We’ve reached a point in the year when outdoor activities have become few and far between, and the weather certainly isn’t helping any.
Fishing, for the most part, will be put on hold until the local rivers and lakes get more back to normal levels.
Wappapello Lake is more than 14 feet high, at 369 feet Wednesday morning, and muddy. The good thing is the lake crested early Sunday, a few days earlier than originally expected.
The outflow from the spillway is 8,220 cfs, and it will be a good while before the lake gets back down to winter conservation pool.
Downstream on the St. Francis River, the level at Fisk was 17.6 feet, safely below flood stage at 20 feet. It crested early Wednesday and is expected to slowly fall.
Clearwater Lake, being smaller than Wappapello and with steeper terrain, swelled much higher.
As of Wednesday morning, its level was at 519.27 feet, more than 25 feet above the normal 494 feet. The tailwater discharge at Clearwater currently is 3,081 cfs.
Downstream of the dam, the Black River at Poplar Bluff was at 14.64 feet, shy of flood stage at 16 feet. It crested late Tuesday and is projected to slowly fall as well.
The Current River at Van Buren is on the rebound after topping out late Friday at 13.4 feet. At that level, water would have been about 8 or 9 feet over the parking lot at The Landing.
As of Wednesday, the river was back down to 6.44 feet.
At Doniphan, the Current River narrowly missed reaching flood stage of 13 feet Saturday morning, topping out at 12.71 feet. As of Wednesday, it was back down to 4.7 feet, but was expected to rise slightly before falling again late Thursday.
If you really want to go fishing, Cypress Lake at the Otter Slough Conservation Area or Pool 1 at the Duck Creek Conservation Area might be your best options.
I cruised around Duck Creek Monday and saw only four people fishing, which is the same as the number of bald eagles I saw.
Those fishing for smallmouth, largemouth and spotted bass in areas streams have until Monday to do so. That’s when the bass season closes in so-called Ozark streams. The boundary line for the Ozark stream region zig-zags right through our area, so it’s best to look at a regulations booklet for clarification.
If coldwater fish are your thing, Missouri’s four trout parks will open their regular fishing seasons on Tuesday.
A special $4 daily permit is needed to fish at Maramec Spring Park, Bennett Spring State Park, Roaring River State Park or Montauk State Park.
At Maramec, which is privately owned, the daily limit is five trout, while the other three parks have a four-fish limit.
We’ve all seen the photographs of people standing shoulder-to-shoulder on opening morning at the trout parks. The crowds and constant line tangles are not really my thing, but if you enjoy it, more power to you.
If you do hunt and fish in Missouri, your 2021 licenses will expire Monday.
A resident small-game permit costs $10, and a fishing permit is $12. The smart thing to do is buy the combination permit for $19.
As of now, spring turkey permits are not yet available, and deer permits can be purchased mid-summer.