Truman Tailrace

[Jenny]

Well, so much for March going "out like a lamb". This has been one blustery week on the lake. While the warmer tempratures and wind have been great to get the water warmed up some, the wind has deterred a lot of folks from even getting out there. A few of us have braved the wind several times this week and caught a fair amount of fish. The walleye have finally started to pick up quite a bit as the Corp has been running at least a trickle (3900 CFS) nearly constant. I assume this is in effort to aid the walleye spawn. I have heard of quite a few caught in the 5-8 lb. range. Crappie continue fair but many fishermen are getting sidetracked by the whites and hybrids as they have been hitting pretty well this week. Curly tails and Slab Hunters seem to be best bait. Catfish have also continued to bite for those who manage to find a location where they they can differentiate a bite from the wind blowing their rod around. I've not heard of any bigger than 20 lbs. This weekend promises warmer tempratures and great potential so get out there if you can. Thanks for the Welcome to the web site. It's nice to be in the company of so many fishing enthusiasts.

[2BHNTN]

Welcome aboard Jenny. Your service is certainly a value add to this forum. Thank you.

[Tigerhaze]

Thanks for posting Jenny-

I get down to the tailrace often during mid to late spring, so I'll stop in and say hello sometime.

[Bruce Carpenter]

thanks Jenny for the report!

[CuppedAndCommitted]

Welcome aboard Jenny. Thanks for the report. It definitely helps those of us out that have limited time for the outdoors.

[JimDog]

For those of you who never make it down to the Truman Tailrace - it can be a real hoot. Two of my top 10 fishing trips were down there. One time we got into the crappie - the other time we got into the Whites. Both times I was catching fish on pretty much every cast. And it went on for hours.

Truman dam dumps into Lake of the Ozarks about a mile outside of Warsaw. So when you are fishing the tailrace, you are technically fishing in LOZ. If they are running lots of water, it looks and feels more like a river then a lake. My experience has been that if they are running a lot of water, fishing is good. When they are not running water, it can be pretty slow.

I am boatless, so one of the things that I really like about it is that you can fish right off the bank. In fact, boats are not allowed up by the dam. I think there is a buffer of 3 or 4 hundred yards where boats are not allowed. So if you want to fish there - you do it from the bank.

I have caught crappie, white bass, lm bass. sm bass, catfish, hybrids, walleye, carp, buffalo, gar, and even snagged a big ole paddlefish with a crappie jig on an ultralight.

This is the prime time for the tailrace - early spring. Pray for lots of rain and look for lots of water running. Then head down there and give it a go. In fact, I may just head down for a bit over the weekend here...

[Robin@AimLow]

Good bowfishing. That is all that matters, isn't it?

[Outdoorsfool]

Dammit....now you all just made me go and add the tailrace to my list of fishing outings for my son and I. Unless Robin is telling a fish tale...looks like I get to pack the bowfishing rig too.

[JimDog]

I have, on several occasions, seen bowfishermen at the tailrace. You will get these gars that just kind of skim along the surface. I have seen them there that were every bit of five feet. And I am sure I did not see the biggest one in there. I know that there are also a bunch of carp and drum and stuff like that - you just don't see them on top like you do the gars.