# Pickwick or Cumberland Lake ?



## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

I'm planning a fishing trip this April the week before Easter ( 11-17 th) and I have it narrowed down to either Pickwick lake or Cumberland . Gonna have the wife and will be fishing for Bass and Crappie . Just wanted to get some input on which option would be the best .


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Pickwick - NO CONTEST!!!

More shallow water, not crystal clear. 
Massive sized crappie IF you can find them, and know how to catch them.
Bass are normally plentiful using plastics and lipless cranks - Largemouth, Smallmouth, and Spots..

Some say that if you drive past Cumberland you've gone too far, but I've fished both and have been fishing Pickwick annually since 1991.


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

Thank you for the reply . I actually just read your old post about Pickwick and it was a great. I used to fish the Tennessee river farther north by the Beech river years ago .I love the Tennessee River and that area. I will be retiring in a few years and I'm thinking about getting a place on Pickwick or having a camper and spending Febuary March , April and May there . We are thinking about staying around Bear Creek and trying our luck. I normally fish plastics , cranks and spinnerbaits for bass and slow troll for crappie or just jig . I have a friend that just moved on Dale Hollow and he is having a heck of a time with that clear water. I'm not greedy just catch enough to keep me and the wife interested and we always have a blast. Thanks again !


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## Carpman (May 18, 2005)

It is very hard to compete with Lake Cumberland. I go there twice a year. Troll for stripers in the morning and bass fishing in the evening. The striper bite is outstanding in the spring. 

This fall I had a 30 bass day just in the afternoon. I broke my personal best Kentucky bass 3 times that day.


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

Pickwick is overrun with carp..... JUST KIDDING B. MUSTANG


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

BMustang said:


> Pickwick - NO CONTEST!!!
> 
> More shallow water, not crystal clear.
> Massive sized crappie IF you can find them, and know how to catch them.
> ...


See above


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Saugeye Tom said:


> Pickwick is overrun with carp..... JUST KIDDING B. MUSTANG


This coming from a man who fishes Reelfoot Lake - ON PURPOSE!!!


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

BMustang said:


> This coming from a man who fishes Reelfoot Lake - ON PURPOSE!!!


Reelfoot has went down hill don't go much anymore


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Saugeye Tom said:


> Reelfoot has went down hill don't go much anymore


See you are getting wiser with age.

Now you've got to break that Lake St. Clair habit and go fishing in real Canada.


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

BMustang said:


> See you are getting wiser with age.
> 
> Now you've got to break that Lake St. Clair habit and go fishing in real Canada.


Lol. French river don't count?


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

BMustang said:


> See you are getting wiser with age.
> 
> Now you've got to break that Lake St. Clair habit and go fishing in real Canada.


Are you going to Pickwick this year ? I just read some of your past posts and they were great. We were thinking of camping , do you think the weather is warm enough in mid April? I just can't see renting a place for all that money for just the two of us.


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

sharp33 said:


> Are you going to Pickwick this year ? I just read some of your past posts and they were great. We were thinking of camping , do you think the weather is warm enough in mid April? I just can't see renting a place for all that money for just the two of us.


The stang man goes every year..extended trips


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Yes sir, will be back at Pickwick the weeks of April 9th, 16th and 23rd (God willing!).

I stay at Andy's Sportsman Lodge (Nicer name than the facility), located near the dam and Pickwick Landing State Park, and it works for me. Rates under $70 a night and I have different people fish with me each of the three weeks, splitting the costs which helps. I keep my boat at Grand Harbor Marina and only fill the gas tank about once a week. Plenty of fine southern cooking eateries in the area, and it is all about fishing down there.

April weather can be beautiful/perfect or rainy/windy, and is often in the low to mid-forties in the morning and warms up quickly once the sun comes up. Water levels are normally a few feet below summer pool unless they have had excessive rain.

I have been fishing there since 1991 and always manage to catch my share of fish. Of course, some years are better than others. Last year was tough, but the previous three/four years were spectacular. I mainly throw plastics at that time of the year and catch plenty of smallies, largemouth, and spots. 

You can backtrack through the Out of State threads and find my annual reports posted in early May.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Saugeye Tom said:


> Lol. French river don't count?


Never been there myself, but Yes, that would count.

Score one for Tom!


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

Thanks for all the great info. We are going to bounce back and forth either camping or staying somewhere . Andy's sounds nice so thats an option for sure. I usually fish either plastics ( lizards or finesse worms) or spinnerbaits and troll some cranks . I have my eye on staying on the Alabama side of Bear Creek so I can fish there and try around the Natchez Trace bridge area . Being my first time I'm sure there will be a learning cure and of course just finding the correct locations and fish . If we stay at Andy's of course that all goes out the door and we will fish closer to the dam . Thanks again !


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

sharp33 said:


> . Being my first time I'm sure there will be a learning cure and of course just finding the correct locations and fish . If we stay at Andy's of course that all goes out the door and we will fish closer to the dam . Thanks again !


