Cast Your Line at These Fabulous Fishing Spots Near Cape Girardeau, MO

No matter what time of year it is, the fish are always biting in and around the Cape Girardeau, MO area. If you’re looking for a new place to fish where you can reel in crappie, bass, or even catfish, you don’t have to look far. There are several fishing holes within a 30-minute drive from Cape Girardeau. Take a look at some of the places you should visit the next time you want to drop a line.

North Country Park

North Country Park, right in Cape Girardeau, is a convenient spot and a great place for both adults and kids to fish. It’s home to a nature center with a kid’s only fishing pond for anglers aged 15 years old and under and also has a larger lake for all ages. You can catch a wide variety of fish, from sunfish to catfish, crappie, and black bass, in either of the ponds.

The Missouri Department of Conservation offers family fishing nights at the park in the spring, providing all the equipment and bait you need to fish in the Kid’s Fishing Pond. This program is perfect for young, new anglers, as it teaches them how to rig and use spin-casting rods and reels.

Lake Murphysboro State Park

Fishing  by robin miller is licensed with CC BY 2.0

Head to Lake Murphysboro State Park in Murphysboro, IL for some bank fishing. It’s less than a 60-minute drive from Cape Girardeau and worth the drive for a day by the water. No matter what type of fishing you like to do, you’ll enjoy the variety of fish you can catch in this lake. They include largemouth bass, redear sunfish, channel catfish, bluegill, and crappie.

While bank fishing is popular here, there’s also a boat transfer station and a fishing pier. Boaters can bring their own boat to the launch; just keep in mind that there’s a no-wake restriction for boats with a motor over 10 horsepower. Bank fishing and boat fishing are allowed on Little Lake, but this lake doesn’t allow boats with motors.

Tywappity Community Lake

Tywappity Community Lake is just 10 miles from Cape Girardeau in Chaffee, MO. It has a boat ramp if you want to get out on the water to fish and a fishing dock for those who prefer to fish near the shore.

It’s important to know the rules for fishing at this lake. Each person can only use up to three poles, and there’s a daily limit of six black bass, four catfish, and 30 crappies. Each angler can catch up to 20 fish per day and must stay within certain size limits.  Channel catfish under 16 inches will have to go back in the water, and all black bass between 12 and 15 inches also have to go back in the water as soon as you get them off your hook.

Union County State Fish and Wildlife Area

The Union County State Fish and Wildlife Area  in Jonesboro, IL encompasses over 6,000 acres in the Lower Mississippi River bottomland. It’s home to several shallow sloughs and larger lakes, including Grassy Lake and Lyerla Lake. Fishing is allowed in Grassy Lake from Mar. 1 to Oct. 15. It’s a shallow lake with a fertile bottomland that makes it a good spot for catfish. Lyerla Lake has excellent crappie fishing in early spring and again in late fall. If you want to fish from a boat, outboard motors are limited to 10 horsepower or less.

Trail of Tears State Park 

Trail of Tears State Park  in Jackson, MO offers access to the Mississippi River, where you can catch catfish, carp, and perch. The park is also home to the 20-acre Lake Boutin, which is stocked every year with bluegill, bass, and catfish. A concrete boat launch ramp gives visitors access to the lake, but keep in mind that only electric motors are allowed.

The Mississippi River also has a boat launch located near the Mississippi River campground. Make sure to keep an eye on the river levels because it’s not accessible when the Cape Girardeau River Stage is above 35 feet or under 14 feet.

The park is open from 7 a.m. to dusk, and fishing is allowed for any visitors with a valid Missouri fishing license.

Amidon Memorial Conservation Area

The Amidon Memorial Conservation Area  in Fredericktown, MO is just over an hour from Cape Girardeau. The 1,630-acre conservation area sits on the Castor River, where you can catch smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, and channel catfish.

The Castor River Shut-Ins are an interesting geological feature. They are the only known pink shut-ins in the state. Downstream from the shut-ins is the best place to fish. While there are lots of small colorful fish, such as Ozark minor, bleeding shiner, and striped fantail darter, you might get lucky and catch a longear sunfish, smallmouth bass, or shadow bass.

Lake Girardeau

If you want to stay right in Cape Girardeau, head to Lake Girardeau near Crump. The 162-acre lake is on the smaller side, but it has two fishing piers and a concrete boat ramp. Whether you fish from the shore or your boat, you can catch bass, bluegill, crappie, and catfish. If you stick close to the boat ramp and check out the brush piles in deeper water, you can usually find some crappie. You might also catch a black crappie since the state stocks the lake with them each year.

This lake also has an excellent largemouth bass population, although many are under 12 inches long. You can usually find these near the outer edges of aquatic vegetation, such as the water willow and other floating leaf vegetation.

At Ike Honda in Marion, Illinois, when we want to spend a day fishing near Cape Girardeau, these are some of our favorite places to visit. If you know of a good fishing spot that we’ve missed, stop by to tell us about it. We’ll check it out the next time we want to try our luck.