Mark Twain Lake - Little Indian, Lick & Dry Fork

Les and I had the opportunity to take the day off today and get up to Mark Twain Lake for a little crappie fishing. The weater forecast was right on target. High of 84 (it reached 87) with winds out of the SSW at 20-30 with partial overcast. Minus the wind, a beautiful spring day. Well, we weren't the only ones with this idea. The lake was packed. We left St. Charles at 6:45 and pulled off the trailer just after 9:00. We decided to start on the north side of the lake and made a quick run up to Little Indian Creek. We went about half way back and worked the edge of the tree line off the edge of the bank. As we worked our way back out I caught our first fish of the day. A 12" crappie. OK, we figured this was not going to be a bad day. The water temp up there was 52°, so it was a bit on the cooler side. No spawning yet. That was the last bite we had up there so after about 2 hours we decided to run back down south and check out Lick Creek. I guess I'm use to the lake being high because it seemed really low, but it was right at normal pool (609.6). We hit a couple coves back in Lick Creek, and found nothing except shelter from the wind. The water temp was much warmer. 57° in the main creek. Next we ran up into Dry Fork, with the rest of the people on the lake. One thing that everyone had in common, no one was catching fish. Most people had one or two, but that was it. After working back up into Dry Fork, I caught one small male and on the way out Les landed a good sized crappie, we were done for the day. 3 fish in the livewell is not a spectacular day. However, the water temp in Dry Fork was 61°, so with a little luck, we will be on target next weekend. Otherwise it will be a VERY long weekend. I have to make mention that we talked to some really nice folks on the water today. There are always those that would rather spit on you than say hello, but for the most part everyone was talkative and sharing information. A lot of people from Illinois and a few fellow Skeeter Owner's from Hannibal, Mo. Here is the Google Earth file from the trip. Hopefully we will get back on the river Tuesday evening before making the run back up to Mark Twain Friday night (Sat., Sun. & Mon.). - cld