shaker

Well I just learned something here. A few times over the past 30 years or so fishing on Truman Lake I have caught or hooked big Walleye while crappie fishing right up on the bank usually in water less than 2 ft deep. Often wondered if they were eating crappie and ask several people about that and never received as answer just mostly got the stupid look like did you fall down and hit your head or something? RB

I put in at Bucksaw yesterday and headed East looking for some crappie fishing. Got rained on most of the morning nice gentle warm rain I didn't mind at all cause the crapie were biting really well. I fished flats just off the main channel and caught a limit on jigs white and chartreuse and blue and chartruese. The fish weren't holding very deep 5 to 6 ft. but you had to be over at least 10' of water. I did catch a lot of 8.5 to 9 inch fish but managed a limit of 10 to 12 inch. Since I was close to G14 I checked it out looking for some white bass and hybrids. I didn't do any good trolling but did pick up a few small whites on a tailspinner. One my way back to Bucksaw I stopped to fish in more fence row for crapie I need one more for my limit. As I pulled up to it a bunch off whites started chasing shad so I grabbed my tail spinners rod and caught three pretty nice white and one 5# hybrid. That made my day so after that calmed down I headed down the tree line and caught my final crappie. Headed home tired and happy with a bucket full of fresh fish fillets. RB

The best Rooster Tail that I have ever used is called the Vibric Rooster Tail kind of hard to find but Bass Pro does carry them sometimes. It has a offset body and inline blade the offset body keeps the lure from twisting the line like normal Rooster tails. 1/4 oz white works best for me sometimes chartreuse a close second. When you can find them it's non stop action fun, fun, fun. Great for kids and family too. RB

plexlove, move up to Truman Lake lots of campgrounds and I'm sure that the water is fresher too! RB

Holy Cow oneshot you may just start the next bass fishing craze. Them turney anglers might start rigging carp bait, wonder if it would stick to a crankbait? Could put a big wad on a jig instead of jig and pig you would have jig and dough bait!

ten_scoach if you would go down to the next forum Ozarks Tailwaters and look at the Truman and Upper Osage subforum bet you would find plenty of information. Might have to dig and read all of the posts but there is some good stuff there. RB

There is a lot of Mizzo people that are not happy with the move to the SEC now I have no reason to dislike low life scally wag mangy cheatin' birds, ( ops I meant jayhawks ). Dangit see what I mean I'm still all confused. Money talks I guess. RB

I don't know how you could go wrong fishing from the 4 Rivers area all the way to Truman Dam and below. At one time it was either the state record or world record Blue cat was caught right where the Sac and the Osage come together. To narrow it down I think that from Osceola to the Rosco area would be a good place to start. Just my opinion and I'm not even a catfish fishing type of guy but I will help you eat them if needed. Richard

I was at Bucksaw this afternoon and the MDC fish truck drove down to the waters edge on the boat ramp and unloaded a bunch of fingerling Walleye. Maybe in few years we'll have some better walleye fishing on the Grand Arm. RB

It's a crappie bait made by Bobby Garland. Good bait as is about everything else that they make. RB

Did you try the Stroller's? I use them in Truman a lot they work great most of the time for crappie fishing but never have worked well for me when I use them in any place that has some current. RB

I was on Truman yesterday crappie fishing and I probably caught more bass than crappie. But I did manage a limit of crappie. I about midway up the Grand arm and the bass are definetly on the banks mostly small ones but I did land one of about 4#. Water looks excellent a little dark in palces looks like tannic stain? Temps ranged from 60 to 64* later in the afternoon. RB

I looked up the Murdich Minnow man that's a great looking fly and looks easy enough with stuff I almost already have that I can make some of those up. Thanks for the info. I'm even thinking that a smaller version might be a crappie killer if they ever get on the banks up on the lake. Richard

I've thought about it a time or two myself but I'm not that good especially with the rocks behind you. But I would bet that the fly rod would sure clear you some casting room when it gets crowded. RB

I use to fish below the dam but have since quit that, no doubt the fishing can be very good but it just isn't worth the effort. Combat fishing at it's finest or worse however you want to look at it. It is slow fishing I went to Bucksaw yesterday with a friend between the two of us we probably cuaght 15 to 20 crappie most were 9'' with a few 10 to 11's. Very spotty and most were holding down 8 to 10 ft. away from the banks. The water when we got there in the morning was 56* and we did find some 60* water later in the afternoon. We caught one crappie up close to the bank. It just needs to wrm up some more and the way the weather guessers are talking we are in for another COLD front maybe next week. RB

