The Birmingham age-herald., 1921-06-19
By ROBERT G. HIDDEN

sportsmen 20 there from year to year
 for shooting, as well as fishing. There
 seems to be no limit to possibilities;
 the available supply of fish, large
 mouth bass, bream, crappies. yellow
 bellies, as they call a big gray
 perch, gogle-eyes, cat and variety
 of others appears to increase an
 unally. It's the sportsman's delight;
 not only are southern states well rep
 resented, but many come from Ilii-
 nois, Ohio and northern and eastern
 regions as well.
 Reelfoot lake is controlled and pro-
 tected by the state of Tennessee which
 acquired it following and as a solu-
 tion of the tragic clash some years
 ago, when night riders composing na-
 tive commercial fishermen and their
 friends resented action by land
 company. which secured control
 through old deeds running back near
 ly century. undertook to lease the
 waters to private clubs, and ordered
 the natives to get out These latter
 had made their living out of Reelfoot
 for several generations. They refused
 to quit and notified lessees and clubs 1 to stay away. Several of the latter | were shot. Convictions were ob-
 tained and death sentences pro-
 nounced in the cases of four or five | accused. The supreme court found | errors in the trials, and the cases l were dropped.
 But the state had to do something
 to prevent future trouble. Those l fishermen who had supported their families from Reelfoot many years, and knew how to do nothing else for
 a livelihood. were determined to
 stick" The upshot was the state | took over the great lake, made it
 public fishing grounds established rules and regulations. put in a game
 warden, and everything has been perfectly lovely since.
 Bass are protected at Reelfoot dur | ing April sand May. Its 25 bucks for | every bass brought In during that period. Nets, baskets. trot lines and l the like are taboo for bass. Only hook and line fishing Is permitted The natives use a larg ehome made reel, some 10 inches in diameter. and | resembling a small spinning wheel for bass casting. And they "get away with it" wonderfully we'll You see few level wlnders or fly outfits among the native fishermen.
 A highly effective mode, of trans portation is employed at Reelfoot for the fisherman. It Is light shiff, pointed at both ends, round bottom, and propelled by small oars attached to the sides two-thirds the way back and carrying metal elbows whereby the oarsman faces the direction he goes. Any~ oarsman can work the thing In two minutes practice. It makes better speed than the reverse system, keeps your boat headed straight and avoids half-hidden cy- press knees and other Instructions. These boats are remarkably staunch and durable. They are made of na- tive sasafras. For fishing they are ideal.
 Reelfoot is a notable fishing and game rendezvous. The lake is some 25 miles long. winds in an almost Figure "3' shape, and averages four or five miles In width. It is believed to have originated many years ago from a land upheaval, followed by inflow from the Mississippi river eight or ten miles west.
 The lake provides ideal fishing grounds There are several large Islands within its surface, hundreds O. acres of cypress trees, miles or rushes and lilies. not to speak or many thickets and 1ungles away from the mainland Perfect cover and feeding grounds are afforded. The waters are slightly murky, even l. dry seasons. which removes the | danger of being seen too far NO ! reasonably experienced nor naturally l intellectual fish worth catching will | rise to fly or strike bait after seeing | the fisherman.
 I've never seen such brcam and | perch fishing as at Reelfoot. No ] doubt the bass fishing is proportion | ately as good. Big, lusty bass were | striking freely all over the lake. fre- l euently in groups after schools of | rnlnnows during the middle of May. | But it was the closed season, and | even the 10 fine bass I caught on | rumber bream hook and angle | worms had to, be returned tc the | waters. Out of 12 bass hooked on hream tackle. landed 10. The fish | were no more surprised than I. While | dropping In among dense bonnet ! fields I hooked three pound bass. He darted for the lily roots. of course, | and half dozen times got my line | wrapped around as many obst.uc- tions. I was astonished to land him.
 While slashing for bream I wit | ;,essed an athletic feat on the part | of a large bass that sounds like real fish yarn It's literally true, ! though and can be satisfactorily | proven In any court. This particular bass appeared to weigh about four pounds. He was ravenous. After half a dozen strikes at an elusive minnow [ the latter Tipped on a tuft of grass and dirt extending several inches above the water ercircling a small | tree The bass literally leaped on the tuft, swallowed the minnow, and rolled back dnto the lake. Some bass eh? They are Just that determined | and clever at Reelfoot during feeding hours
 Several days of bream and perch | fishing provided fine sport in May | The gogle-eyes are numerous and | quite large. I took many weighing over half pound. Bream fishing Is wonderful I've never seen finer fell lows. They run from the size of your hand to three quarters of a pound. big game "uns" that strike vigorously and put fascinating tune to your line and reel. Fishing about three hours each, morning and after roon, and taking things quite lelsure- ly while hunting shady places and looking out for spots where the boat would remain steady, my average daily catch of bream for week was 6S. Frequently l2 to 20 yellow bel lies" gray perch with red spot just beneath the gills, were added tv the string. This Is beautiful fish about the size of your hand. They bite en- ti~ely at bait-worms. hoppers and the like-and seldom take a fly.
 Up among cypress trees. logs, rush. cs and moss-a regular combinatio oe jungle and lagoon-you find ex- cellent bream and perch fishing, If you don't mind snakes. Such places in Reelfoot seem to have their full sharA of moccasins. While steering cur boat through Jungle of under growth grass and moss my Cuide l