Wappapelo Fishing Advise

[lobina grande]

Hey all!

Found out that my fishing club will be going to Wappapelo next October.  Just looking for some general information on the lake, where to stay, hazardous areas to avoid while running, etc ...

Thanks !!

[Bushbeater]

I haven't been there in years, but.

1. Watch the channel and don't get stuck on a mud flat.

2. Repeat of 1

3. Run upstream as far as you can.

[Al Agnew]

Go to Google Earth and go to the lake.  Then click on the history feature, and find the imagery from 2-29-2012.  The lake in that imagery is about 5 or 6 feet below normal pool, and it shows just about all the structure you need to know.  You'll see that at that level there are extensive mud and sand flats over much of the lake, and the channel is fairly well defined over almost all of it.  You'll also see that there isn't a whole lot of cover anywhere, just scattered old stumps and a few logs here and there.  It's been many years since I've fished the lake myself...it's generally tough fishing unless you know where isolated stumps and brushpiles are, and the guys who win tournaments there often are the locals who place their own brushpiles.  I have no idea what to use in October, but at least if you check out the Google Earth imagery you'll get a pretty good sense of what the lake is like.

[Jerry Rapp]

the lake is summed up pretty well by Al and Bushbeater.  In October the lake will still be at summer pool.  The main channel between Chaonia(cabins available) and the dam(several places to stay in this area) is marked by buoys in the middle of the channel. Above Chaonia follow another boat a time or two to learn the channel.  October is usually pretty tough fishing, unless there is water moving through the dam which is pretty rare.  A good starting point is to chase the wind on the lower half of the lake and throw rattle traps and small cranks.  usanglerschoice.com holds a series of tourneys each year so you can get some ideas on weight.  15+ usually wins, but 5 fish limits weighing 5 to 8 lbs are the norm.  Yet MDC says no length limit is needed.

[lobina grande]

Thank you everyone for your responses.  Are there a lot of stumps to watch out for?  I will try to fish Wappapelo at least once before our October tournament.  Does anyone have a recommendation for a place to stay down by the dam?

 

[jdmidwest]

Bullwinkles down by HWY 60 is not too bad.  We stayed down there in the spring for a memorial service of a friend.  Clean and reasonable priced.  Not far from dam.

[Al Agnew]

12 hours ago, lobina grande said:

Thank you everyone for your responses.  Are there a lot of stumps to watch out for?  I will try to fish Wappapelo at least once before our October tournament.  Does anyone have a recommendation for a place to stay down by the dam?

 

Again, look at the Google Earth imagery...it will show you every stump that might be a navigational hazard.  Remember that it's an old lake, completed in 1941...there used to be a lot of stumps that were downright dangerous for boaters, but most are gone now.  You're a lot more likely to run aground on sand and mud if you stray out of the channel.  There can also be the occasional half submerged dead tree that gets washed down into the lake from upstream.