Land Between the Lakes

[Tim H.]

Has anyone stayed at the Land Between the Lakes. I'll be going in a couple of weeks. I'm staying at Piney Campground. Does anyone have any good fishing spots they want to share. Or, other fun activities?

Thanks for any advise,
Tim

[HaroldB]

Has anyone stayed at the Land Between the Lakes. I'll be going in a couple of weeks. I'm staying at Piney Campground. Does anyone have any good fishing spots they want to share. Or, other fun activities?

Thanks for any advise,
Tim

Tim:

We have camped at all three developed campgrounds at LBL. Hillman Ferry at the northern end is very large and when we were there one spring it was very busy, but has some of the best shower facilities we've ever seen. Energy Lake on the Lake Barkley (Cumberland River) side was full of fisher persons. I didn't fish, but it seemed to be the hot spot.

Last October when just passing through we stayed one night at Piney. We had our choice of camp spots and chose one right on the Kentucky Lake (Tennessee River). While relaxing outside our camper, we kept hearing what sounded like a lawnmower motor coming from the lake. Then I noticed an empty Jon boat floating nearby with a red flag attached. About the time I was ready to get involved and look for someone to notify of the "mishap," up popped a diver and the motor noise stopped. Then he proceeded to do this:



Diver appearing to be hanging on to the side of Jon boat

That went on for several minutes and then the motor started and he dived back into the lake.

Guess what he was doing?

Harold

[Camilla]

That went on for several minutes and then the motor started and he dived back into the lake.

Guess what he was doing?

Harold

Fixing the motor? Noodling? What was he doing?

Camilla

[HaroldB]

Fixing the motor? Noodling? What was he doing?

Camilla

The diver was "Musseling" and when he was hanging onto the side of the boat he was measuring the mussels he had harvested from the lake. As we watch him, we could see he was throwing back some of his harvest.

He was in Tennessee waters and evidently knew the rules and how to identify the mussels. I don't know if he was a commercial mussel harvester or perhaps an employee of the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency doing research.

I thought it rather foolish for him to be doing the diving, depending on the "lawnmower" motor to provide his air, without another person in the boat.

Commercial Musseling used to be a big time business in the area of the Tennessee River, as we learned on a later visit to the Nathan Bedford Forrest State Park where there is a nice display on the subject.

Harold