Winter Duck Hunting with Reelfoot Lake’s Billy Blakely: Part One
John E. Phillips 11.23.11
Breaking Ice and Shooting Ducks with Billy Blakely at Reelfoot Lake
Author’s Note: “I hunt every single day of duck season,” says Billy Blakely, chief guide at Blue Bank Resort on Reelfoot Lake near Tiptonville, Tennessee, located between three waterfowl refuges and only a short distance from the Mississippi River, one of the premier duck hunting regions in the U.S. “I’ll guide 80+ days per year for ducks.” When Blakely takes a party of duck hunters out to Reelfoot Lake for a day of hunting, he often carries 4-10 hunters at one time plus a dog, guns, ammunition and food. Blakely usually will carry his party about 2-miles before they set up to hunt. That 2 miles of the lake includes stumps, shallow water, deep water, brush and ice. If he is hunting from his permanent blind, he pulls his boat into a covered slip.
Question: Billy, where are you finding your ducks, and how are you taking them at Reelfoot?
Blakely: Later in the waterfowl season, we’ll hunt our duck holes back in the marsh that will have about 4 inches of ice on them. Our duck holes all will be frozen.
Question: Billy, how do you hunt when you’re hunting on the main lake?
Blakely: We have a stationary blind in one spot out on the open water, but depending on how the ducks are flying, we spend a lot of time hunting from the boat. Then we can be more mobile.
Question: How do you hunt out of a boat?
Blakely: We put out 75-80 decoys, and we may have to break holes in the ice to get our decoys out. We put out Greenhead Gear decoys and place some Mojo Floaters in with our decoys to make ripples on the water. We try to back the boat up to a stump or a log to break up our outline in the deep water. This lake is loaded with stumps and trees – even in the deep water. One of our favorite places to set up is when we find stumps standing above the water line. Then we can tie our boat to the stumps.
Question: What kinds of ducks are you taking in that deep water?
Blakely: We’re taking a lot of puddle ducks, like blue bills, redheads, canvasbacks and several mallards.
Question: Do the waves ever get up, and the water becomes too rough out in that open water?
Blakely: Oh, yes it does. We may have 2-1/2- to 3-foot swells some days. When we are hunting in water that rough, we usually won’t carry more than six hunters.
Question: When you have six hunters in you boat, is there still enough room to stand up and shoot?
Blakely: Yes, sir, that’s the reason I bought a War Eagle boat.
Question: When it’s cold, how do you stay warm?
Blakely: We have a heater in each end of the blind, so when we pull up that Avery Quick-Set Blind, we stay warm and comfortable.
Question: How long do you usually hunt?
Blakely: We try and get to our spot well before daylight and hunt until we get our limit or until 3 pm, depending on which comes first.
To learn more about duck hunting on Reelfoot Lake, call (731) 538-2112 or visit www.bluebankresort.com.
This article is part of a series on winter duck hunting with Billy Blakely. Click here to go on to part two, calling tips and situational guidance.
John, the 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the year and the 2007 Legendary Communicator chosen for induction into the National Fresh Water Hall of Fame, is a freelance writer (over 6,000 magazine articles for about 100 magazines and several thousand newspaper columns published), magazine editor, photographer for print media as well as industry catalogues (over 25,000 photos published), lecturer, outdoor consultant, marketing consultant, book author and daily internet content provider with an overview of the outdoors.
Phillips has been a contributor to many national magazines, has been affiliated with 27 radio stations across Alabama serving as their outdoor editor and wrote for a weekly syndicated column, "Alabama Outdoors," for 38-Alabama newspapers for more than 13 years. Phillips was Outdoor Editor for the "Birmingham Post-Herald" for 24 years. Phillips was also the executive editor for "Great Days Outdoors" magazine for 3 years.
The author of almost 30 books on the outdoors, Phillips is a founding member of the Professional Outdoor Media Association (POMA) and an active member of the Southeastern Outdoors Press Association (SEOPA). Phillips also is the owner of Night Hawk Publications, a marketing and publishing firm, and president of Creative Concepts, an outdoor consulting group.
Phillips conducts seminars across the nation at colleges in freelance writing, photography and outdoor education besides teaching courses in how to sell what you write to writers' groups. Phillips received his photography training as a still-lab photo specialist for six years in the Air Force. He was the chief photographer for Mannequins, Inc., a Birmingham modeling agency, for 11 years.
While serving as 2nd Vice President of the Alabama Wildlife Federation, Phillips was in charge of all press releases for the organization as well as serving as Chairman of Alabama's Big Buck Contest, which he founded more than 30 years ago. He also was president of the Alabama Sportsman's Association for three years.
Phillips is the recipient of a Certificate of Merit from the Governor of Alabama and the Department of Conservation for his work in the outdoor field. Phillips is vitally interested in the outdoors and travels the nation collecting personalities, stories and how-to information for his articles and features.
EDUCATION: B.S. degree from the University of West Alabama with a physical education major and a history minor.
EXPERIENCE: 10 years parttime and fulltime physical director for YMCAs and 34 years as a freelance writer, photographer, editor, book author, lecturer and daily-content provider for websites. Currently, Phillips is a field editor for Game and Fish Publications; serves on the editorial board of Grandview Media; is a regular contributor to 12 internet magazines and a daily content provider for 8 websites.
WRITING AWARDS: Runnerup - Best Outdoor Magazine Feature - 1981 - SEOPA; Certificate of Merit - Awarded by Alabama's Governor for writings on conservation; Most Outstanding Sports Writer in Southeast - 1983 & 1984; Best Outdoor Feature in Alabama, 1987 - Alabama Sportswriters' Association 3rd Place; Best Book of the Year - 1989 - SEOPA; 2007 - inducted into the National Fresh Water Fishing Hall of Fame as a Legendary Communicator; 2008 - received award naming him 2008 Crossbow Communicator of the Year from the Crossbow Manufacturers' Association; 2009 - GAMMA Honorable Mention for Consumer/Paid Best Essay for July/August 2008 in "Southern Sporting Journal."
