Missouri Lakes Fishing Report by Steve Wilson

Lake - Lake of The Ozarks 06/28/06:

The bass fishing during the day is good. But night fishing is the best way to catch a bunch of big fish this time of year.

Lake level: 659.5 with minimum generation scheduled for today and light for Thurs and Fri. This will hold the lake steady at 659.5. Truman lake level: 706.7

Water temps: The mourning main lake temps in the lower lake are 78-79 degrees. The warmest water is in the shallows of the creeks up the Osage. That water is 84-86 degrees in the afternoon.

Dam and Gravois areas: Clear with some stained in the back of the Gravois. This area of the lake is in normal summer patterns. The lake has backed up a lot this week. You’ll notice this when the trash collects in the backs of shallow pockets. When they are running water good that trash(wood and dock foam) is pulled out into the main Osage. This is when the structure bite is at it’s best. The current will position the fish in the cover on structure in a feeding mood. The fish on structure are anywhere from 12'-20' Fish texas rigged power worms in the 7" and 10" size and jigs through the brush on the structure. A carolina rig can also be used and works better if the position of the brush isn’t exactly located. Deep diving cranks are effective to. Check out the MAO Store and see the Specialty Tackle deep diver. Those along with the Rapala DT 16 and Bill Norman DD 22 in shad have been productive. At night fish the same structure and dock brush just inside the points with Blk 10" Power Worms or large plastic baits and jigs.

Glaize: Clear with the upper Glaize stained. The better fish are down deep on structure here from 12'-20' here also. Fish texas rigged soft plastics and jigs slowly through the brush on structure. Use a large enough weight to get you down deep into the brush. 5/16-1/2 Bullet weights for the big worm and ½ or larger jigs. The new ½ Jewel football jig ( The one that was used to win the Grand Lake Bass Elite) is available at Osage bait & Tackle near PB 2 next to Town and Country Motel. The PBJ, Blk/blue and watermelon have all been hot colors on this lake. I have a bunch of the ½ and 5/8 football jigs and they have made me a better structure fisherman. I think it is because I enjoy fishing that jig more than the 10" worm. I can feel my way through the cover better. I never leave a structure spot without throwing a reaction bait just in case there is a big fish that is looking for a big shad to eat. You need to experiment to find the one that is best for you. Meaning the one that you enjoy fishing. Here is some lures to try DD 22, Strike King series 5, Rapala DT 16, Poes 400 and the Specialty Tackle Deep Diver. Even though some of these baits say they reach 20' I can get the deepest of them 14'-16' consistently on a long cast. For deeper applications try a 3/4 or bigger single bladed (size 4 willow) HawgCaller spinnerbait in white or chart/white.

Nianguas: Clear with some stained in the upper portions of both rivers. Bass can be caught on topwaters such as Zara Spooks, chuggers and buzzbaits in the mournings or cloudy days. During the day fish brush on structure and around docks at 6'-14'. Texas rigged worms and 3/8 Rattleback jigs fished through the brush have produced best. There are also some good deeper structure spots near the Hwy 5 bridge. These same locations are excellent night spots. Also the fish seem to be a little shallower in the Niangua at night and they will bite a blk spinnerbait there. There are some shallow fish biting spinnerbaits and shallow cranks but they are not the size of the structure fish.

Osage river: Stained to about 40 mile marker then it starts to color up and dirty past the 60 mile marker. The fishing has been more consistent on the structure just inside creeks from Hurricane Deck Bridge to the 50 mile marker. The fish are doing the same things they are doing on the lower lake. The difference is the structure is shallower. There are good main and secondary creek points from the bridge all the way to the 60 mile marker. Carolina and texas rigs, football jigs and medium running cranks have all been good on structure from 4'-8'. If you are on the water in need of some of these lures. Stop by District 78 Tackle Shop in Standing Rock Hollow. Above the 60 mile marker where the water is much dirtier. The bite gets shallower from 2'-6'. The fish are getting on the docks with brush and being caught on 3/8 Rattleback jigs in Blk/blue and 10" Power worms in Blk/Neon and Blk/Blue. These are better females. The keepers are setting up on horizontal wood and are feeding on spawning shad and bluegill. They will bite a buzzbait good in the mourning and switch to a chart/white spinnerbait or square bill crank as the sun comes out. I have read the reports of Zebra Mussels and noticed the water has been clearing up in the river. This May I was in the dirtiest part of the Osage with a client. We could see good largemouth on beds. Never been able to sight fish in that area of the lake before. This was after the water came up and they were very shallow. I haven’t seen any mussels yet. But I will be on the look out for them. I live on the lake. So I will keep everyone posted.

Thanks and Good Luck!

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