This week on Kentucky Afield.

We're headed about as far southwest as you can go in the state to Reelfoot Lake: home of monster pan fish.

Next, we'll hit the field with coyote call in hand, running fawn distress and seeing what happens.

Then.

We're fishing just outside of the state's largest city at the falls of the Ohio.

It's all next on Kentucky Afield.

Hello and welcome to Kentucky Afield.

I'm your host, Chad Miles.

Join us as we journey the commonwealth in search of outdoor adventure.

Reelfoot Lake is one of the most unique fishing locations I've ever experienced, and the pan fishing is second to none.

Jeremy, you and I have fished a couple times before.

Last time we were chasing crappie.

We're on Reelfoot Lake and there are a lot of crappie here but that's not what we're going after today, is it?

No today- This time of year, Reelfoot, the crappie fishing, although it is awesome, it gets outshined by these giant bluegill that Reelfoot has to offer.

It's just such a picturesque place.

It's a different lake than anywhere else you're going to fish in the state of Kentucky or Tennessee.

This lake, if you've never been here before, is one of the more picturesque locations and one of the best pan fisheries in the nation.

And today we're going to hopefully find some bedding bluegills is that the plan?

Yes.

We're going to be looking for bedding bluegill.

Now, we had that big storm come through a couple days ago.

It kind of pushed them off the bed.

Now, today, you're going to get a little bit of a treat.

You're going to find out how to catch them when that happens and they get pushed off the beds.

Okay.

We're going to be fishing timber for the most part.

Okay.

Instead of the bed we're looking for limbs or logs.

And they will start new beds on those when they get pushed off of the beds that are on the banks.

Okay.

So what type of technique are we going to use?

There's a million ways to catch a bluegill.

We're going back to granddaddy's way.

It's a bobber in a cricket.

I don't care how old you get when you see a bobber go down.

You are sitting under Eebly bridge in Breckenridge County, Kentucky with Papa, and you█re catching them bluegill.

Oh, man, It takes you back to your childhood, that's for sure.

Let's make this happen.

Let's go out here and catch some fish and get started.

I'm actually excited right now.

Let's get it going.

Let's do it.

A little light wire hook to save you from retying on all day.

Just has his, weight up here a little bit above it.

And then this is just a little slip that stops it from coming down.

And then you see this little this little piece right here allows you to set your depth.

I mean, this is a method that█s been around forever and ever and ever.

Ever.

This is going to be a cool trip.

If my bobber goes down and I'm looking at an osprey or bald eagle, just let me know.

All right, Come on, fish.

Caught one giant right here yesterday on this log.

It doesn't make any sense that bed you can see the holes right there.

Right there's a fish- Fish sitting right there.

Yeah, the fish are in them.

And it's literally right here beside me.

And I don't know why that we couldn't get bit.

And if they don't bite, we will move on.

This is what we're looking for right here.

This about to get fun guys.

Look, look how defined.

Bed, fish.

Bed, fish.

Look at them all.

Bed, fish.

Bed, fish.

Look at that.

Now that's ten to twelve feet, about where them bubbles are.

Right there.

It ain't very far out at all.

This is about to be fun right here.

Now we get them figured it out and get our depth set right.

We are to be able to blister these.

Free crickets.

Free crickets.

Free breakfast.

Oh, there we go.

There we go.

Now that is a nice big male bluegill.

Look at that big old beautiful fish.

Look at him pretty.

He's got his got his mating colors out.

He is covered up.

I like seeing the knot heads man.

When they got meat on top of their skull, they got some thick old back straps.

Man, that is a nice bluegill right there.

That is why you come to Reelfoot Lake when you can- When you can lip them?

Lip them like that.

Look at that.

What a beautiful fish.

That's why you come to Reelfoot Lake right here.

You get licked?

Yeah.

Oh, there you go, there you go.

You catch the giants, I'll just mess with these pumpkin seeds.

That right there is a female pumpkin seed.

She ain't colored up real hard because of being a female.

But you can see the turquoise stripes on her and that big old fat Bailey on her.

She's actually There's eggs coming out of her right now.

she sure is.

I'm going to get her back in there.

Yeah.

Real fast-like.

Here we go.

Oh, this is a good one.

Oh, boy.

Another good one.

Oh my gosh.

That is a tank.

I'll tell you what, that puts a smile on your face.

Look at that rod tip.

Bend.

Bent all the way over.

Puts a smile on your face.

I don't care how old you are or how many times you do it.

Yeah, you can do this every day your- people ask me all the time.

Do you get tired of fishing?

Nope, not for one second.

Look at that.

And there, right there is exactly why.

Just big old, fat, healthy, thick bluegill.

Look how thick they are across the back.

It's just a beautiful fish.

And there's a bunch of them down there.

We're seeing them right here on beds.

You can't see them through the water color.

It's rained and this water is normally stained up anyway.

Yeah, kind of a swamp-like.

Yeah, kind of swamp-like.

But, you, we can see where they're on the.

We can see we're on the bed.

Look at that.

Lookie there.

This is what it's all about right here.

Just come out here and throw it.

Keep it simple.

