Memphis Area "Gas Lakes"??? 2024
EllisJuan reply :
So...bringing this back up again. I am hoping to really get some insight into Memphis area "Gas lakes"? There is so much good information in the "Memphis Area Pond Hoppers" thread. Being new to the area, it has really been helpful to me. I would love to start collecting information, tips, and news about some of the area's larger lakes.
I am guessing that Herb Parsons is going to be the closest place place I could run a 60hp gas 17' boat safely? I am sure I am going to be wanting to get this thing wet as much as possible in the beginning, even if it is not on the best piece of water to fish. I would like to find places to fish that I could knock off work reasonably early and leave my house at 2:00 and squeeze in a few hours. I guess Poplar Tree would be my other option? I am sure I will be making my way to Pickwick one of these weekends. I am also trying to work out meeting my buddy at one of the "big" lakes in Alabama, maybe Guntersville one of these weekends.
This will be my first time venturing into all these lakes and would love to learn as much as possible about all of them before jumping out there. Things like areas of the lakes to concentrate on, navigational hazards to be concerned with, what boat ramps to use?
I will probably be going out to Herb Parsons first...maybe Saturday, so any information on it would be awesome.
MFBAB reply :
I still recommend getting a subscription to MSHFN. There is a nice list of local lakes and reports there monthly.
EllisJuan reply :
On 5/3/2016 at 7:57 PM, MFBAB said:I still recommend getting a subscription to MSHFN. There is a nice list of local lakes and reports there monthly.
Thanks. I went ahead and did that. $12 for 12 issues is very reasonable.
MFBAB reply :
I agree, It's worth it just for the fishing reports.
Herb Parsons should be fishing good right now, I'd expect to find fish shallow still. I'm sure the water is pretty dirty w all of the recent rains. If you get there early, run down the riprap w something like topwater or a squarebill/spinnerbait.
Then maybe beat the banks and try to fish around bream beds where you can find them. Shade and any cover you can find are your friend after the sun comes up 
EllisJuan reply :
I drove out to Herb Parsons today. I talked to one guy who had been out there for 6 hours and had caught one...ouch. Said it has been rough out there. I was a little disappointed the whole lake is no wake. I was hoping for somewhere close by that I could actually run the boat a bit. Is there any non wake restricted places around?
MFBAB reply :
You can launch at McKellar or Mud Island downtown on the MS river, McKellar is surprisingly good bass fishing at times. The closest lake you can run on would probably be Arkabutla down around Hernando and Sardis a little further down I-55. We used to have Lakeview down towards Walls, MS but it is private now.
Pretty much all of the State Park or TWRA lakes are going to be no wake if not electric only in some cases for the state parks.
EllisJuan reply :
On 5/6/2016 at 11:41 AM, MFBAB said:You can launch at McKellar or Mud Island downtown on the MS river, McKellar is surprisingly good bass fishing at times. The closest lake you can run on would probably be Arkabutla down around Hernando and Sardis a little further down I-55. We used to have Lakeview down towards Walls, MS but it is private now.
Pretty much all of the State Park or TWRA lakes are going to be no wake if not electric only in some cases for the state parks.
I was Curious about Arkabutla and Sardis. Have you fished either? They are both around an hour from me.
TJS209 reply :
Glenn Springs but it's no wake as well. If you ask me bass fishing at Herb Parsons isn't the greatest. You could do McKellar but I would do a quick internet search first and look at the latest happenings down there. Given just a few weeks ago they had major sewage leak issues which resulted in e coli, fish kill, etc.. Sardis can be good bass fishing but it's a mud hole right now I'm sure, you could at least run the boat there I haven't bass fished Sardis in some time so I don't have a current report. Another option is Tunica Cutoff. If you're in Collierville why not just make the haul to Pickwick and put in at Yellow Creek?
MFBAB reply :
Yes, those are 2 of the best crappie lakes you'll find. Butla is crazy high right now and it stays really muddy when it's high also, so that can be tough to figure out when you haven;lt fished there before. Sardis is pretty good for both bass and crappie, if you put in at Holiday Lodge or Wyatt's Crossing on the N side of the lake you should be running with either species right now, the shallow end of the lake is from Holiday on up towards Hwy 7-lots of standing timber up there too. If there's a south wind you may want to consider driving on down to the south side to launch, Hurricane Landing ramp. Sardis is a bear when it gets windy, there will be big rollers hitting the ramps on the N side with a S wind much over 10 mph.
Having said all of that, from Collierville I'd drive to Pickwick every time rather than either Butla or Sardis if I were bass fishing.
UFpwrLifter reply :
I've only rented boats at Glenn springs and its stump city, probably why they have the no wake restriction in place. Haven't been to herb but I'd imagine it's for the same reason. Have you checked out reelfoot?
My buddies and I have a trip set up for guntersville next month, can't wait!
