Duck Hunting in Nashville TN

My dad just hunted Reel Foot Lake not sure where that is in relation to Nashville but I would never hunt RFL based on his experience.

Cordell Hull is northeast of Nashville and can be pretty good, really good if there is a decent freeze. It's public, but low duck hunting pressure. You'll need to do some scouting and check into the dates for the fixed-blind-lottery. Launch your boat around Granville and head east.

From there. Hunted it a bunch. Few things to know:


Public lakes like Old HIckory, Cheatham, Cordell Hull are pretty shitty. Old Hickory (i grew up on it) used to be really damn good but its deteriorated last 15-20 years. There's still a few good blinds on the lake but its all public draw. When I hunted it 2007-2011, blind 0 and a few others would decent all year if conditions were good (cold, good #'s, etc). The blinds on Old hickory and Cheatham ( not sure about hull) are public draw. Usually weekend in August. Go and if you get a good blind, you'll be okay to hunt those. Both have blinds (5-10?) that are in good flooded fields right on the lake. Go to TN's wildlife and fisheries website to see print out of blind locations on each lake and you'll see what I'm talkin about.

Public draw system is kinda crazy, has its pros and cons. First off, most of the blinds on old hick are in great shape and are nice. Draw in August, they'll be bare. Once you cover and camo 'em, they can be pretty nice. Had a blind two years In a row on old hick with an insulated bunk room in it and a boat cover in back. Problem is its a fight to get there every morning. The boat launches are hilarious. If you draw a blind, it's yours until shooting time. You get there after that, and you dont have rights to kick somebody out of it if they're already there. Can be a pain in the arse to run out someone who threw their decoys out an hour before shooting time. Oh well, frick em. Sorry you got to my blind at 4am without asking. It's mainly only a problem on Saturday mornings.

The ducks can vary. Can be good groups of green heads, teal, and you'll see some wood ducks. Shot some geese every year too, mostly just fly-bys unless you're in one of the flooded fields. It's cold though son. I know these last two winters have been mild but I've also hunted a week straight there where the HIGHs didn't reach 25 degrees. Lots of breaking ice. Mojo's work well with 3-4 dozen decoys. Used jerk cords last two years with mixed results.

Leases? I had a friend who hunted on one in Hartsville. Other than that, go west towards Clarksville. Land between the lakes should have a bunch. Even further west, north of Memphis is reelfoot lake but going that far you might as well to go Arkansas or Missouri.


And that, my OB friends, is your guide to underwhelming duck hunting in middle Tennessee.