SOUTHEAST MISSOURI
The area south of the I-70 bridge may not have a world record to its credit, but, biologists and trophy blue-cat fishermen agree, more Mississippi River-dwelling between-the-eyes blue cats will be found there than north of it. In fact, the dozen river miles on either side of the mouth of the Ohio River may well be the best of the best. There’s absolutely no question but that blue cats weighing far more than the current world record inhabit this portion of the river. In addition, trophy flatheads, albeit probably not record-sized ones, are relatively abundant, as are channel cats up to 10 pounds.

The Black River below Clearwater Lake is best known for its walleye fishery, but channel catfishing is also excellent with many fish in the 5-pound class. Flatheads are far less common, but fish over 20 pounds await anyone willing to put forth the effort needed to locate them.

Not surprisingly, Clearwater Lake supports an excellent channel cat fishery, and it’s difficult to find a place on the lake where catching them seems impossible. Flatheads are present in the lake in very low numbers. On the other hand, the flatheads that do inhabit Clearwater tend to be large, as evidenced by the fact that 40-pounders are landed here every year.

Fredericktown City Lake in Madison County lacks trophy channel cats, but a lot of its fish reach five pounds. This lake is also a good bet for a from-the-bank family outing.

SOUTHWEST MISSOURI
The Osage River is this quadrant’s only big river, and most of it lies submerged beneath the Lake of the Ozarks and Harry S. Truman Reservoir. Even so, fishing for measuring-sized channels and for weighing-sized flatheads and blues is good to excellent above, below and between the two lakes. Sadly, the same cannot be said for the Osage River’s once nationally known cruiserweight flatheads and blues. Fishing for big cats remains fair below Bagnell Dam, where roaming Missouri River fish keep replenishing the stock. Conversely, it’s still possible to catch a 60-pound blue or flathead in the Truman Dam tailrace, but overall success rates have plummeted as a result of overexploitation of the resource.

The MDC has imposed special maximum length regulations in the no-boat zone below the dam, but, frankly, the trophy fish harvest restrictions apply to a stretch of the river perhaps too small to do much good. While admittedly a shadow of what it once was, Osage River trophy catfishing is still worthwhile west of Roscoe.

After reading the “cloudy skies” forecast for the Osage River, asking if Truman retains its claim to the title “Capital of Missouri’s Reservoir Catfishing” is a fair question. The answer is a qualified “yes.” On one hand, the days when a jugline catfisherman -- or a rod-and-reel catfisherman for that matter -- could virtually count on catching at least one flathead or blue cat weighing more than 20 pounds and a couple of channel cats in the 8-pound class virtually every time out are gone, probably forever, owing to a combination of overharvest and a mysteriously slow growth rate.

On the other hand, as fisheries biologist Trish Yasger put it, “Truman does not have a recruitment problem.” To the contrary, the lake is absolutely stiff with measuring-sized channels and blues, along with good numbers of fish in the lower echelons of the weighing class.