Fifty years ago, when face-furrowed Benny Smith was learning to be a Reelfoot Lake fishing guide at the age of 12, the days could be brutal. “We used to leave at 3:30 a.m. just to row the 8 to 10 ...

When I was a kid, fantasies about the places I’d hunt and fish when I grew up were gleaned from the pages of the popular outdoor magazines. Every once in a while a tale would became snagged in my ...

REELFOOT LAKE, Tenn. — Over the years, many readers have asked me about the famous crappie fishing at Reelfoot Lake. I had never been there, so last week, Dan Stefanich of Wilmington joined me on a ...

Crappie fishing is one of my favorite pastimes. These large panfish are fun to catch and great to eat. Using minnows under slip-bobbers is my favorite tactic for catching crappie, but jigs work just ...

In my last column, I talked about one of North America's favorite fish, the black crappie. At the time, I was sitting in Tiptonville, Tennessee on the shores of Reelfoot Lake, a top 25 crappie lake ...