Disalvo Lake( Bismarck Lake) Fishing Spot

• Last Modified By: vinny60 on 09/16/09 07:12 PM
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Here's another dandy little lake to give a try. Formerly known as Bismarck Lake, DiSalvo Lake was renamed less than 10 years ago. The lake is a 210-acre impoundment in the Bismarck Conservation Area in St. Francois County. Fishing DiSalvo can be easy. The lake is fairly open with a good mixture of timber, sloping shoreline and underwater vegetation. In fact, the only real drawback to targeting summer cats is the abundance of vegetation that tended to take over during warmer months in past years. But herbicide treatments in 2001 and 2002 are the hope for the future, to hopefully thin out the thickest cover and provide some good boat access to the better catfishing locations. And don't think you have to have a boat to fish DiSalvo. Aside from a generous bank area near the boat launch ramp, the road into the lake leads past a parking lot and nice handicap-accessible fishing jetty off to the left. I've made countless squirrel hunting trips to DiSalvo Lake in late summer and stopped by the jetty and launch ramp to have a look around, and I always find a large quantity of chicken liver and night crawler containers. There's a bait shop in the nearby community of Bismarck named Beer, Bait and Bull. Stop in and ask them how the catfish are biting on your way to the lake. The lake is located off Route N heading south out of town. Take U.S. 67 to Park Hills, in St. Francois County, turn west on Highway 32, go approximately eight miles to Bismarck and turn onto Route N at the first four-way intersections. Take N just out of town about a mile and watch for the DiSalvo Lake sign on the right. The lake is very secluded from any nearby communities. Boats with motors of 10 horsepower or less or electric motors may be launched from the lake's ramp.