Take Only What You Need … Mostly

We are on the eve of another Reelfoot trip so I have been packing my gear over the last few days. After I was done I looked at the neat pile I had created and remembered the mound of junk I used to bring. What follows is not a complete list of all items, but rather specific to the gear I take along.

On my first few trips to Reelfoot I foolishly packed any and every lure and tackle I had. I figured if the crappie weren’t biting I could switch to bass. If bass weren’t biting the cats may be. At the end of the day I ended up losing sight of what I was there to do, catch crappie and gills, and subsequently was out of the water tying new lures. I ended up catching much less fish than I should/could have.

With each trip I learn a little more and have stripped down my gear to the (almost) essentials. I still add a few things just to mix it up, for instance this year I’m going to bring a 10” telescopic crappie pole so I will always have a live minnow rig ready. The core gear items however stay the same. The first 9′ spincast combo is rigged with a slip bobber and cricket hook for wax worms and cricks. The other 9′ auto-fly is ready for straight lining grizzly or other jigs around visible cover. The ultra-light with a slip bobber rig is great to have around when you are shrouded in trees and where a quick jerk up could cause all sorts of chaos.

You could argue that this is too much gear, but in my opinion this not only gives me the tools I need to fish Reelfoot, but also enough variety to keep myself entertained or to try new things if the bite is slow.

The bus for Tiptonville leaves soon!

• Rod and Reels
  • 9′ with spincast (4lb high viz)
  • 9′ with auto-fly reel (4lb high viz)
  • Ultra-light spincast combo (4lb high viz)
  • 10′ crappie pole with (17lb clear)
• Tackle Box (aka crappie purse)
  • Hooks (assortment of cricket/goldies)
  • 3/0 sinkers
  • BB sinkers
  • BPS cheapy bobbers (love the cheap)
  • Slips (tokens only)
  • Flys (gotta be Grizzlies)
  • Jig bag full of tubes
  • Extra line (4lb Mr. Crappie high viz)
• Live Bait
  • Minnow bucket
  • Cricket tube
  • Wax worms
• Booty
  • Electric knife
  • Ziploc bags