Clearwater Lake, an impoundment on the Black River, covers 1,630 acres in Reynolds County. Boat ramps are off H Highway on the Webb Creek arm, off HH Highway on the east side of the lower lake and off AA Highway on the east side of the Black River arm.

For additional information, contact the Southeast Regional Office at (573) 290-5730 or the Clearwater Lake Project at (573) 223-7777.

POMME DE TERRE RESERVOIR
Local guide Eric Prey rates the white-bass fishery on 7,820-acre Pomme de Terre as a good one, and not just in the spring. "Early spring concentrates the white bass in the Pomme de Terre River and Lindley Creek," said Prey. "Toss small crankbaits, Roostertails and 3-inch plastic grubs on 1/4-ounce ballhead jigs. Beginning in the late spring, move out onto the main lake flats and pea-gravel points with the same baits, and add some Rattle Traps. Summer is much tougher, and most of the whites are caught on main-lake flats and flat points clear up into the fall."

Pomme de Terre is known primarily for crappies and muskies, reported Charles Colvin of Mohawk Corners Bait and Tackle, but a lot of white bass are in there, too. "Most of the guys I know start out fishing for crappies with a minnow under a float and when a white bass takes it, they start fishing for white bass," he said. "Anglers catch white bass up around the bay that's off Highway 306, near the Bolivar Landing, about nine miles north of the McCracken Bridge off Pomme de Terre Highway and off McCracken Bridge itself.

"In the summer the whites like flats and points. Where I'd go to look for white bass if I didn't know Pomme de Terre, or any reservoir, are the long points that gradually slope out into the lake, no matter the depth. The fish like to hang on these points in between morning and evening feeding sprees. Humps in the upper ends of reservoirs would be my second choice."

Deep trolling is the ticket during the summer months along with spotting the occasional feeding frenzy on the surface. "When the white bass are feeding, it sometimes doesn't matter what you throw," said Colvin. "At other times they can be just as difficult to catch as anything else.

"I personally like to troll chrome-colored Wiggle Warts or Rattletraps. Up in rivers my personal choice is a lighter shad color, or in muddy conditions, a chartreuse bait."

For additional information, contact the Southwest Regional Office at (417) 895-6880. The Mohawk Corners Bait and Tackle can be reached at (417) 253-2141. The Pomme de Terre State Park marina can be reached at (417) 852-4567. Contact Eric Prey online at www.focusedfishing.com.