| Every sportsman needs a special place. This is where you've got a unique connection, someplace that speaks to your soul. This is where you go when you need to unwind and slide back into the rhythms of nature. This can be a special fishing hole, a favorite deer stand, a duck marsh. To each his own.
My special place is Reelfoot Lake, a large natural lake in northwest Tennessee near the town of Tiptonville. Reelfoot was formed during the great New Madrid earthquake of 1811-12. A tremor broke open the land between the Mississippi River and the nearby Reelfoot Creek bottoms. Water supposedly gushed through this break for several days, inundating the cypress bottoms and creating one of the most beautiful, most fertile lakes in the eastern U. S.
From that time until now Reelfoot Lake has been a haven for anglers and waterfowl hunters. This lake is known for its superb bass, bluegill, catfish and crappie fishing. It's also a main stopover for ducks migrating south each fall and winter. Reelfoot is dotted with several hundred ducks blinds. Multi-generation guides entertain clients in massive blinds surrounded by hundreds of decoys. When Reelfoot is right, duck shooting is as good as can be found in the Mississippi flyway.
Moreover, Reelfoot has a distinctive aura around it. It's a combination of natural beauty, cultural lore and intriguing history. This lake is dotted with thousands of cypress trees growing in the water. Lily pads, water hyacinths and myriad other aquatic plants abound here. When the hyacinths are blooming in the summer, the lake is like a large floral bouquet - stunning in its splendor.
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 Jeff Lannom holds one of several nice channel catfish he and Wade Bourne caught from Reelfoot Lake in northwest Tennessee - Bourne's "special place".
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Wade Bourne sets a yo-yo on a cypress tree limb hanging over the catfish-rich waters of Reelfoot Lake.
 Here are the main ingredients of a fish fry soon-to-be-held at the Bourne home, compliments of Reelfoot Lake.
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I've just spent three days of fishing on Reelfoot Lake and enjoying the laid-back lifestyle of this locality. While my wife and daughter vacationed in Chicago, I opted to prowl the Forked Pond Timber, Horse Island Ditch, Starve Pond and other colorfully-named sections of the lake. While they shopped for back-to-school clothes, I stalked bass and catfish. At night I feasted on the "traditional Reelfoot dinner," which includes all the catfish, country ham, fried chicken, pork chops and vegetables and trimmings you can hold.
Headquarters for my Reelfoot sojourns are the Blue Bank Resort, owned/operated by Mike Hayes. Blue Bank is built among giant cypress trees right on the lakeshore. Its boat basin opens onto open water. Accommodations are modern and comfortable. Food at the Blue Bank Restaurant is delicious (and plentiful!). Check out Mike's facilities at the Blue Bank web site: http://www.bluebankresort.com/.
But Reelfoot is more than just a nice lake to visit. Being there is like stepping back in time. When you venture onto the lake, you get away from phone calls and noise and other trappings of modern life. The pace is more like that of the boats that ply the lake - slow. Thousands of stumps lay hidden beneath the surface, and when (not if) you hit one, you'd better be easing along, or you could lose your motor's lower unit!
So how was the fishing? I caught bass and catfish. The bass were few in number but good in grade - averaging 3 pounds. (I hooked, saw, then lost one that would have gone 5+.)
Jeff Lannom, a longtime friend from Greenfield, TN, drove up to catfish with me on the second day. We hung several yo-yo's from cypress limbs and baited the hooks with nightcrawlers. (Yo-yo's are automatic, spring-loaded reels. When a fish bites, the trigger trips, and the spring sets the hook. You set these, then come back later to claim your fish.)
After setting our yo-yo's, Jeff and I proceeded to rod-and-reel fish for catfish. All totaled, we boated 20 channel cats up to 4 lbs. in size.
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On the third morning fishing was slow, plus I didn't work at it as hard as I had the two previous days. (That's a nice way to say I was skunked.) However, when I got back to Blue Bank, I heard that a couple staying at the lodge had fished for bluegill that morning and caught over a hundred while dipping crickets around cypress trees. The average Reelfoot bluegill will drape off both ends of your hand when held in the palm.
As I drove home after my trip, I reflected on my past three days. My soul was at ease. I'd been to my special place. I'd felt the pull of fish on my line. I'd savored the lake's beauty. I'd felt the cool breeze that accompanied a sudden thunderstorm that had swept over the water. I'd lived according to my own schedule, not someone else's.
It was, indeed, a special place - again. I run out of adjectives when describing Reelfoot. But then, some things, and places, defy description and must be felt down deep, in a way that words can't do justice. If you have your own special place, you know what I mean.
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