Dam fishing attracts anglers across Missouri

Christy Abbey, Warsaw, with a basket of crappie she caught on Mother's Day. She is a frequent visitor below the dam at Truman.

Carl Roberts is a retired angler from Iowa who now lives near Warsaw. At most any time of the year, he can be found below the dam at Truman Lake, where he catches a lot of crappie, white bass, walleye and several species of rough fish.

Roberts said moving to Missouri is the best thing he ever did. "I only wish I had moved years ago," he said.

The dam angler -- now in his 70s -- loves to catch and eat crappie. Last week, Roberts had lots of company while fishing below the dam at Truman.

"To know the fishing is good, all I have to do is drive into the parking lot," he said. "If there are a lot of vehicles there, that means fishing is good, but if there only a few vehicles, you might as well go home and come back another day."

Bob Moore, Springfield, was one of the anglers who was pulling in white bass and crappie from the fast moving waters below the dam.

"This is my fourth time fishing here and every time, I have caught fish," he said. "I was looking down the bank and it seemed that everyone was catching fish.

"It's no wonder this is a popular spot for fishermen. You never know what you might catch.

"The guy fishing next to me caught a big catfish, some crappie, white bass and a walleye in less than two hours.

"He caught all of them on a white jig. The white jig was the anglers top lure on the business end of their line.

"I have fished below several dams in Missouri and have caught fish. I have fished for trout below Table Rock, below the Lake of the Ozark at Bagnell Dam, when I have caught white bass and crappie and below the dam at Stockton, where I have caught some big walleye. I am sold on dam fishing."

Moore noted that the veteran anglers who fish below the dam have their special spots.

"It reminds me of opening day at the trout parks," he said. "I have a friend that always fishes this one spot and one day, I beat him to it.

"When he saw me in his favorite spot, he frowned and turned away until I told him I wasn't going to stay long."

Thomas Long is a crappie fisherman, from Springfield, who fishes Table Rock a lot. When he started fishing at Truman, he was throwing back crappie he thought were too short until a friend told him that there was a 9-inch minimum length limit on crappie instead of the 10-inch limit at Table Rock and Stockton.

"I never noticed how much difference there is between a 9- and 10-inch fish," Long said. "Some days, you might catch 30 fish before getting enough crappie for dinner.

"Then, there are days like I had recently, when I caught 15 crappie in less than an hour and all of them were 10 inches or longer."

In the area next to the dam where boats are able to be used, there are times when you can barely see the water.

Jim Wallace, Sedalia, was looking out the window in the visitors center above the dam and said, "I counted more than 50 boats in that stretch of water and it looked like nearly everyone was catching fish. It was a sight to behold."

Larry Walker, Warsaw, fishes below the dam several times a week and said, "Last week, I caught seven different species of fish on the same jig. I had crappie, both large and smallmouth bass, white bass, a walleye, a catfish and a buffalo.

"It was a crazy day of fishing. Fishing below the dam at Truman or other dams below most of the large impoundments can be an adventure in angling. You never know what you might catch."