Clearwater Lake

Clearwater Lake, located in the southeastern part of Missouri, is a Corps of Engineers Lake that was built in 1948 for flood control. With the terrain in the area being made up of hills and bluffs, the 1,630 acre lake is deep and clear. With its steep banks and flood control use, Clearwater can be raised almost 70 feet, and increase in surface acres by 6 times.
Because of the lakes age and changing water levels, Clearwater is void of trees at normal level. When the lake is raised though, the shoreline brush and trees become flooded, which can provide some excellent fishing spots. (Note of Caution: Because the lake can hold back a large amount of water, Clearwater Lake can raise quickly during heavy and extended periods of rain.)
Clearwater Lake has a lot to offer in the way of recreation. Activities include boating, fishing, water skiing, sailing, camping, hunting, and hiking. Primitive and modern camping facilities are available along with lodging facilities, shops, and restaurants around the lake. For water sports, there are plenty of boat ramps around the lake along with three marinas, Webb Creek Boat Dock, Piedmont Park, and Bluff View Boat Dock. All three are full service marinas and provide fuel, boat rentals, tackle, and groceries.
Clearwater Lake is made up of a main lake with three main arms, Black River, Logan Creek, and Webb Creek. The lake is fed by the Black River, which enters from the north. Available fish in Clearwater Lake are Black Bass, Bluegill, Crappie, Cat Fish, White Bass, and Carp. For more information about clearwater lake visit Show-Me-Lakes.com

Stockton Lake

For those of you who are looking for a great new lake to fish, with minimal boat traffic and surprising results on every cast. Then Stockton Lake Fishing In Missouri - Stockton Lake is for you. Known as a premiere Walleye lake and home to an equally fine population of Bass, Crappie, and Catfish. Managed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Missouri Department of Parks and Historic Preservation, this 25,000+ acre lake with 300 miles of public shoreline is home to an abundance of wildlife including, bald eagles, deer, wild pigs, and turkey. There are more than a dozen campgrounds around the lake, all of which are well designed and maintained. Stockton Lake is 51 miles away from Springfield, 136 miles away from Kansas City, and 269 miles away from St. Louis.

Missouri & Arkansas Park Lands and Lakes! Wake Up To TABLE ROCK LAKE: The blue waters of Table Rock Lake have become a playground for visitors from all over the nation. And Table Rock's water activities are as varied as the beautiful Ozark Mountain terrain that embraces the lake. With nearly 800 miles of shoreline, Table Rock's many coves and lake arms make boating comfortable and especially enjoyable. Commercial docks on the lake offer boats, motors, supplies and guides for hire, the Corps of Engineers has provided many public launching areas for private watercraft. Nationally-known as a largemouth bass haven, Table Rock Lake features varied water depths, rock bluffs and undeveloped wooded shoreline. Springtime brings anglers in pursuit of running white bass, while summer days and nights prove productive for largemouth and crappie. The fight of a channel cat can also be found. Water sports such as skiing and swimming are very popular, as well as cruising the naturally beautiful shoreline. Water as smooth as glass best describes the ideal conditions found in the many sheltered coves. The Corps of Engineers has also developed many public swimming areas complete with the amenities of a safe and relaxing visit to the lakefront. The main arms of Table Rock Lake provide excellent sailing. Skin divers will find a crystal clear world of wonder, especially around the many rock bluffs. Nearby towns offer a variety if attractions and other entertainment, sure to round out a memorable visit to the beautiful Table Rock Lake region. Specific information can be obtained by writing Chambers of Commerce. Also be sure and check for other articles in the Missouri & Arkansas section of the Family Travel Guide - especially relating to Branson. Looking down through the valleys and hollows of the Ozark Mountains, Table Rock Lake reaches out for your attention with sparkling water as blue as the sky. A drive along the many roads and highways surroundings the lake will produce pictures and memories of unforgettably beautiful vistas. Springtime features blossoming dogwoods laced with brilliant redbud trees. Summer follows with a lush covering of greenery over the mountainsides, autumn then brings foliage aflame with spectacular colors even the best artist can't match. CAMP RESERVATIONS NOW AVAILABLE Over 1,200 campsites in 15 beautiful Corps of Engineers recreation areas can be reserved in advance for your convenience. Electricity, restrooms, showers, dump stations, boat launches, swimming areas and more are available to campers with tents, trailers and RVs.

