Lake Talquin Lodge

Guided crappie fishing on Lake Talquin is sold as whole-day and half-day guide trips for up to two customers at a time, run by Jared Leverette, an experienced speckled perch guide who has fished this lake for decades and has been featured in numerous magazines. The technique is long line trolling, which the lodge describes as one of the fastest and easiest ways to locate and catch crappie and as a method that can take several fish at once; Leverette is also well versed in the Garmin LiveScope, so fish are found before a troll is committed to. The timing given is specific rather than general: February is the Lake Talquin month, when crappie start staging in the deepest areas near the spawning grounds and long lining is at its most productive, with March the equivalent window on Kentucky Lake. Trips launch from the lodge itself at 231 Gainey Rd on the Quincy side of the reservoir, where there are boat slips, fish cleaning stations and a bait and tackle shop.