Poplar Tree Lake, Tennessee: Fishing Spots and Seasons

• Overview

  Out in Shelby County, Tennessee, sits Poplar Tree Lake. The setting is open plain on every side. It measures about 110 acres, which is a comfortable size for bank fishing. Bank access stretches around 1.9 miles in total. Few waters listed in Shelby County are bigger. Millington is the closest town at 9.6 miles. Marion follows at 9.8 miles, then Memphis at 11 miles. Local rules may differ a few miles either side of here.

• Where to Fish on Poplar Tree Lake

  Nothing in our records gives a depth for this one. Rip-rap along the wall holds fish that the open bank never does. Look for where the old bank line still shows under the surface. Fish documented in Shelby County include bluegill, green sunfish, common carp, warmouth and longear sunfish. County records show what lives in the area; the local agency holds the water-by-water list. Read Poplar Tree Lake before you fish it and the day goes better.

• Seasonal Patterns

  The warm month here averages 80°F; the cold one sits at 38°F. Winter is a mild inconvenience here, nothing more. Heat pushes fish deep from June onwards, so start early. March through May is the strongest run, with October and November a second stretch. Poplar Tree Lake fishes to that pattern most years.

• Tackle & Baits

  No access rule appears in what we hold. Mapping marks this water as fished, so there is at least an established use. You can launch from a ramp around half a mile away. A parking area is marked roughly half a mile out. Mapping shows a picnic spot within half a mile. Where the road in crosses private land, ask first. Some stretches are reserved and marked as such on the ground. For a change of water, Willow Lake is 1.8 miles distant. Treat access at Poplar Tree Lake as something to verify.