Mark Twain Lake

Good idea! Think I'll take the family up there this summer for a combo Catfish/Crappie trip!

 

Some real nice cat in there, also below the dam, hey Skipeye D, Gup was telling me at the leadfest he fishes it quite a bit and to give him a holler for a report on whats going on, :wink:

 

I've caught a few flatheads and bigger channels up there, but I always caught them on limb lines. Now I no longer do that and want to learn how to target them with rod and reel. I have seen some hogs pulled out of there, but the biggest one I personally caught was a 19 pound flathead.

Gary spends alot of time up there too, I think he uses bankpoles if I remember correctly.

I would really like to learn how to fish a lake for the big kittens!

 

Hey.... Gary has a place up there too!:big_smile: We could mooch some free lodging from him, have him show us some fishing holes and make a 'gathering' out of it!:smile2::smile2::smile2:

 

Any information about fishing MTL will be appreciated. I plan to try it this year several times and since it's 3 hrs or so to get there, I need any scrap if help offered.
Since there is shad there, I guess there is also white bass? The catfish population should also be in good shape with shad for their main forage.

 

Well since you mentioned it...............OKAY!!!:big_smile:

 

Hey I'm game, but I'll need a ride in someones boat cause in case you haven't heard... I don't have one...lol

 

I fish MT more than any other place. I generally go for crappie but usually also catch white bass, channel cat, gills, drum (I throw back black bass). The crappie, at least, feed year round. It's just a matter of keeping track of where they are currently at & finding some open water. Which is an incentive to go more often. These days I usually go T,W,TH during the week and stay at Timber Ridge. I tend to leave weekends for the working man.:smile2:

 

been there before big crappie

 

Debbie's been wanting to go up there to try some Crappie fishing and I've heard it's a great place to catch some killer Flatheads so I've been trying to find a way to get up there sometime this spring. With it being only about 2 hours away it's actually a very close alternative.

 

As a flathead fishery you won't find any better,
You can limit out on channels about any time there is water running into lake. I know this because I can leave work and be on water with boat in less than thirty minutes, so I look forward to a rainy spring.
As far as blues its pretty poor, there are some good size fish but for some unknown reason they have not reproduced to a level to maintain a fishing population. The consevation has given up on stocking for this reason. The most recent shock surveys resulted in less blues in 2 days than they saw in 1-2 coves at Truman. Hope to see you guys take advantage of this fishery, best to come on weekends, as the fish are pretty scared throughout the week when locals are out, and most of them are nuts anyway.

 

Mark Twain is a hydroelectric pumpback damn on the salt river in northeast missouri south of West and south of hannibal bout 45 minutes. It is good for crappie channelcat and has a very good flathead population. Im gonna have to make it over there this spring.

 

which end or arm of the lake is best to fish? I have fished for crappie many times but never catfished.

 

Mark Twain Lake is an awesome fishery, crappie, channels and flatheads come to my mind whenever I think of this lake. Most all the catfishing is set lines or jugs, where in spring time there is quite a obstacle course of jugs to have to maneuver through. The catfish are all healthy with a lot of hugh channels and flatheads. Flathead fishing is good from the dam all the way up to the tips of the arms, being solitary by nature and in a reservoir setting there is no concentration other than a small one during the spawn, so the only ones taken on rod and reel are usually caught incidental by crappie and bass fisherman. One person I know of has had luck pulling cranks down by the dam area during pre spawn but each year it is hit and miss. Most all flatheads are taken in the upper arms and creek branches during pre spawn period but can be found through out the lake, seems like the upper arms do hold the most or definitely gets the attention.
The upper arms is where folks get the blues, cat in the hat here on the boc has taken some on rod and reel up the north fork, other folks I have crossed paths with on the lake have all taken their blues from the upper arm areas (jugs and setlines). Not a lot of blues are taken on MTL.
Now channels can be caught consistently on rod and reel through out the spring and I might add there’s a lot of trophy channels, I’ve caught several 9 to 11 pound channels and they are all healthy beautiful fish. For eaters (2 to 3 lbs.) will fish with a minnow under a bobber targeting a wind blown knoll with gradual slop mid way in coves. Evening time right outside the grass or brush line and fishing only about 18 inches deep with light gear and it’s a blast. During the day will back out deeper and fish around 5 to 7 ft. deep. Worms will get you dinks, minnows will get you eaters and large shiners will get you the large fish. After water temperature reaches low seventies will start fishing on bottom targeting 5 to 12 feet in the evening and morning hours.
Hope this helps.

 

thanks Mike hope to see you up there this year