2004 FISHING CALENDAR The calendar is in PDF format. The Adobe Reader can be downloaded for free here.

By Bryan Hendricks

If you're a fisherman in Missouri, you couldn't ask for a better life. We have so many opportunities throughout the state on lakes and rivers that offer a diversity of fishing environments. You can enjoy fishing for a wide array of game fish in the clear, free-flowing streams of the Ozarks, as well as in the region's deep, rocky reservoirs. For a totally different experience, you can fish the muddy waters of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers. The fishing is even great in the prairie waters in northern Missouri. This region also has excellent fishing in several lakes that are largely overlooked. No matter what your preference - bass, bream, catfish, trout or walleyes - we've got them in Missouri in a lake or stream near you. Best of all, you have all year to sample them all. Here's a little guide to get you started.

For largemouth bass, try jigging spoons or Carolina-rigged worms around rocky structure on deep bends in the White River arm. You can also catch them over deep structure near the mouths of the James and Kings rivers near Shell Knob. Some of the coves still have standing timber, and on warm days largemouths move into these areas to feed.

You can catch spotted bass this month with small plastic grubs on 1/8-ounce or 1/4-ounce jigheads on flats near deep drops. Use your graph to locate brushpiles, because you'll probably find schools of "spots" hovering around them, too.

You can catch smallmouth bass on jig-and-pig combos or Carolina rigs on main-lake points near Kimberling City. Jigging spoons or Carolina rigs over rocky structure at the end of main lake points and under bluffs is also a great way to catch really big smallmouths.

Trout fishing is good in several streams across southern Missouri this month. Two dandies are Roaring River below Roaring River State Park and Current River below Montauk State Park. These are good places to catch big browns and rainbows. Fishing minnow-imitating plugs on an ultralight spinning rig is a great way to catch them.

From our small streams to our giant reservoirs, great bass fishing can be found all across Missouri this year. Bass anglers have a lot to look forward to in 2004. Photo by Ron Sinfelt

According to the Missouri Department of Conservation, walleyes are well established in the lake after 10 years of stocking, and walleyes released in 2001 should be well over 15 inches this spring. They offer some excellent fishing opportunities in an otherwise slow season, but they're largely overlooked. You can find them this month at the ends of long, rocky points. Good spots are at the mouths of coves in the Grand Glaize area near the Lodge of Four Seasons and near Tan-Tar-A Resort.

You can take 'eyes this month with a variety of methods: fishing deep-diving crankbaits, jigging spoons, trolling spinner rigs with live bait, or fishing live bait on the bottom.

Walleyes are hitting at Bull Shoals on cloudy days. Bottom-bouncing white grubs will do the trick. Smallmouth fishing on the Elk River is good this month; use jigs and plastic worms.

White-bass fishing is good anytime on Bull Shoals, but this is your best chance to catch big ones, and lots of them. They crowd into some pretty skinny water, too, so you can catch them from the bank as well as from the boat.

Catching white bass at this time of year is simple: They're suckers for white or chartreuse plastic grubs in tandem, but you can also catch them with inline spinners and small crankbaits, as well as by casting small spoons. One of the best ways to catch them is on live crawdads under a split shot.

Early in the month you'll mostly catch small males; the big egg-laden females will arrive later. That's when it really gets fun. If you buy the White River Border Lakes Fishing Permit, you can fish the Arkansas sections of the lake without having to buy a non-resident Arkansas license.

Big walleyes are biting at Long Branch Lake, near Macon; catch them off the dam on crankbaits and white grubs. Catch Truman Lake crappie on minnows and light hair jigs.

Fishing for them is easy. Pull up to a tree and dunk a live minnow or a jig with a plastic tube. Once you find the right depth, you're off to the races.

Don't neglect the bluffs. Standing timber still lines the shelves in depths from 13 to 15 feet. They don't get fished much, but they still attract good numbers of crappie.

Picking a best area is pointless, because the whole lake is good. Just find an attractive spot and fish.

Catch trout this month at Montauk State Park or in the Current River below the park. Crappie fishing is hot around standing timber near the bank at Mark Twain Lake.

Most people in this section like to fly-fish the riffles, but there's also some excellent fishing in deep pockets below bends, as well as in the tail ends of deep, slow pools. For those spots, you'll need a sinking lure that will get down deep, where the lunkers lie. If trout parks are the extent of your trout fishing experience in Missouri, this trip will give you a whole different perspective.

Visit an MDC conservation area this month and catch big bluegills from their stocked ponds. Largemouth bass will bite whatever you throw at them this month at Lake Pomme de Terre.

Best of all, this is also the best time to catch trophy smallmouths. I catch more big ones in June than in any other month. Deep pools, riffle tails and gravel flats are excellent places to try your luck.

Some of the best streams and rivers to visit this month are the upper Gasconade, upper Niangua, Meramec, Current and Eleven Point.

Big blue cats will take live shad this month on the Mississippi River, and channel cats will devour blood bait on the Osage River.