BLUE BANK RESORT OFFERS HOLIDAY FUN

Bass Fishing On Reelfoot Lake

EDITOR'S NOTE: This holiday season, take your family to Blue Bank Resort in Tiptonville, Tennessee, for an outdoor experience they won't forget. You and your family can fish, hunt and bird watch with some of the greatest guides in the Southeast. Jackie Wayne Van Cleave, of Samburg, Tennessee, guides for crappie, bluegill, bass, catfish and ducks at the resort on Reelfoot Lake.

QUESTION: Can you tell me about bass fishing on Reelfoot Lake?
VAN CLEAVE: Bass fishing is great in the spring and the fall of the year and also in June. The pre-spawn and spawn occur in the spring of the year. We do a lot of stump fishing and wood fishing. Your average fish is bigger because you catch the spawning fish. In the fall of the year, the bass are a little smaller because they run in schools and feed. In June, you fish for small and big bass.

QUESTION: What is your favorite bait to fish with out here?
VAN CLEAVE: A Strike King spinner bait.

QUESTION: What is an average day's catch?
VAN CLEAVE: A day's catch averages 10 to 15 bass.

QUESTION: What will they weigh?
VAN CLEAVE: They'll weigh anywhere from 3 pounds to 7 pounds each. Sometimes you'll catch one that weighs 8 pounds.

QUESTION: What is the biggest bass you've ever seen caught at Reelfoot?
VAN CLEAVE: The biggest bass I've seen caught on this lake weighed 8-1/2 pounds.

QUESTION: What is the biggest one you've ever caught?
VAN CLEAVE: The biggest bass I've ever caught weighed 8 pounds, 4 ounces.

QUESTION: How many 6-pound pound bass will you see in the spring and the summer?
VAN CLEAVE: I'll see several large bass in the summer.

QUESTION: What makes the lake so good for bass?
VAN CLEAVE: This lake has great habitat for bass. Reelfoot is a shallow lake only averaging 5-feet deep. It is just full of stumps, logs, lily patches, grass lines, scattered trees and cypress tress. The bass have a lot of crawfish and shad to eat in this lake.

If you want to spend the holidays at Blue Bank Resort on Reelfoot Lake, call
(877) BLUEBANK, or check out the Web site www.bluebankresort.com.

TOMORROW: BLUEGILL FISHING ON REELFOOT