With the lake on the rise, 708.63 and rising, the crappie have moved to deeper water. Water temp has cooled somewhat due to the rain, but the spawn is on and just moved deeper. Jigs pitched near the bank and allowed to fall back to about 5 feet are picking up males, while fishing 10-12 deep are picking up females. White and green chartreuse bodies on 1/8th or 16th oz jigs are producing good fish. This will be an add on report to April 28. More to come
The 2022 Crappie Spawn is on. The lake level is 706.85 with current water temp in the mid to high 50's and in the late afternoon reaching into the 60's. The creeks are a little stained, which is a good thing, as it holds the warm temperature. Crappie are anywhere from 12 feet to right at the bank. Grab you a bunch on slip bobber set about 18 inches. pitch a road runner, or just let out a couple of feet of line and ease down the bank. Color doesn't seem to matter but a yellow and white swarm jig just works wonders, so does white and chartreuse, or pink. Look in the backs of the creeks and standing timber in shallow coves. This is the first spawn at normal pool in several years. Here we are in the start of the spawn and rain and high winds continue to plague us. I have had to reschedule several trips because of the weather....Oh well, Welcome to Missouri and Truman Lake. Th spawn should last about
Lake level currently is 706.52 with surface temperatures in the low to mid 50's. On Good Friday water temperatures reached 57 degrees and the male crappie move into the very shallow waters and jigs flipped to the near bank triggered strikes within 1 to 2 feet of the bank. We had 45 crappie, 41 males and 4 females. That night the winds shifted to the northeast and the temperatures dropped to freezing and the water temperature dropped to about 47 degrees and the end result was the crappie disappeared. Good Friday Catch High winds, cold temperatures and little sunshine keep the water temperature below the needed 65 degrees for ideal spawn. Hopefully this will occur over the next two weeks. In this issue I would like to take a moment to remember my son Bob, who died unexpectedly at age 44. He and his two sons, Robbie and Jason, had joined us for a week of fishing. They went home on Sunday and on April the 8th 2020 I got that call no parent should
The Lake level is 708.75 and rising. Water temp is in the low to mid 40s and the lake is pretty clear in most areas. Some feeder creeks are stained but very fishable. It's that time of the year when the crappie move from weather quarters to the mouths of spawning creeks and coves. In some areas the water depth is 40 feet with the crappie holding at about 20-25 feet while other areas of shallower water, crappie are 4-12 ft deep. Most colors are working, with blue or a shade of blue working the best for me. Bigger crappie have been coming up to about 4-6 when the sun in shinning to enjoy warmer temperature and will certain hit well if a jig passes by. I'm thinking a jig and bobber combo might work well even though I don't use that method. I have noticed that with the warming up of the water the crappie are moving back toward the backs of the cove at about 40 yards per week. This crazy weather has
The Lake level is 707.83. Water temp is in the low to mid 40s and the lake is pretty clear in most areas. Some feeder creeks are stained but very fishable. It's that time of the year when the crappie move from weather quarters to the mouths of spawning creeks and coves. In some areas the water depth is 25 feet with the crappie holding at about 18-20 feet while other areas of shallower water, crappie are 4-12 ft deep. Most colors are working, with blue or a shade of blue working the best for me. Bucksaw area is on fire as well as the area around Windsor Crossing. The Crappie are very shallow in 17-20 feet of water along the creek edges. Jigs, Jigs tipped with minnow, or just minnows working great in these areas. I ready for the weather to warm up as it's cold and windy one day and the sunny with light winds the next. March winds have been in the 10-15 daily average. Today was sunny, 42 and 6 mph
The Lake level is almost back to the normal 706.00. Water temp is in the low to mid 30s and the lake is pretty clear in most areas. Crappie fishing has been excellent from all the reports I have received from several of my guide friends. Normally I only report on my fishing, but due to finally getting the COVID after two years and then getting vaccinated in September and October, I finally scored. I have been sick the entire month of February and am finally able to get out of the house a little at a time. I never have had anything like this before and the loss of strength is unbelievable. I am hoping to be back on the water in March if all goes as planned. Thank you to all who called or sent emails and especially Jim & Rosalie Cuda for Chicken Soup, Ken and Cathy Beyer for Potato soup, chicken noodle soup and energy drinks. A special Thanks to John Krewson, who braved the COVID to take me to the
`Lake level is 704.97 with water temp in the upper 30's in the lower part of the lake. The mid lake area is pretty clear. Watch for patches of ice early in the day and around the edges. Be extra careful at the ramp sites. Crappie fishing is excellent right now with limits being taken pretty much all over the lake. It's cold and windy but several days it was in the low to mid 50's just before this current cold s nap. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday we caught limits of crappie with lots of returns. Most all the crappie have been caught in the 12-16 foot range in 20 feet of water or deeper. Jigs with almost any color body are taking fish. Caught a lot of white bass on the bottom in schools of shad. Right now seems like crappie, whites and blue cats are feeding like crazy. If you can brave the frigid temperatures you can get a limit in pretty short order. We have been going out about 9:30 and fishing
Lake level is 705.53 with water temp in the upper 30's in the lower part of the lake. The mid lake area is pretty clear. Watch for patches of ice early in the day and around the edges. Be extra careful at the ramp sites. Needless to say, I've been in hibernation. The main part of the lake has been pretty rough with the high winds except when the wind is out of the NW. Then I can hide under the bare bank bluffs. Of course, for some unknown reason my skin is not as thick as it was a few years ago. Now that I have "wimped" a little, crappie fishing has been fair to good in the main lower lake area. The little fish are hanging in schools in the tops of the trees 15-20 feet below the surface and the larger fish are scattered in the deeper trees and 20 foot brush piles. We were able to take this bunch from a brush pile half way back in a cove loaded with