What's Mark Twain Lake Like?

[Addicted to Creeks]

About a month ago we caught about a dozen whites in an hour or so directly below clarence cannon dam. And we catch them all through salt river so I assume they are coming from mark twain lake

[Mike3004]

I agree with the smaller version of Truman in describing Mark Twain. Water clarity, standing timber, and level fluctuations remind me of Truman. No data to base this on, but I think there is a higher percentage of crappie and cat fishermen on this lake than others from my observations.

[Addicted to Creeks]

I agree with the smaller version of Truman in describing Mark Twain. Water clarity, standing timber, and level fluctuations remind me of Truman. No data to base this on, but I think there is a higher percentage of crappie and cat fishermen on this lake than others from my observations.

x2

[fishinwrench]

I was lucky enough to have fished MT alot in its early days and the bass fishing was outstanding. Then I moved to Georgia for 4 years and when I came back it just wasn't the same. All the places where we used to do so well were seemingly void of bass.... and we worked it hard.

I'm not sure what happened while I was gone, but sonething did, and it really hasn't seemed to have gotten better since. I have some buddys that still fish it regularly but they never have anything close to the days we used to have. I think it's a forage issue.

deep muddy water doesn't have much to offer bass so they basically live in the shallow wood cover, and "back in the day" if you located good wood cover near shelf-rock you were in bass paradise. That location pattern just died for some reason.

[Phil Lilley]

Wonder why the water is "muddy"....

[Addicted to Creeks]

northern missouri is made of red clay, bad for fish and my garden haha

[fishinwrench]

Wonder why the water is "muddy"....

Wonder why the water is "muddy"....

The top soil around there is really slimey cornbelt dirt and underneath that is clay. , during dry spells the top soil cracks open and water cant penetrate the clay. The runoff is heavily stained because not much of it has a chance to sink in and be filtered through rocky substrate.... it just sinks in to the layer of clay and ozzes back out of the ground muddier than it went in.

Ozark lake water gets "silty" and off colored during heavy runoff but clears back up when the silt particles sink.

Mark Twains "color" isn't silt it is just mud-stain that just doesn't go away. When you scoop up a glass full of it and hold it up to the light you don't see little particles suspended in it, you just see chocolate water. The same way that coffee or tea holds its color even after sitting still in a pitcher for weeks.

[MoSportsmen]

Yea, that explains it pretty well. The whites in the lake were probably there from the start and have built up their population through the years. I would imagine the ones in the Salt below the dam are from the Mississippi rather than coming through the dam.

North Missouri water clarity depends on lots of factors. I used to live in Kirksville and Hazel Creek and Thousand Hills clear up pretty well as do many other small city lakes. Now I am living in Macon and Long Branch never seems to clear too well although Thomas Hill is not too bad. Route J lake just north of Mark Twain is very clear of course it is only 100 acres or so.

[fishinwrench]

Yeah, the strip pits and ponds where the top layer of soil has been removed from the area are sometimes gin clear.