EllisJuan reply :
I picked up my boat on Friday...
I am going to go putt around Herb Parsons tomorrow. I am not married and my mom is in Florida, so I am hoping Mother's Day will have the lake deserted. It will give me a good chance to familiarize myself with the boat close to home. I have some serious learning to do with all the electronics...I am interested to play with the Xi5 trolling motor. The anchor and heading hold functions are supposed to be very cool. I know it can be controlled by the helm Lowrance.
Maybe I will get lucky and the bite will be on.
EllisJuan reply :
Went out to Herb Parson's for the first time this afternoon. I made it out there for about four hours. This being my first time putting the boat in, I spent as much time trying to learn the tech as fishing. The boat and everything about it performed flawlessly. This boat is a total game changer for me. Ended up catching two at close to dark on a Rage rigged craw. One dink and one pretty nice fish.
roadwarrior reply :
Sounds like a great day!
Basstracker 95 reply :
Don't forget about Beech Lake in Lexington, TN. Less than 2 hours from Memphis. No wake restrictions and has some good fish.
EllisJuan reply :
On 5/11/2016 at 1:19 AM, Basstracker 95 said:Don't forget about Beech Lake in Lexington, TN. Less than 2 hours from Memphis. No wake restrictions and has some good fish.
Wow. I did not know anything about that lake. It is only ~80 miles from home. I may go check it out this weekend.
UFpwrLifter reply :
On 5/11/2016 at 7:24 AM, EllisJuan said:Wow. I did not know anything about that lake. It is only ~80 miles from home. I may go check it out this weekend.
Need a partner? ?
EllisJuan reply :
On 5/11/2016 at 9:14 AM, UFpwrLifter said:Need a partner? ?
Possibly, but your screen name makes me think you are a Gator, and I lived in Tallahassee for about 25 years with season tickets to FSU...so...
UFpwrLifter reply :
On 5/11/2016 at 9:50 AM, EllisJuan said:
Possibly, but your screen name makes me think you are a Gator, and I lived in Tallahassee for about 25 years with season tickets to FSU...so...
Lol! I am a gator.
Skeeter Dan reply :
There is a open Tournament at Beech lake this Sunday. Registration at 0530
EllisJuan reply :
On 5/12/2016 at 9:45 AM, Skeeter Dan said:There is a open Tournament at Beech lake this Sunday. Registration at 0530
Wow. I don't think I am ready to fish it...maybe the next one. It may be a good chance to go out there and see where the locals concentrate.
EllisJuan reply :
Incase anyone wanted to see a sonar map of Herb Parson's. This is what my Lowrance has picked up on my last two trips. I am going to try to map the rest next couple times out.
00 mod reply :
@EllisJuan If you crisscross back and forth a little more, your detail will become much more accurate. Here is an example I did.
Jeff
A-Jay reply :
On 5/13/2016 at 8:46 PM, 00 mod said:@EllisJuan If you crisscross back and forth a little more, your detail will become much more accurate. Here is an example I did.
Jeff
Great Work Jeff ~ I'm sure that took some time & effort to get right but should pay off.
Do you think you'd be interested is doing a couple of the lake over my way for me ?
I'll pay for the chip & lunch . . .
A-Jay
00 mod reply :
On 5/13/2016 at 9:06 PM, A-Jay said:Great Work Jeff ~ I'm sure that took some time & effort to get right but should pay off.
Do you think you'd be interested is doing a couple of the lake over my way for me ?
I'll pay for the chip & lunch . . .
A-Jay
I have the whole thing completed now. Took about 3 trips all day to complete the way I wanted.
I would be interested but , you will be able to do your own soon!!!!!
I will come up and take you up on that lunch though- anytime!
Jeff
EllisJuan reply :
Very cool OO Mod. What lake is that?
EllisJuan reply :
I went out to Glenn Springs today. As advertised, that place is a stump fest. After launching I idled out towards where I wanted to fish. As I was about to stop, I caught a stump pretty good. Luckily I was just at idle. I raised the outboard all the way up, and dropped my trolling motor in. I fished for about three hours only catching one dink. I know there is more there...it just looks so "fishy". Hopefully I'll eventually get it figured out.
It was starting to get dark, so I pulled up the trolling motor, dropped in the outboard, started it up, and started to idle back to the ramp. I noticed the outboard vibrating, so I stopped immediately to take a look at the prop. That is when I saw an entire blade missing...awesome. Dropped the troller back in and cruised back to the ramp at an awesome 3.8 mph.
Missing blade....
Dink....
Tery Songz reply :
yeap. i recently caught like 6 1-2 pounders for some reason only the dinks are biting. 
would it possibly we could go fishing together? i really want to try out my frogs 
EllisJuan reply :
On 5/14/2016 at 11:45 AM, Tery Songz said:yeap. i recently caught like 6 1-2 pounders for some reason only the dinks are biting.
would it possibly we could go fishing together? i really want to try out my frogs
Possibly. Shoot me a PM with your number. What part of town do you live in?
