Best Time to Bass Fish in Missouri????

[NC]

Heading to Mark Twain Lake in Northern Missouri and are debating on which time would be better, 1st week of April or 1st week May? We would like to head south to get an early start on our fishing season but didn't know how the first or second week of April would be? Any thoughts or ideas would be great.
Thanks,
NC

[Native]

I don't know that much about how the bass are biting during that time. I can tell you that the first part of April in Missouri can be very "iffy". It might be decently warm, but you have just as much of a chance to have snow on the ground or a lot of rain. May is definitely a safer month. It will be warmer, less chance of rain everyday and less fluctuation. Temp will be more steady, etc. I may not have been a very big help, but at least there is a response.

[Sunshine]

I generally head down to that area in April for the family vacation and stay on Table Rock. I'm not familiar with Mark Twain Lake so I don't know how deep and clear it is. For Table Rock I prefer April so I'm closer to the spawning time. I have been there when it snowed and have been there when it was in 70's all week. Previous poster is correct about the weather being a crap shoot.

Another thing to consider is that we normally get off season rates in April so it's cheaper.

Crowds are less in April also if you're doing the site seeing thing with family.

[NC]

Thanks for the input guys. Mark Twain is only a couple hundred miles south of the Iowa border at most. Weather.com says the avg high is 63 and low is 39 in early April. I just didn't know how the bass would be then? We can certainly fish in Iowa in May, which is why I would like to go to Missouri.
Thanks again for your time and input.
NC

[Yellowbeard]

NC- I fish in a bass club out of Kansas City. We start our tournaments the first to middle of March. We don't fish on Mark Twain but we do fish Truman, Lake of Ozarks, Table Rock and others. If the weather allows you to get on the water, fishing can be good. Members seem to have the best luck this early in the year on jerk baits and small jigs (Akins). Last year we fished Table Rock April 20 and hammered them on the beds using tube baits. Fishing this time of year also has a big advantage because you don't have to deal with all the traffic on the water. Hope this helps.

[NC]

Yellowbeard,
Yes that certainly helps. Thanks for the info. I live in Des Moines and just wanted to extend the fishing season by a few weeks and I think Mark Twain would allow us to do that.
Have you heard if Mark Twain is a good lake or not? Seems to have a good reputation, but I've never fished in Missouri before so I don't really know.
Thanks again,
NC

[Fishchaser]

Mark Twain is an excellent lake.
Mark Twain was formed by damming up Salt River
and does not have tremendous clarity.
That said...
Without question...April is probably the best
month to fish in Missouri.
My recommendation is that you contact
Adam Wolf, owner of Tombstone Tackle in
Columbia, MO. (574-874-2277) for advice.
He's a great guy & can advise even better than I can.
Good luck.