Lake Wappapello

So fishermen may stretch the truth, but fisheries researchers never do. Fish biologists count and measure fish and tally and survey anglers. They then release their findings without the least bit of exaggeration, or even a wink...Their conclusion? Wappapello is a great fishing lake that’s getting better. The crappie have a predictable baby boom every year, and largemouth bass are growing bigger and bigger. About 75 percent of anglers who fish Wappapello target those abundant crappie. A nice day in the fall and winter, and almost any kind of day in the spring, will bring a flock of southeast Missouri and St. Louis anglers to the lake. In lake Wappapello, 10 to 12 feet on the edge of the channel is kind of the magic depth, As one local put it, “I’m usually easing along with my trolling motor trying to find some structure on the bottom that shows some fish around it that I assume and hope to prove are crappie.” He said using only one pole lets him work quietly and efficiently, and the 20-pound test line on his reel lets him straighten jig hooks that get hung up in stumps. When water begins warming up in the spring, starting about late February or early March, he follows the crappie up into the backs of coves and bays.
“Then, I fish with a floater and a jig,” he said. “It’s amazing that you can tie a jig under that floater no more than a foot deep and catch nice, big crappie.” He said that during the years he’s fished Lake Wappapello, about half of the lake’s original stumps have disappeared as water washed sand and dirt away from their roots. He and others are working hard to replace this valuable cover. “For the fish, a lack of cover is like living in a room with not enough furniture,” said Mark Boone, the Conservation Department biologist who manages the fishery at Lake Wappapello. “Stumps, brush piles and that sort of thing are like furniture for fish.”
He described how little fish hide in the furniture to avoid predators, and big fish surge from behind the furniture to surprise and capture passing prey. New Wood to create more fish furniture, the Conservation Department and the Corps of Engineers, along with members of local fishing clubs, began putting brush in the lake about five years ago.
“The first few years, we put in large, hardwood brush piles all around the lake,” Boone said. “We didn’t mark any of them, but then, in 2004, we started creating larger brush piles that consisted, on the average, of three loads of large hardwood trees. They’re all marked with yellow signs that say ‘Fish Attractor.’” “Anglers can fish up and down until they find fish,” Boone said. “They don’t need fancy boats with all kinds of electronics. All they have to do is find a sign, and they’ll find the brush.” Anglers are also creating fish habitat on their own. McKuin said the Lake Wappapello Corps of Engineers supports angler efforts to create more fish habitat. Their only requirement is that anglers place the structure where recreational boaters won’t be affected. *some content provided by missouri conservation dept.

Bull Shoals water levels

Hey just wanted to update everyone on the lake levels. The level of the lake continues to drop very slowly. It has only dropped a foot from last week. We have been getting a lot of rain in the water shed area, not necessarily here but between here and Joplin Missouri. So the Corp projections have changed. Looks like it will be the end of September before the water is back to normal provided there is average rainfall. The lake is down to the 691 level. It is projected to drop an inch or two a day. Projected drop level are posted above in the link. The water temperature continues to rise and is up in the middle 70's on the surface. There is a thermocline forming around the 20 to 25 foot level. It is a 10- 15 degree difference and becoming very prominent. I have personally been scuba diving and gone through the thermol cline and it was quite cold... burrrr. Visibility continues to be poor from the surface to 25 feet due to all the brush in the water, then it clears up to the average visibility at 15 to 20 feet depending on where you are in the lake. The bluffs should be the best. Have some new fish pictures. Bull Shoals Lake

Well with the Mississippi is overflowing its banks again and there are some very hard hit areas in Missouri once again. It is never good to hear about these heartbreaking situations with local farmers and families loosing their property. For news and updates about the flood try visiting this website. Our prayers are with all of you who have been adversely effected by the flooding.