Truman Tailrace

[DShootnstGentemn]

Spent an hour or so last evening down below Truman Dam just visiting and observing. They are not currently releasing water from Truman, they are however generating pretty handily.

I saw lots of small to medium size crappie being caught on a tandem jig rig under a float, anywhere from 2ft to 6ft deep. The general consensus was; the fishing was best right @ daybreak.

I also saw a couple of nice hybrids that were caught and one large @ss BUFFALO, what a fight.

All in all, it didn't look like the fishing was fast and furious but you could catch a mess if ya worked at it.

[bullitt]

Not being a dam fisherman by a dam site, I'm gonna show my dam ignorance. How do they generate without releasing water? Is it some sort of a pumpback type system?

[DShootnstGentemn]

Bullitt, Good question, what I meant by that was; they weren't, at least at that time, letting water out the flood gates. They're holding it in Truman, except for the generation. Yeah, I may have needed to clarify that a bit. (I don't think they use the pumpback system any more, but could be wrong.)

I hear the walleye fishin down there may be picking up early and late as well.

DSG

[Hellbender]

Were the Wipers on top DSG. When do you think the top water will get good?

[ML1]

Hey all, my first post to the new site even though I have been reading the posts for a few days. Seems a little more "friendlier" here.

Truman dam doesn't use the pumpback because it kills fish in larger numbers. I think that they can run about 30,000 cfp through the generators (that's the most I've seen) w/o opening the gates.

M

[DShootnstGentemn]

Hellbender,

No the wipers weren't on top. I would imagine that would get good as soon as they crack the flood gates open and start dumping the water.......and I can tell ya when that will be; just a few days after the peak of the bass/crappie spawn on the lake. Fuggin Corpse.

Hey there ML1! Welcome! It isn't always this friendly!

[JimDog]

Just got back from the tailrace. Fished from 2pm till about 6:30. The second cast of the day, I snagged about a 20 pound carp. I was fishing a minnow on my ultra lite rig (6# line). Thought I had snagged a rock - gave it a good jerk and all of the sudden it took off. 10 minutes later got it to the bank and even go my minnow back!

Not a nibble after that. Threw everything I had at them. Not a bite. Saw a couple of fish caught on the other side, I think crappie - that was it. They were generating the whole time - just no fish. Quite a few people, though.

At least the carp brought a little excitement. And it still beat workin!

[coyotewhacker]

Big carp on 6 lb line...great job of landing him. Do you know if it is legal to bowfish in the tailrace for carp?
Last year I was at the dam looking down from the observation area and saw hundreds of huge carp and big catfish.

[fishnxs]

CW the last time we were up there, there was about 1/2 doz boats shooting gar. Somebody said they were having a tourney?? Never saw any really big ones but they picked up a bunch is the 3' to 4' range.

[Hellbender]

Ml1 it ain't always friendly, but what is when a bunch of guys get together. Just keep a thick skin and have fun, it beats any w-rk I ever did

CW I haven't seen that many Gar or Carp in range where you can fish, at least not enough to make it worth while. They used to be thick when it was hot, down towards White Branch.

Question? when they crank open generators this time of year, doesn't it drop the Temperature in the river quite a bit?

[DShootnstGentemn]

Question? when they crank open generators this time of year, doesn't it drop the Temperature in the river quite a bit?

Hellbender, although I have never checked, it shouldn't. Truman isn't super deep like the Rock or BS are. The water in Truman right now, with the exception of the very top layer is pretty much the same temp, top to bottom. Thus the water coming out of the generators is gonna be just about the same as, well, all the rest of the water. Make sense?

[Hellbender]

Yes it does DSG. I didn't realize that Truman didn't stratify that much. Thanks

[JimDog]

Someone once told me that there is a submerged dam in front of truman dam. At normal pool, the top of this "sub-dam" is about 15 feet below the surface. so when they are letting water through, it must flow over the sub-dam, so you are not pulling water from the bottom, but rather warmer surface water. I think TTTim was the one who told me that. I didn't measure water temp yesterday, so I have no idea what the water temp was below the dam as opposed to the main lake.

[DShootnstGentemn]

JDog, You are exactly right. Right now however the weir is 25 ft deep cause of course the lake is 10 ft high. The reason they built it that way was because, theory was, the water on the bottom was void of oxygen. Duh. The water on top had oxygen, so it wouldn't kill the fish below. That was before they realized their "pumpback system" was nothing but a good fish grinder!

[ML1]

Ml1 it ain't always friendly, but what is when a bunch of guys get together. Just keep a thick skin and have fun, it beats any w-rk I ever did

Thanks Hellbender. I have been reading in the back ground on the CC for along time and it just seems that some of the people that stayed there aren't as frinendly as the ones who moved here.

And the weir that you guys mentioned makes for some good white bass fishing when they are running water.