Tery Songz reply :
On 5/14/2016 at 1:28 PM, EllisJuan said:Possibly. Shoot me a PM with your number. What part of town do you live in?
actually i think i have a wedding coming up some time soon and i dont know when, ill pm you some time if your up
EllisJuan reply :
Skunked at Herb Parson this afternoon ~4:00-7:00. I don't think this little cool snap did me any favors.
EllisJuan reply :
Shot over the Beech Lake this afternoon. Tooks about an hour and forty to get there. Really really nice lake, and I am sure it can produce some fish. I only fished for a few hours and only caught a dink. I think it was a little fished out this afternoon...there was a tournament this morning that ended just before I got there...28 boats. So, I think the lake was a little pressured today.
I am definitely going back over there soon.
MikeA57 reply :
You can also go up to the Hatchie River north of town. There are a number of places to put a boat in. Check it out first though to be sure if where you are putting in is navigable. Depending on water level it might be a problem. There are some offshoots on it that you can get in, and some of them can open up into some real nice pockets with fish in them. In the summer, keep an eye out over your head for snakes that might want to hitch a ride in your boat!!!
https://www.localwaters.us/find-local-water/find-your-water/hatchie-river/hatchie-river-tennessee-maps/
Oh yeah, and there's some lakes that you can see right off of I40 between Memphis & Jackson that you can get to also.
Skeeter Dan reply :
On 5/16/2016 at 11:54 AM, EllisJuan said:Shot over the Beech Lake this afternoon. Tooks about an hour and forty to get there. Really really nice lake, and I am sure it can produce some fish. I only fished for a few hours and only caught a dink. I think it was a little fished out this afternoon...there was a tournament this morning that ended just before I got there...28 boats. So, I think the lake was a little pressured today.
I am definitely going back over there soon.
The big bag that day was 21lbs out of the 28 boats only 10 brought in fish that day.
EllisJuan reply :
On 6/4/2016 at 9:59 PM, Skeeter Dan said:The big bag that day was 21lbs out of the 28 boats only 10 brought in fish that day.
Thanks for the insight. Out of the favorite lakes listed in your profile, which is your favorite?
Skeeter Dan reply :
My favorite lake is Kentucky lake. I grew up on it.
EllisJuan reply :
On 6/6/2016 at 1:06 AM, Skeeter Dan said:My favorite lake is Kentucky lake. I grew up on it.
I have not fished it yet. I fish both Beech Lake and Glen Springs. Have you fished any of them lately? Any tips?
Skeeter Dan reply :
Yes I fished Beech lake 2 weeks ago and got skunked. Out of 29 boats only10 brought in a full bag. 10 with 0 bags and 9 with 3,2 or 1 bag . big fish weighed in at 5 . plus .with a bag of 21 lbs.plus. This Sunday 06-12-16 We have a tournament at Paris landing( Kentucky Lake. Its a club members only . But members can bring a guest.
Skeeter Dan reply :
On 6/6/2016 at 11:44 AM, EllisJuan said:I have not fished it yet. I fish both Beech Lake and Glen Springs. Have you fished any of them lately? Any tips?
Tips for Glen Springs. Down size your line and your baits and make real long cast towards the banks. After 8:00 your going to have to fish deep
EllisJuan reply :
Thanks Skeeter!
I am going to be meeting a buddy from Atlanta at Pickwick next Sunday. We will be meeting at the State Park ramp after lunch and fishing into the evening.
I have not fished it before and am looking for any tips to hopefully make our trip successful.
EllisJuan reply :
Beech lake was on fire this afternoon and the Whopper Plopper was gasoline....right until the storm blew me off the lake.
roadwarrior reply :
If you want some company on one of your outings let me know.
-Kent
EllisJuan reply :
It was good again this evening. I can't believe how shallow these fish are for how warm it is. Topwater at the edge of the grass beds has been awesome.
On 7/30/2016 at 9:40 PM, roadwarrior said:If you want some company on one of your outings let me know.
-Kent
I usually decide to go last minute. The next time I make a plan a few days in advance I will shoot you a message Kent. I would love to pick your brain some out there. I am a very weak deep water fisherman. I am still not very comfortable reading my graph and locating fish when I can't get it going shallow. I am sure there is a lot I could learn from you.
Basstracker 95 reply :
I can give you another lake that's about as far as beech but not nearly as crowded. Carroll County 1000 acre lake. it located just outside of Huntingdon and about hour and 45 min from Memphis. It has some nice bass, I've seen an 11 pounder come out of it.
rebranger reply :
Holler at me sometime, I'm always looking for a pard down here, fishing is good!
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