Hills Region Archives - Page 13 of 15

With these 10 spots provided by guide Brad Whitehead, take your pick of how you want to catch Pickwick crappie.

Crappie Hotspot Series – Pickwick Lake

May 1, 2012 Phillip Gentry

In the early 1970s, a young bass angler by the name of Bill Dance, hosting his own TV show on national television, brought Pickwick Lake to the forefront of American anglers’ attention. […]

Although they aren’t all this big, Phil King is frequently able to put his anglers on big channel cats like this one during May when the fish are up shallow.

Cats in the cracks

May 1, 2012 Chris Ginn

As much as he likes to catch giant catfish, there’s not much that makes four-time national catfish champion angler Phil King from Corinth happier than watching a 7-foot Cabela’s Fish Eagle spinning rod double over under the weight of a feisty channel cat.

And to hear him tell it, his happiest months of the year are April, May and June because that’s when the channel cats start backing up into the myriad cracks and crevices along Pickwick’s multitude of craggy rock banks. […]

Guide Charlie Kent has been fishing Bay Springs since it was impounded. You can find him any day during April fishing one of these crappie hotspots.

Crappie hotspot: Bay Springs Lake

April 17, 2012 Phillip Gentry

Bay Springs Lake, also known as the Jamie L. Whitten Lock and Dam, is the northernmost lake on the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway. […]

Fish identification program for budding anglers

April 8, 2012 From News Reports

The Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries, and Park’s Visitor Education Center (VEC) adjacent to Enid Lake will host a Kid’s Fish Identification Program on Saturday, April 14 at 2 p.m. Young anglers can learn how to identify the many different species of fish found in Enid Lake and other lakes and ponds across the state. […]

One of the main reasons that Trace State Park Lake remains so productive is because so many anglers take their limits of bream out of the lake leaving more food for the biggest bream to grow even larger.

Truth be Told

April 5, 2012 Chris Ginn

There’s a saying in the U.S. Army that you can tell a soldier is lying if he starts his story with, “This ain’t no #@!%.” […]

Berkley’s Dr. Keith Jones loves the Gulp! cricket because he doesn’t have to worry about them dying, listening to them chirp or finding a place to buy them.

Fake crickets get real results

April 1, 2012 Chris Ginn

Saltwater anglers long ago accepted that the Berkley line of soft plastics known as Gulp and Gulp Alive are just about as close to live bait as they will ever be able to get without having to wait in the bait line before blasting off. […]

Summertime grass can be a problem at Trace Lake, but park ranger Jeff Rosamond says bream fishermen should have no problems with it during April.

Summer grass no problem for spring fishermen

April 1, 2012 Chris Ginn

Trace State Park Lake has had a little problem with grass during July and August the last four years, but Park Ranger Jeff Rosamond says that bream anglers headed to the lake during April and May don’t have to worry about any grass getting in their way. […]

An old standby, the wacky-rigged Senko is a reliable smallmouth-getter. Deep water presentations require a little weight and a lot of patience.

Tips for catching post-spawn smallmouth on Pickwick

April 1, 2012 David A. Brown

It’s often called the “Lake Erie of the South,” and the abundance of big smallmouth more than justifies that moniker for Pickwick Lake. However, while northern anglers bounce around in monster swells, anglers in the Magnolia State do their smallie work in much more hospitable conditions.

Indeed the TVA lake shared with neighboring Alabama and Tennessee holds a healthy population of smallmouth that find abundant habitat throughout its 43,100-acres. And with long southern growing season, Pickwick smallies grow fat and sassy on a diet of threadfin shad, gizzard shad and all the yellow perch they can catch. […]

Get to know your bottom machine and let it guide you to the key smallmouth areas. Mark productive areas for targeted efforts.

A closer look

April 1, 2012 David A. Brown

At 53 miles in river length, Pickwick presents considerable real estate throughout which smallmouth can hide. You can just go fishing and hope for the occasional lucky cast, or you can divide your day into “looking” and “fishing.” […]

Aggressive feeding and fierce fights define the smallmouth appeal.

Go with the flow

April 1, 2012 David A. Brown

When the Tennessee Valley Authority built hydroelectric dams on its namesake river, recreational fishing enhancement may not have been the primary objective, but the positive impact on lakes like Pickwick is undeniable. Water released through the massive structures — measured in cubic feet per second (CFS) — not only creates electric power, it stirs the impoundments, piles up baitfish and puts bass in a bona fide food mood. […]

Bay Springs Site Office

April 1, 2012 Phillip Gentry

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Site Office is located on the east side of Bay Springs Lake just off of MS Highway 4 in Tishomingo County. The staff from this office is responsible for the operation of the navigation, recreation and natural resources along the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway from Amory to Pickwick Lake on the Tennessee River. […]

Truth be Told

April 1, 2012 Chris Ginn

There’s a saying in the U.S. Army that you can tell a soldier is lying if he starts his story with, “This ain’t no #@!%.” That’s why my military intelligence started tingling like Spidey sense when Trace State Park Lake Ranger Jeff Rosamond began telling me how good the bream fishing was in this 600-acre lake located near Tupelo. […]