Keep it simple.

Keep it a little slip bobber.

Throw cricket on the end.

Give them what they want and then just start, catching them like that.

Yeah, you got me a little bit there, but I'm still real proud of that.

Oh, that's.

Those are two great bluegill.

And, I guess we█re going to put them back, huh?

Yeah, let's put them back, man.

Oh.

Tickling it, tickling it.

Got him.

heading out there too.

Now that looked like a fish that was maybe really small because the way he was biting.

And look.

Not really small.

Not small at all.

Wouldn't even take the bobber under the way it was hitting on it.

I thought that was a little bitty fish.

Thought about shaking him off.

Not really, but I thought, wow, that's a little bitty fish.

Can't even take that little bobber under.

And it's a beauty.

Nice big fat male bluegill.

Just one right after the next.

One after another.

Oh, where is that thing going to?

That thing is headed out.

Look at that.

Oh, my.

When I think they can't get any bigger.

And here comes something like that.

Look at that.

That's a nice bluegill right there.

There you go.

Oh yeah.

Oh yeah.

Come here, baby doll.

Oh!

Hahaha.

That might be the biggest one yet.

That is a stud.

I mean, a stud.

I got one.

Got one too?

I got a jumper.

This is a bluegill that you're not going to turn down anywhere.

Oh no.

No man look at, look at the size that.

What do you think that thing weighs?

It's close to a pound.

Three quarter to a pound.

Yeah.

It doesn't get any better.

We█re going to end up being done for breakfast.

Uh oh!

Oh, get off it!

Oh, look at that.

Oh my goodness.

Oh my goodness Chad miles, what did you do over there?

Look at that.

I tell you what.

We made a little move because the wind was so strong.

It was blowing the bobber and our bait.

About thirty seconds later reeled that bad boy and you know what?

We're seeing several down there on the graph.

So I got a feeling that could be some more in there.

Oh, that's a good one.

It looked like a good one.

Yes sir.

Oh, wow.

What a good fish.

I'm telling you.

That is just impressive right there.

Well, I tell you what.

First time you and I went out, you took me to your secret honey hole.

This place is no secret, but it is a honey hole.

That's it.

It's no secret, but it is absolutely a honey hole.

And still, being able to catch fish like this with the boats up and down the bank right here.

Just being, respectful.

Yeah.

And showing a little bit of etiquette.

Everybody can have a great day.

You want to get away and see some wildlife, see some nature and catch trophy sized panfish.

Let me tell you what.

Travel down here to extreme southwestern Kentucky or in part of Tennessee where Reelfoot Lake National Wildlife Refuge is and this is what you can expect.

Thank you so much.

It's been an absolute blast, and there's nothing like watching a bobber go down.

Nice.

Late May and early June is the time of year that most of our deer fawns are born here in the state of Kentucky and unfortunately, in many locations, the coyotes are there to take advantage.

Wow.

I█m out today on my deer farm planning on calling some coyotes.

You know, it's that time of year.

Late May, early June, where all of your deer fawns are being born and you know, if you have deer here in Kentucky you probably have coyotes.

And for me, it's part of my management plan here on this deer farm is to try to keep a control on the predators that are out here.

This farm has a lot of coyotes.

Every time we hunt we hear them.

Quite often we see them.

I like to get out here and run fawn distress and try to pick off some of these coyotes that may be coming in for an easy meal, an opportunity to take out a young deer.

So that's what we're out here doing today.

Let's see what happens here.

I think I may have missed.

That happened way faster than I thought.

Three coyotes came out.

Had a rough time picking out which one I was going to get a shot at.

I believe that was a complete miss unfortunately.

Tells you how many coyotes are out here.

That's four in about five minutes of hunting and two shots.

Unfortunately, one miss.

And when you got a real thick coyote populations like this, there's not a real predator or rival for a coyote on the Kentucky landscape.

So if you have a farm that you're managing, this is the time of year.

End of May, beginning of June, is when A lot of your deer fawns are born.

So as part of the plan on this piece of property that I hunt is to try to get out here and take care of some of these coyote populations, because they're pretty prolific.

So I'm very happy to be able to get out here.

I'm not too happy that I missed the first one.

But man, they just showed up like that, as soon as I hit the call.

Really wasn█t even ready.

And when they came out in more than one, tried to pick out which one I was going to shoot at, as they trotted across the field, it just all happened so fast and chaotic, like all hunting situations.

Unfortunately, sometimes misses are part of it.

But luckily for me, that second coyote showed up and gave me an opportunity.

If you like to fish and you just want a good fight, don't overlook the falls of Ohio and some of the rough fishing opportunities that exist there.

Well, I'm right here.

Just steps away from the parking lot of the falls.

The Ohio and Indiana.

This is a place I like to come several times throughout the year, usually in the morning or in the afternoon.

And June is a great time of year to come down here.

One of the reasons I love it is it's so close.

There's always fish here.

And when the water conditions are right, like they look like they are today, you never know what you're going to catch.

I'll tell you what, when I come down here to the river, you're going to lose some tackle.

I like to use a wire that is a little more of a light wire hook, and I usually throw it on, braid it a lot of times.