Actually since Pickwick is the dammed up Tennessee River (Upstream of Kentucky Lake which is also the dammed up Tennessee River) it is long, moderately narrow (1/2 to 3/4 mile across) there is a lot of varying fishing conditions. By staying at Little Andy's you can put in at the State Park Ramp and fish the dam area, or drive a few miles and put/in fish at the confluence of the main lake and Yellow Creek, or drive a few more miles and put in at J.P. Coleman State Park, where the majority of the major tournaments go out of. 

Plenty of options.

I will be staying at Little Andy's from April 9th through April 22nd, so if you are staying there, I'm sure our paths will cross.


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## Mr. Basskisser (Oct 18, 2005)

BMustang, I was looking at that area in goolgle maps, and noticed the border of 3 states there. Do you get more than one license or do you just stay in Alabama waters for the fishing? Just curious.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

All are reciprocal. A Tennessee license covers Pickwick from the dam all of the way down to Bear Creek.

I stay at Little Andy's which is in Tennessee. Keep my boat at Grand Harbor which is in Mississippi and do most of my fishing around State Line Island which is in Alabama.


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

BMustang said:


> All are reciprocal. A Tennessee license covers Pickwick from the dam all of the way down to Bear Creek.
> 
> I stay at Little Andy's which is in Tennessee. Keep my boat at Grand Harbor which is in Mississippi and do most of my fishing around State Line Island which is in Alabama.


Do you think this warm weather will have an effect on the fishing in Pickwick this April?


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## kayakmac (Aug 4, 2013)

I have never fished lake Cumberland, I have fished pickwick the last three years. We just got back from there. We did well! The fishing pressure there is very very heavy. The places I usually fish were being hammered everyday, even weekdays. We found fish by hitting some out of the way places. You can see my post for more details. We stayed in a cabin at pickwick landing state park. We split the 120 a night, sometimes we launched there, sometimes we went up to yellow creek. 100ft extension cord got the job done recharging the batteries. There were easily 30-50 boats in the yellow creek launch everyday.


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## Saugeye Tom (Oct 6, 2010)

OH MY WORSE THAN reelfoot???


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

To answer your question about "Early Spring." 

Hard to say. Obviously if it stays warm and have an extended spring, probably OK.

However, IF it gets warm for a stretch and then turns off cold again for an extended period - and it can down there in March - that could be trouble.

The good news is that even though there is heavy fishing pressure, there are plenty of fish to go around and everybody seems to do fine.

I consider all fishing at Pickwick to be good fishing, of course, sometimes it is better than others. In 2011 through 2015 it was phenomenal, after many years of simply being good. Good for me is 15 quality fish a day. Phenomenal for me is 25 to 50 quality fish in a day. 

I'm bullheaded and like to throw plastics and don't do a lot of adjusting, so some "off years" might be my undoing. I thought last year (2016) was tough. The fish weren't up shallow like normal, and we were back to the 15 - 20 a day mode. HOWEVER, the quality of the fish was superior to anything I had seen in the past.

I guess that's just fishing.


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

kayakmac said:


> I have never fished lake Cumberland, I have fished pickwick the last three years. We just got back from there. We did well! The fishing pressure there is very very heavy. The places I usually fish were being hammered everyday, even weekdays. We found fish by hitting some out of the way places. You can see my post for more details. We stayed in a cabin at pickwick landing state park. We split the 120 a night, sometimes we launched there, sometimes we went up to yellow creek. 100ft extension cord got the job done recharging the batteries. There were easily 30-50 boats in the yellow creek launch everyday.


I have never been to Pickwick the wife and I are heading down April 11th and we are camping at the Rose Trail campgrounds on bear creek. We planned to fish bear creek for crappie and bass then head up and launch at the natchez trace bridge and fish from there also . I hate to here that it is really crowded but that seems to be the norm now days . We just decided to go to Pickwick on a whim . I really love the Tennessee River system and that area . Thanks for the report !


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

The Yellow Creek ramp referred to sits right on the Tennessee/Mississippi border. It is double, double-wide ramp setup. 30 boats is not high volume there. Pickwick takes a lot of fishing pressure, and has for decades. This is nothing new.

The Natchez Trace Bridge is on a whole different planet than the lake up around the dam. I'm sure you will find it quite accommodating.


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

BMustang said:


> Pickwick - NO CONTEST!!!
> 
> More shallow water, not crystal clear.
> Massive sized crappie IF you can find them, and know how to catch them.
> ...


It looks like the the weather is going to be great this week at Pickwick . I read where the bass are starting to get on beds . We are heading down Wednesday thru Monday for some bass and crappie. Good luck I hope you get into them.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Have been at Pickwick since Sunday, April 9th.
Its been a tough go. 
Lots of dinks, and three encounters with five pound class bass - landed one.
Water is at summer pool with little fluctuation.
Sunshine and bluebird skies with hot temps in the mid-80s.
Largemouth were pretty much non-existent earlier this week with several in the 15 inch class showing up on Thursday.
Keeping things small and slow - plastics and grubs.
Will continue to put in my 10 hours a day and hope for better numbers as the trip continues through the 29th.


