Share your catch

Reelfoot Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The earthquake lake: cypress towers over stump-field shallows in Tennessee's crappie cathedral, born of the New Madrid quakes.

2/5
Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
101 / 101 F
Wind
SW 4 mph

Sources: Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

2/5Slow. Work for them.Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Reelfoot Lake locks in another hot, bright day: the fish know the drill and so should you. Today brings clear skies, wind SW around 4 mph, steady pressure near 1013 hPa and a high of 101. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Good

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassFair

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassFair

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 102 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp101 F
High / Low101 / 75 F
WindSW 4-6 mph
Pressure1013.2 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain11% cloud, 3%
Sunrise / Sunset06:31 / 19:21
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 101/75 F, wind 6 mph, rain 3%

Slow. 101 F: be on the water at dawn and off by mid-morning, or fish after dark.

Species guide

The species that matter on Reelfoot Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Reelfoot Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Reelfoot Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 101 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 101 F, wind to 7 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 99 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

Before you go

License

Tennessee requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Tennessee license. Crappie 25/day with pole limits by area: check TWRA Reelfoot rules. Winter waterfowl closures mapped.

Access

Reelfoot SP ramps, Blue Bank, Samburg resorts; boat trails marked: local guidance advised.

About this water

15,500 quake-born acres, Lake/Obion counties, TN. The cypress crappie cathedral.

Fishing Reelfoot Lake: the full guide

Born in 1812

Reelfoot exists because the New Madrid earthquakes sank a forest and the Mississippi backfilled it: 15,000 shallow acres of standing cypress, submerged stumps and lily fields in Tennessee's northwest corner. It fishes like nowhere else: pole-and-jig crappie culture, bluegill by the hundredweight, and boats built specially (the Reelfoot 'stumpjumper') for its hazards.

Crappie the Reelfoot way

The lake's crappie tradition is vertical: long poles easing jigs beside cypress trunks and hidden stumps, reading wood like braille. Spring (March-April) stacks spawners around every tree; summer moves schools to the deeper basins' stump flats: spider rigs where the wood allows. Limits here feed a fried-fish economy a century old.

The bluegill throne

May-June turns Reelfoot into bluegill heaven: beds carpet the shallows, crickets under corks produce hand-sized fish by the cooler, and the lake's claim as America's best bream water gets its annual proof. Bass in the pads (frogs, swim jigs through the fields) and bowfin chaos complete the shallow-water carnival.

Navigating the ghost forest

Stumps rule: idle unfamiliar water, learn the boat trails, and consider the local guides' stumpjumper heritage the sane option. State park ramps and resorts ring the lake; duck-season sanctuaries close areas in winter: check maps. Eagles winter here by the hundred: the lake rewards eyes up as much as lines down.

Common questions

Why is Reelfoot Lake so shallow and stumpy?

It is a drowned forest: the 1811-12 New Madrid quakes dropped the land and the river filled it. The stumps are the habitat: and the reason the special flat-bottomed boats exist.

When is bluegill season at Reelfoot?

May-June's bedding is the world-class window: crickets and popping bugs over the beds. The crappie spring precedes it: the lake barely rests between.

Is fishing good at Reelfoot Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing.

Nearby waters

Kentucky Lake78 miCedar Lake87 miLake Barkley88 miKinkaid Lake98 miCurrent River98 miEleven Point River98 mi
Share your catch