Fishing at Bluff Pool, Holt County, Missouri

• Overview

  The Holt County entry here is Bluff Pool, in Missouri. The bank is 856 feet above sea level. The water covers some 103 acres, so pick a bank rather than trying to cover it all. There is not much shape to the outline, and the wind crosses it unbroken. The nearest place of any size is Mound City, 1.8 miles away. It is 76 miles to Kansas City, the nearest city. It sits well inside the county, so one set of rules covers it.

• Where to Fish on Bluff Pool

  We hold no depth figure for this one. Read the surface for the wind lane, then fish the edge of it. A natural lake fishes on cover, and cover here means weed and timber. Holt County records list shortnose gar, common carp and black bullhead among the fish reported. Records at county level tell you what is around, not what is stocked here. At Bluff Pool the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Climate normals give 77°F for July and 24°F for January. A hard winter is normal, and the thaw brings a strong few weeks. The freeze runs deep into the year, with break-up near early March. Ice usually gives way near early March, and forms again about late December. Just after the ice goes and just before it returns, the fishing lifts. The season on Bluff Pool follows the weather closely.

• Tackle & Baits

  No public source sets out the position on this bank. No dam controls it, and the level follows the season. A carry of half a mile from the nearest parking is the price of fishing here. There is a toilet block some half a mile out. Parking is often the real limit rather than the bank itself. A polite question at the farm gate opens more banks than anything else. The nearest alternative is Snow Goose Pool, 2.5 miles out. The position on Bluff Pool is worth confirming on the day.