Recommendation on good place to stay on Truman

[retired chem teacher]

My fishing buddy and I are planning a trip to Truman in mid to late April for some crappie fishing.  Any advice on good places.  Would like to slip our boat--clean place to sleep- and have a restaurant either there or close by.   Also any suggestions on a guide.

First timers to Truman so any help would be appreciated.

[MOPanfisher]

Sorry not much help on the lodgings as it is close by for me so I don't have to stay anywhere.  However mid April should put you into some crappie, gravel spawning banks should be solid gold by then.  Also don't be afraid to throw some crankbaits near some main lake points that are shallow and have deeper water close by, throw shallow right up to the edge of the water, and crank it fairly slowly back, you might well end up with a toothy critter or two as bonus.  The big question that time of year is always weather and lake condition, Truman could be normal or 20 plus feet high, water anything from beautiful to mud.  Check with the local bait shop right before you come down and get some fresh intel.  Truman can be fabulous and put out a lot of nice fish in a hury, it can also leave you wondering you took up fishing instead of golf.

[retired chem teacher]

Thanks Panfisher--kind of know about weather pushing fish out--have fished Stockton many times-- we always attracted cold weather, rain. Also fished there before wife and I retired so we made it an annual Easter fishing trip.  That being said with Easter being early some years we probably were early for the crappies.  One year had ice on trailer after launching boat.  We are about 4 hours north of Truman so will watch the weather before we come.  Can you help with the local bait shop info??

[kdc]

Ive stayed at Reel and Trigger resort its by State park not the Hilton but very nice

[shaker]

I would recommend the Bucksaw area lots of good fishing close by and can stay right on the marina. But as MOPanfisher said it can get muddy really muddy. If that's the case move on down to the Long Shoal area or State Park, or Sterett creek all have lodging close by and not far to Warsaw for eating places and lodges.

Good Luck!

[MOPanfisher]

There are several bait shops to check with around truman, fellers may have to help me with the names, I know Everhart's in Clinton, maybe the station bait and tackle below the dam was one out past longshoal on 7 but can't remember the name of it either and any marina you use will have info as well.  Dont  be afraid to trailer your boat to another area , even over to LOZ if they aren't cooperating where you are, she can be good and bad on the same day just in different spots. I am much more familiar with the Pomme arm from around Fairfield/Osage bluff on up than the rest, closer to home for me.  

[kjackson]

Everhart's probably is your best bet for info.  It's worth a visit all by itself.

[retired chem teacher]

Would it be better not to slip our boat so we can go to different ramps or stay in one place?  How do you fish a mud line?  Have had lots of theories on that but none really have worked?

[shaker]

"How do you fish a mud line" The best that I can offer is to stay in front of it? I'm not good at it either but after the lake or a main lake arm has been muddy for a while fishing gets back to normal well almost you might have to slow down some and I like to jig Road Runners during this time sometimes a Road Runner under a slip bobber works really well keep it in one place a much as possible and jig it up and down. A 1/16 oz Road Runner with a black and chartreuse, black and red chart, orange & chart, red & chart, electric chicken, blue & chart is never a bad option on Truman. You might have guessed by now that some sort of chartreuse combination is a good crappie lure on Truman.

[retired chem teacher]

Hey everyone thanks for all of the replies and helpful info--will help when we get there. I have been a member of this forum for several years and have gotten lots of help before we come south.  Phil does a fantastic job keeping this going. We usually go north to South Dakota later in spring-summer and fall, but have fished many of the MO lakes including Stockton, Table Rock, James River arm on Table Rock, Pomme de Terre, and Taneycomo -- have had varying degrees of success but always have had good times and always meet good people.  It's like our friend at the state park on Stockton says  "That's why they call it fishing and not catching"  Any other info that you can share will be appreciated.  If you happen to see us on the lake, stop and visit, we always have an  "Irish tackle box" with us. 

Will post how we do.