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

I hope you got into them since Thursday . We got there Thursday morning , set up camp and fished thru Sunday morning . My wife and I ended up catching 68 crappie , several stripe bass, 8 catfish, small larry's and one huge drum . It's funny no matter where I go I always catch a drum . We had a blast just ran out of time . Didn't catch many bass but we only tried to fish for them one evening . The only way we could catch the crappie was to troll for them , I prefer casting but we did that for half a day hitting cover and nothing . The crappie were huge by Ohio standards , most were 12 inches with some up to 15 inches. The lake is enormous and it took a while to find where to fish and find a groove. The people are so nice and I am certainly looking forward to going back soon ! Thanks for all the help.


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

Here is a mess from Saturday.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

^^Excellent!!!
Glad you enjoyed your stay at Pickwick USA!
Where did you stay???
What part of the lake did you fish.
I'm still at Little Andy's and the bass fishing remains inexplicably tough.
We have been catching crappie in our travels, easily as many catfish as keeper sized bass, and am on to a White Bass pattern that is saving us.
Today (Wednesday) they called for 30% chance of showers and we were rained on for three hours - minimal catch. Evenings have been by far the best for us.
You will have to come back when you can stay longer.


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

We stayed at Rose Trail Campgrounds . There wasn't hardly anyone there at all which was nice and everyone was super friendly. The boat launch was right there about 1/4 mile away . We fished in Bear Creek most of time on flats in 10-20 foot of water where the crappie were staging. I really like the lake , it is huge and makes the Ohio River look pathetic ... I really want to do more exploring on the next trip it just seemed like time flew by while we were there. I hope the bite improves for ya ! That was a nice smallie in the pic for sure !


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## keithjpoole (May 22, 2013)

We are going down 28th-7th. Hopefully find some of those nice size crappie. Did you catch the stripers above or below the damn?


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## sharp33 (Mar 30, 2015)

keithjpoole said:


> We are going down 28th-7th. Hopefully find some of those nice size crappie. Did you catch the stripers above or below the damn?


We caught only two and they were around 22 inches long . Got them trolling crankbaits at the mouth of Bear creek and the river. Both hit within 2 minutes of each other while I was turning to head back in just goofing around. For crappie the red headed roadrunners with green grub and chart tail , blue chart worked the best . Cranks I was using storm smash shad in wonderbread , pink and threadfin shad colors. We found the crappie staging on flats and bays in 8-20 foot of water. Good luck !


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## keithjpoole (May 22, 2013)

Nice! Thanks for the tips. We are watching the weather. Looks like the lake is on the rise and calling for major flooding below the dam.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Things beginning to pick up here following a major storm/cold front this past weekend (April 22-23).
Starting to catch more "short fish" along with a few keepers. Overall much better action.
Crappie are on the Yellow Creek Points. Catfish are insane. With three of us throwing nothing but plugs last week we caught over 50 - some up to 8 pounds. They are hitting everything - plastics/spinner baits/cranks. Crappie primarily on 3 inch Kalin grubs.
We too found a spot where the white bass are stacked up. Every evening at 7pm (CDT) they would start busting up on shad and it was game-on until dark. Nice fish 1 to 2 1/2 pounds with the occasional striper and largemouth mixed in. Recently the surface action has diminished, but you can still catch them with great regularity by trolling SR-7 Shad Colored Rapala Shad Raps, down about 7 to 10 feet. Watch your fish-finder, when a bunch show up, Hang on!!!
The picture above is of one of our guys from last week and the biggest crappie I have ever seen.
Picture dosen't do it justice.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Caught this recently spawned out female this evening.
Huge head and 21 inches. Didn't weight her but had she been pre-spawn or even normal, maybe 5 pounds.

Sorry about the camera angle. Am fishing solo this week and its tough taking pictures of ones own fish.


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## keithjpoole (May 22, 2013)

Have you seen the lake coming up or getting muddy? I see that the lake is calling to rise a ft everyday till Friday? We will be coming down Friday staying near yellow creek.


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## BMustang (Jul 27, 2004)

Main lake way up, well over summer pool and in the trees. Badly stained with tons of brush, logs, and leaves/straw floating in it.
I pulled up stakes and returned home Thursday.

IF you go, I strongly suggest you stay in Yellow Creek where the water has not been effected and there seem to be ample fish.

If you are familiar with the lake you should recognize the marker at the mouth of Yellow Creek. Summer pool is 414. At 414 there are normally 2 1/2 blocks showing. This was taken on Wednesday with only a half block showing. IF it raises two more feet the entire lake will be completely blown out.


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