Scott: Truman's access points range from good to bad

When it’s at the top of its multipurpose pool (706.0 msl), Truman Lake covers 55,600 surface acres and has 958 miles of shoreline.

In apparent recognition of that fact, the Corps of Engineers (COE) constructed 17 access sites equipped with boat ramps.

The COE directly operates 12 of these sites and has leased operation of the remaining five to other entities.

Seventeen pre-authorized access sites sound like plenty. However, if these access sites were evenly distributed around the lake, each would serve almost 3,300 acres.

But they’re not evenly distributed. Most of them  are located in the lower third of the lake.

Enter a completely unorganized, unabashedly self-serving clique of private citizens. Some of these people wanted to fish from the bank, some used boats too small to brave the open water near the official access sites and a few simply wanted to symbolically spit in the COE’s eye.

Working together, they used the time-honored tactic of passive aggression to build their own public lake access sites.

At first, the COE fought back, but — thanks in no small measure to Rep. Ike Skelton — the feds eventually traded their tacit blessing of a reasonable number of privately constructed and maintained access sites in exchange for the sites being open to public use and to the cessation of unrestrained attempts to open vehicular access to the lake across project lands.

The most recent edition of the COE’s Truman Lake map lists 21 secondary access sites by name and uses an individual letter designation to show the site’s location.

No other information is provided, but every site has opportunities to fish from shore. A few sites have concrete boat ramps, and most of the rest have old roads or sloping rock or gravel banks that make launching at least some types of boats possible.

I have yet to visit all of these possible paradises. I have seen enough of them to give me just cause to choose the term “possible paradises” to describe them.

Higgins Landing Access, which is located off state Route ZZ in St. Clair County, is an example of an access that leans toward the paradise side of the scale. It has  a tricky concrete ramp, ample parking and an adjacent cove that should provide some good bank fishing for pre-spawn and spawn crappie.

Avery Access, which is located off state Route B in Hickory County, has a good gravel boat launch and plenty of parking. Its two major claims to fame are that it’s off the beaten path and it’s a short boat ride from some of the best crappie and walleye fishing in the Pomme de Terre arm.

TT Access, which is located at the end of state Route TT in Benton County, is only a fair place to launch a boat, but, if you get your trailer in and out safely, there’s a good place to park it. There’s a lot of bank fishing opportunities, and it’s within trolling motor distance of year-round crappie water.

Tightwad Access is located off state Route 7 in Henry County, but calling it “possible” is a stretch. The last half-mile of the gravel road leading to it is rugged even by Henry County standards, the gravel launch area is poor and parking is minimal.

Anyone who wants to fish the middle portion of the South Grand River arm can use the Finey Access, which is located off state Route Z in Henry County. It has a good gravel boat launch, adequate parking and good bank fishing for channel cats.

Brush Creek Access is located off state Route 13  about a mile south of the bridge over the Osage River. At one time, it was a full-fledged site, complete with a concrete ramp, a big parking lot and restroom facilities. I haven’t been there for years, but I’m sure the restroom building is no longer there. If it’s still possible to reach the river channel after launching at Brush Creek, it’s a gateway to good water for all three catfish species.

Space prohibits describing the other 15 access sites, but at least you should have an idea of what to expect. They’re primitive but they’re close to the action and using them is free.