk it three more times.

I’ll keep the bait steadily coming to me. I don’t let it sit still more than a split second. I don’t want the back of the Wild Shiner to come up out of the water, so I’m keeping that bait 3 to 4 inches under the surface. You can cover a lot of water with this jerkbait. On cloudy days, when bass are cruising, that’s the way you can find them and get the most strikes. I’m fishing the Wild Shiner on 15-pound-test monofilament line. My favorite color Wild Shiner is either a black back with a chrome body or a blue back with a chrome body.

Question: What size bass are you catching, Billy?

Blakely: We’re catching 2- to 8-pound bass. In one day of fishing, we’ll usually catch from 10 to 25 fish, with our bass weighing 3-1/2- to 4-pounds each, which are really-good keepers.

To contact Billy Blakely, call him at 1-877-BLUEBANK, or visit www.bluebankresort.com.

Fishing Reelfoot Lake with Billy Blakely for Bass and Catfish in March

Part 1: Go Shallow for Bass the End of February Through Mid-March

Next: Timber Hunting the Lunkers

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