Chris Brooke, Fisheries Management Biologist, took the time to answer two very important questions concerning our team at Community News and in our greater Truman Lake community. First (as always): how’s the fishin’ this year? His answer: pretty good! The second question: should we be worried about the Northern Snakehead? Not at this time, to our relief.
This year’s crappie spawn will be about average, according to Brooke, but “average for Truman Lake is still pretty good.” Brooke elaborated that the best spawning conditions in recent years were found in 2019, when heavy rains led to flooding in many areas–and despite the many other problems these conditions created for residents and local businesses, they were favorable for fish.
The intervening years have been overall rather dry without any “super-spawns,” but the rainy spring we experienced this year should prove advantageous for the 2024 spawn-class. Brooke explained that crappie are usually big enough to be a “good catch” at around 3 years old, so anglers who like to plan ahead may look forward to exceptional crappie catches in late 2026 or 2027.
Aside from crappie, Brooke says fishing for catfish–blue catfish in particular–should continue to be good, although Truman Lake doesn’t typically produce many trophy-sized catfish. They’re a long-lived fish, according to Brooke, so their populations don’t tend to fluctuate by year as much as crappies’, for example.
Fishing for hybrid-striped bass and walleye should be worthwhile in 2024. These fish had “pretty good” spawns and stockings in 2019, 2020, and 2021, according to Brooke, and anglers can expect to see some continued success deriving from those spawns in particular, with good chances of catching fish greater than 20 inches.
However, anglers looking for largemouth bass in particular may need to work hard if they hope for results. Brooke explained that the conditions of Truman Lake–the rising and falling water level, the turbidity (the quality of being cloudy, opaque, or thick with suspended matter) of the water, and the overall vegetation–just aren’t ideal for bass. They’re out there, for the anglers committed enough to work for them, but they’re not one of Truman’s primary fish populations. Brooke suggests looking for largemouth bass in the lower half of the South Grand Arm, the Pomme de Terre Arm, and some areas on the Tebo Arm.
Regarding invasive species: there have been few reports of zebra mussels in Truman Lake. Luckily, the conditions in Truman Lake so far seem to have a dampening effect on the zebra mussel population, although they still pose a threat. Brooke recommends pulling the plug and draining water from boats as they are removed from the lake, and letting them dry fully and completely before putting in at any other body of water. Going from one body of water to another with a boat that’s still wet with lake water from the original creates a high risk of spreading mussels.
Northern snakeheads have been mentioned recently in statewide news for being found in Missouri, but so far all documented appearances have been limited to southeastern Missouri. Brooke said it’s not impossible, given the nature of invasive species, that snakehead will eventually spread to Truman Lake, but he doesn’t expect to see them in the next few years, at least.
For more information on fishing prospects in Truman Lake for 2024, Brooke was able to direct us to the Annual Prospects Report published on the MDC website. From all of us at Radford Media Group, we want to thank Chris Brooke for taking the time to speak with us and for all his hard work managing those delicious fish in Truman Lake. Thanks again, Chris, and to all our anglers out there, tight lines!
Story by Adrianne Nichols
