Favorite Fishing Destinations Countdown: Honorable Mentions

A 9-2 largemouth from Mexico's Lake El Salto, fishing out of Anglers Inn International

Last week I noted that I would soon start a countdown of favorite fishing destinations. I've been mulling that one, and have my list mostly together, although it continues to shift in my mind, as I suppose it always will. Ten was the target, but I couldn't quite cut it that small, so I had to acknowledge a handful of honorable mentions before beginning the Top 10 listings. I'll hit these quickly in a single post and in no particular order. Top 10 will get individual posts and will count down to No. 1, although as I noted in last week's post, there isn't a lot of separation between any of the honorable mentions and the last ones I'll highlight in the countdown. I'm more than a little bit fond of all of them!

Lake El Salto - Given the spectacular fishing and scenery and the entire experience at Anglers Inn International, El Salto probably couldn't stay out of the Top 10, except that it's more accurately dubbed a place I "have fished" than one I "do fish." I'm thankful to have had the opportunity to fish their twice and of course I hope to return someday, but it's tough to say whether that will ever happen.

Big Pier 60 - Big Pier 60 in Clearwater Beach is similar, but very different. It's very accessible and I've spent dozens of days (and nights) fishing there. Most were more than three decades ago, though. It will forever remain one of my favorite places to fish, especially at night, under the lights, for speckled trout.

Reelfoot Lake - I've often likened Reelfoot to the world's largest farm pond, based on appearance and the way it fishes. I've gotten to spend some crazily fun days catching big bluegills, channel cats, crappie or bass from Tennessee's earthquake lake, and I always enjoy hanging out at Blue Bank Resort.

Buffalo River - Flowing freely for its entire 135 miles through Arkansas' Ozark Mountains, the Buffalo National River is quite simply a spectacular place to explore, whether by wading or floating. Great smallmouth opportunities are truly a bonus. The only downside from my standpoint is that the Buffalo is about a 15-hour drive from my house.

New River - Speaking of spectacular smallmouth rivers, the New is another of my absolute favorites, and I've had opportunities at times to fish sections spread from the relatively gentle upper reaches in Western North Carolina to the famous whitewater section of New River Gorge in West Virginia. Check out New River Outdoor Company in Virginia or Adventures On the Gorge in West Virginia if you want to discover this spectacular River for yourself.

Fast Action Cats at Reelfoot

Reelfoot Lake is nationally known as a panfishing destination, and most Tennessee bass anglers also know about it's stout and strong largemouths. Sometimes overlooked are the lake's abundant channel cats, which serve up fast action all summer long.

Blue Bank Resort guide Billy Blakley keeps thing simple when he targets Reelfoot cats. Focusing on shallow flats that are littered with downed trees, he moves from one downed tree to the next, fishing each with a night crawler under a Thill slip float that is set to suspend the worm just off the bottom. He'll anchor 20 or 30 feet from a tree on the upwind side, pitch his float rig next to the cover and wait for the float to dart under. Most trees have at least one willing cat sitting beside them. Some have three or four.

As long as it's not too windy to keep a float rig in place, Blakley can almost always fill a cooler with cats. Most are channel cats in the 1- 5-pound range. A few, though, are notably larger, and occasionally one of his clients will set the hook and find a big flathead catfish at the other end.

During the fall, the cats get under groups of cypress trees where water turkeys roost and Blakley targets them with shad, but that's another story for another day!

Reelfoot Crappie Legends

 I can't imagine a better way to learn about crappie fishing on Reelfoot Lake than to spend the morning in Ronnie Capps' boat and then spend the afternoon with Billy Blakley. That's exactly what I got to do today, and the education and fishing action if anything exceeded expectations. Ronnie, who grew up on Reelfoot's banks, is the winningest angler in the history of tournament crappie fishing, and Billy is the longtime head guide at Blue Bank Resort. Both are legends at Reelfoot.

We spent the day working stumps in the "deep water" (10-foot range), mostly fishing spreads of minnow rigs, also known as Reelfoot Rigs. Ronnie and I actually began the day fishing eight jig rods, and I was amazed how he wove through the thick stumps with all those jig rods out and presented his jigs with precision against the cover. The fish clearly wanted straight minnows, though, and the action almost immediately turned furious after we switched to minnow rigs.

Reelfoot supports one of Tennessee's most consistently strong crappie populations, with a nice mix of black and white crappie available and plentiful opportunities to catch fish a lot of different ways during the year. The current population contains the most big fish that Ronnie Capps ever remembers seeing in the lake. October marks the beginning of the fall bite, which in the minds of many local anglers is the best bite of the year. After today, I surely won't argue.

Catfishing is at the top of tomorrow's list of plans, although bass fishing isn't far down the list.

Places to Plan & Swap Stories

Fishing plans made from spots with views of the water probably aren't any more sound than plans made in a motel room. They somehow seem better, though, and an added sense of anticipation clearly comes from sitting in comfortable chairs, breathing in the open air and staring at the lake. Of course, at day's end you get to return to the same chairs to trade tales from the day and make plans for the following day.

Blue Bank Resort has several spots that overlook Reelfoot Lake and that are ideally suited for sitting back and planning the strategies you'll use to catch bass, bluegills, crappie or catfish. I'm admittedly be riding along tomorrow, and I trust Blue Bank's veteran guides do the planning; however, I still enjoyed relaxing a while in a chair outside my room, looking across Reelfoot Lake and anticipating tomorrow's fishing. And I suspect I'll return to the same chair tomorrow afternoon to look back at my day on the water.

Arrived at Reelfoot

Ten hours later I'm at Reelfoot safe and sound and am looking forward to a few days of fun fishing. The wind is howling and the lake is as low as I recall seeing it, but the rain passed through this morning, and reports and photos both suggested that the fish are biting well. Blue Bank Resort, always welcoming, seems even more so than ever with fall decorations in place. Fish stories to follow.

Favorite Places - Blue Bank Resort

Everything about Blue Bank Resort says "fishing destination," and when you slip out the boat harbor and onto Reelfoot Lake, it typically doesn't take long for the fish to add affirmation. Fertile, shallow, weedy, and loaded with stumps and cypress trees, Reelfoot has always reminded me of a giant farm ponds. And it fishes like a pond, with jumbo bluegills, thick-bodied largemouths, plentiful crappie and fat channel catfish usually relating to obvious, visible cover. The crappie, which bite well during the fall, will be the main attraction when I visit Reelfoot next week.

Back at the resort, johnboats in the harbor provide handy access to the lake, and footpath-connected fishing platforms provide good foot access. Inside the lodge's common area, guides and guests trade fish stories around the pool table, over cups of coffee and in the tackle shop. Breaking "fish camp" stereotypes, Blue Bank always stays super clean and caters to non-fishing family members with comfortable cabins, a beautiful pool and hot tub, Wi-Fi floating about and amazing food that ranges from fresh fish to thick steaks to fried pickle appetizers that will draw you back repeatedly.

Of course, a good argument could be made that the biggest draw of Blue Bank has nothing to do with the fishing or the facilities. Much like many of my other favorite places to visit, Blue Bank is Blue Bank because of the folks who own and operate the resort and the guides who take visitors out on the lake. I'm Reelfoot-bound Sunday morning and am really looking forward to a couple of days of fall fishing and to time spend sitting around the dinner table and on the back deck with friends.