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Thinking about making a trip up there but not familiar with the area. Want to fish below the dam for whatever will bite. We're is the best place to launch a boat below the dam? How close can you get to the dam with a boat? I know they have restrictions in MO. Also trying to find the best drive to get there.
you will not have any problem telling where you are allowed and not allowed, there is a sign posted, and I have fished there and it is a blast, crowded too, have fun
Best place to launch a boat is drake harbor. It is located in the down town area and there are no fees because it is maintained by the city. Right now everything is froze up but should be good in mid March. East bledsoe is where
most go to catch the spring schooling of crappie and just out side in the current for the walleye and white bass. This is located at the dam and there is
a pay ramp there. Beware the boats get pretty thick at that time of the year.
Snagging season will also be in full swing from the 65 hwy bridge on east. Hope this helps and good luck.
Need to know where you start to recommend route?
hey Perch, last year me and a friend went there highway 50, not a bad drive but a lot of little towns to slow ya down. on the way home we wanted to see if 70 was faster. he came back highway 50, his destination was gerald, I went on up to 70 and came down 19, through herman and on into washington. I beat him home by 10-15 minutes, he stopped once for gas but other than that we were both driving about the speed limit. next time I go it will be down 70 with out a doubt.
as for your other questions, from drake harbor, it's about a mile or so run upstream to the no boating zone, which is plainly marked by floating orange balls across the water from bank to bank. lots of folks run all the way as close to the balls as they can get to fish for catfish. right there close to the no-boating line the river forks and to the right is the "dead channel" I think you can fish the whole length of the dead channel from a boat and the crappie fishing is really good in that area, but like said very crowded. in the main channel, from the no-boating line it is maybe 1/2 or so of a mile upstream to truman dam. and most of that can be bank fished from either side. folks fish mostly for catfish in that area, I think. if you look at a google earth, this will all make more sense to ya...
if yaa do make the trip, I recommend checking out all the fish around the dam on the downstream side, on the observatory wall. to get htere from warsaw, go south on hwy7, and make the first right after the bridge on west dam access drive, then about half mile or so make another right on bledsow ferry rd and take that to the parking lot. walk through the chainlink fence gates to get right up to the dam and see all the fish. schools of every kind of fish in the sate, shad schools so thick it's amazing with big bluecats occasionally popping up to feed on em, huge spoodbills and carp and drum, sometimes huge bass and crappies around too. I could spend hours there just watching the fish do their thing...