There use to be a sign there that said NO WADING but don't know if it was ever enforced. Heck the locals may have torn it down and used it for kindling. RB

The slack water or the old channel like J.M. mentioned is probably the best shot right now but it does get crowded especially on the weekends. If you go to the lake I would head for the areas that you are the most familiar with State Park area would be as good as any. The lake has come up very fast to 9 + ft. high and is holding right now the water is still cold. The crappie should be halfway back in the creeks probably close to spawning areas but I would guess out away from the banks and probably holding deep. Slow and close to the bottom would be what I would start with 1/16 and 1/8 oz jigs in black and chartreuse, red and chart. orange and chart, if you hit real muddy water the black and pink work real well. too. If you hit a day when to weather is nice and stabile and the water warms up I would think that some crappie will head toward the banks but probably smaller ones. But I would sure make a cast toward any bank that has chunk rock and gravel on it just to make sure that some haven't sneaked up there especially if there is some brush or cover in the area. A Road Runner jig would be my choice with any of the colors mentioned for throwing to the banks it would be hard to beat a flame orange head or hot pink. As for running the creeks just go slow real slow until you learn your way around. Any time I leave the main channel slow down and trim the motor up. If you are really not even sure about that use the trolling motor I have done it many times myself. Good Luck RB

It should be great for a long time. There is lots of water in the lakes and rivers that feed Truman and more coming. The only thing would be if the Corps decides to shut the dam down for some reason or another but that would only be temporary or if there is a lot of flooding down stream. Or if I decide to go fish there then they shut the water off, my exuse anyway. RB

I made a trip up the Sac river, put in at the 82 Hwy access and went up river about 13 miles and did find some whites. They seemed to really scattered with some small males and a few nice females in the mix. We did probably catch 20 or so and kept about half of that. Water temps were in the 55 to 56 degree range. No favorite lure but caught some on Road Runners, Rooster Tails, and jigs with swimming minnows. Some amount of chartreuse seemed to be needed to get bit. With the high water and strong current I would guess that they will very scattered like last year and another big cold front coming it'll probably push them back a bit and still be more scattered. RB

I would guess that it's coming up trashy, and cold. I just looked at the Osage river gage at Schell City and the Osage has come up 2 ft. since yesterday. I'm anxious to get over that way myself but evertime I get a chance to go dang weather snows a foot or two. Maybe by the end of the week the weather is suppose to staighten up and get back to mornal what ever that is. RB

If the corps is running water the fishing is picking up with white bass, crappie and a few walleye. A friend caught a 8# hybrid a couple of days ago. When they shut the water off the fish bite does too. I notice that the the corps has been turning it on and off several tiems a day so Good Luck. RB

Wow! We have a hot topic that does'nt happen much on this forum. I would like to add some of my knowledge of the area. I was born in Clinton and grew up on the very south edge of town this was long before Truman was built, my family moved from the area in the early sixties. We lived a couple of blocks West of the Old 13 Highway and at every opportunity my next door neighbor which was one year older than myself would sneek off and roam the bottoms West of Old 13 and south of town. I also had a school friend that his family lived on a farm SouthWest of clinton that was just perched on the edge of the hill that breaks into that bottom. Talk about a nasty old river bottom the best thing that ever happened to it was when Truman flooded that area. The whole area was nothing but a swamp land, mucky slimey flood zone, there wasn't any crops to speak of because anytime it rained a couple of drops it flooded, new layer of muck. Old river channels, sloughs is what we called them about a foot or two deep. Squeeters as big as quarters, river worms about a foot long, great catfish bait, lots of leeches too. And there was a cottonmouth or two you would see them now and then, not often but enough to keep a eye out for them. Nothing a trusty sling shot couldn't handle. A great place for a couple of 12 and 13 year olds to be playing in, as long as our mothers didn't find out. I can't even imagine kids now days doing something like that. And that's my story and I'm stickin' to it! Richard

    And Truman! RB

There is a lot of real shallow water out in that area mixed in with old sloughs, and creek channels. If you can find them they are there. RB

As you get more familiar with the area there a lot of places where you lanch from old gravel roads that lead into the lake. There are several on Deep Water Creek and Otter Creek all in the general area that we are discussing. I would recomend staying on the upper end of Truman in the more protected areas because the wind can cause some problems in the open areas of the lake. Some of the best fishing on the lake too in my opinion for what thats worth. RB