Allows me to straighten this hook out and get it back now.

You catch or you hook into a 30 or 40 pound fish.

You might regret that decision because you're going to use a lot of drag and hopefully you can get it in.

But otherwise it seems like I'm retired all the time.

Here we go.

We got a fish on.

It's good to get a little practice.

When I get a fish, I really want to get it because this is probably the route they're going to take over the dam and back up.

All right.

Perfect.

Just such a high concentration to Gar right here comes another one, probably.

I'll tell you one thing.

These are rod benders.

Whatever they are, that's a drum That fish actually tried to hit and missed it.

And made him feel a lot bigger because he's foul hooked in the back.

Old drum.

And they are fun to catch.

But after a little bit, they kind of just give up on you.

That was going, he was trying to go up to up the river, getting out of here.

Here we go.

Oh, what do we got here another drum.

Hey, a lot easier to bring in when we're actually hooked in the mouth.

I'll tell you what.

This thing about fishing down here, in these fossil beds, is that every time you come, it's a new experience.

Even though the bottom really in changing.

I've got to figure out where they're seams that are in this fossil beds and Seems are where the water runs all the time.

We've got more water there.

So you might be catching over a seam or just shy of a seam and you got to figure out where that deeper water is because there's a lot of times the fish would be sitting pretty close to that.

Thing is it doesn't give you a real wide area to fish.

So I make long casts a lot of times to fish.

Five or six feet stretch of water and the rest of it's almost too shallow.

So every time you come, it's about figuring out where those spots are at.

And that's a lot of times going to hold the fish.

Man, how I'd love for this to be a sport fish, but just don't have that much confidence.

Tell you what, well, when you come to the river, you got to be ready for anything.

You never know what you're going to catch.

Kind of hoping for hybrids today, but if you just want to get your line stretched, well, these will definitely do the trick.

Now, generally, as a fisherman, normally don't like to see those cormorants or such aggressive fish eaters.

But when you're trying to locate fish, one thing's for sure.

If those cormorants are diving, there's bait.

Here we go.

A cormorant may try to eat my fish right under it.

Another drum today.

It really is rough fish that are piled in here.

And there's not a whole lot of water.

It's kind of not very deep.

And these fish are in here and open and willing to bite.

Well, when that happens, I'm willing to come down here and stretch the line and try to have a day of catching.

Who knows what.

I'll tell you what.

The whole thing of hooking at fish that fight in that current.

Watching it go through the ripples over this Little Rock waterfall here and then it back up the other side.

Pretty fun.

Here we go.

Oh, my goodness.

Thank goodness he got off.

Oh, he didn't.

Not off, I thought he got off.

Oh, my goodness.

I think he got off and hit it again.

Gosh look how aerodynamic those fish are how they can just shoot straight up that rough water.

Actually hook some bigger than this one today.

But I think it's the first one we got all the way in.

Now I got to find a spot to secure my feeding so that I can grab this fish.

Now, you never want to reach down and grab one of those.

It looks like you got a handle hanging out there.

That handle is covered in teeth.

You do not want to reach down there and try to grab that fish.

You would regret it.

Let me get better.

Oh, perfect.

There we go.

Look at there.

It's exactly what we wanted right there.

Got my lure back, turned him loose.

Hey, I must be living right.

What do we got here.

It looks like another Gar and they█ve been getting off quite a bit.

It's another drum.

I█ll tell you what.

Getting a perfect combination of a rod that will cast a long, long way but has enough backbone to pull a fish like this through.

Takes the right rod selection.

A good one.

It█s a good what?

I don't know.

But it's something big.

Another drum, hard fighting fish.

Man.

As many fish as I'm catching today, this is a perfect way to spend the morning come out and catch a lot of fish.

Here we go.

All right, here we go.

Another drum.

Say what?

These things are crazy.

You got a chance to come down here and catch.

Just tons of fish.

I don't know how many pounds of fish I've caught today, but tons and tons of fish.

It's kind of crazy coming down and being able to do this right outside the city limits of Louisville.

The great location to come for just a morning or an evening walk in and catch fish like this pretty much all day long.

Now let's check in and see who else has been out having fun in this week's Ones That Didn't Get Away.

Here we have Wyatt Devine and Kinsey Cavanaugh, who had a successful day of catfishing on Lake Barkley.

Congratulations.

Joshua Allen knows what the bass are biting on at Nolin Lake: the ned rig.

Nice job.

Regina Horton caught this nice largemouth bass at a private pond in Corinth, Kentucky, using the old wopper plopper.

Congratulations.

Here we have Steven Witter with a nice walleye that he caught while fishing at Dale Hollow Lake.

Nice fish.

Check out this beautiful largemouth bass caught by Tiffany Collins at Yates Ville Lake in Lawrence County.

Nice fish.

Are you planning a family fishing outing this summer?

Well, don't overlook some of the great stream fishing that is available here in Kentucky.

And remember, hunting and fishing on private property is a privilege.

Always ask permission and thank the landowner.

Until next week, I'm your host, Chad Miles, and I hope to see you in the woods or on the water.