Missouri Lakes Fishing Report by Steve Wilson

Lake - Lake of The Ozarks 09/20/06:

Fishing has been really good with the cooler temps in the Ozarks.

Lake level: 657.88 with minimum generation scheduled for the next few days. This should hold the lake steady at 658.85 Truman lake: 704.62

Water temps are dipping into the 70's throughout the lake.

Dam and Gravois areas: Clear. There is still a good structure bite at 18'-30'. 5/8 and 3/4 Football jigs in PBJ and watermelon. Also 10" Power Worms in motor oil and blue flk fished through brush on points and humps. DD 22's are taking good fish. Crash these baits into brush and stop them to get a reaction strike. Look for brush besides docks near main points and medium depth structure with brush on it. Up the Gravois there are a few fish starting to follow the baitfish. They can be caught around shallow docks with spinnerbaits, crankbaits and jigs.

Glaize: Clear with some color in the water above Bucks Marina. The best fishing in this area is within a couple miles of PB2. The biggest fish are still located in the brush on structure. They are holding deeper than normal (20'-30') Football jigs and carolina rigs are the best way to catch these fish. Some bass are being caught on the shallow docks in the back of pockets on worms and tubes. But they are running smaller than the structure fish. If it’s a little cloudy these fish will come up a little and hold on med depth structure where they can be caught on DD 22's. These is a great way to catch a really big fish. I like to use a long rod 7' 6" and 12# Fluorocarbon with a slower gear ratio reel 5.1. The rod is a Team Daiwa TL-76T-5FB. It has a good tip so I can cast it a mile. And the Fluorocarbon allows me to use heavy line and get the bait deeper because that line sinks. Also low stretch line gives me better hooking power. Any DD 22 in shad color is good. Blue/Chart also is good if it is rainy out.

Nianguas: Clear with stained water in the upper reaches. The fishing is good but tough at the same time. The fish are holding in such small locations that if you don’t know the sweet spots it’s very tough here. The Nianguas fish big in the spring and very small in the fall. The bait is really active in this area and fish can be caught on a variety of baits. There are still some fish on the med depth docks at 12'-15'. They can be caught a jigs, 10" worms and DD22's. Some fish are starting to get on flats in the pockets and feed on shad. These fish can be caught on cranks and spinnerbaits fished tight to any available cover.

Osage River: Clear around Hwy 5 bridge, stained from 45-60 mile markers and dirty from 65-85 then it clears up again around Truman Dam. The Osage is fishing a lot bigger than the Nianguas. Mainly because it is so big. There is a lot of different colored water up the Osage. From clear to muddy. This time of year it is best to keep moving till the bait is located. Some parts of the river will be better than others. Keep moving till you start catching the size fish you are looking for. Fish are biting a number of different baits. The better fish are holding on main and secondary points leading into creeks. They can be caught on medium diving crankbaits and jigs. You have to hit a lot of points to find one that is loaded with fish. Inside the creeks there are some fish relating to the flats. They can be caught on spinnerbaits and crankbaits. But the bigger bites are coming on 3/8 Rattleback jigs and creature baits.

Thanks and Good Luck!

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