Missouri Lakes Fishing Report by Steve Wilson

Lake - Lake of The Ozarks 11/15/06:

The fishing has really picked up at lake of the Ozarks. After this front passes the bass will be nice and predictable.

Lake level: 657.03 with minimum generation scheduled for the next few days. This should hold the lake at 657.0 the next few days. Truman lake: 704.3

Water temps range from 56 to 57 degrees in the main lake and the shallows in the backs of creeks are colder. 50-52 degrees. Warmer water and low water levels are the reasons the fish are on main lake stuff.

Dam and Gravois areas: Clear with a little color in the water up the Gravois. The dominate pattern right now is football jigs fished against the bluff banks down to 35' deep. This is really a winter pattern that really picks up in December. I think the fact the lake is 3' low triggered the movement to the bluffs. Jigs from Eakins 5/16 up to 3/4 football jigs fished up against the bluffs from North Shore up into the Gravois. The fish can be against the bluff in 4' of water or down on a ledge as deep as 35'. Look for rocks slides in the middle of the bluffs and the points on the ends. Natural color jigs work best. Browns and greens. Up the Gravois where there is a little color to the water fish can be caught on Crankbaits and spinnerbaits. If they’re being fussy try a tube or jig behind docks.

Glaize: Clear with some color in the upper reaches. The first couple of miles of the Glaize has more keepers than any where in the lake. But these retreads are really showing wear. 15" to 17" fish are skinny as a rail. And the bigger ones have carpet rash marks all over them. Unlike to fish in the river or the Dam area that are just as fat and healthy as can be. It is a good thing there are a lot of shad in that part of the Glaize. Maybe this winter some of them fish can get a break and get healthy again. If you want to help them. Catch them and release them into the main Osage near the bank. They will find less competition for food there. The best way to catch them lately has been jigging the bluffs. But you can also catch them on top waters and spinnerbaits when the conditions are cloudy. Stop in at Osage Beach Bait & Tackle. They have a ton of these football jigs and a good selection of spinnerbaits.

Nianguas: Clear with stained water in the upper reaches. The Nianguas are still a little tough to figure out. Their not like the Dam area or Glaize. You don’t get a ton of bites. But sometimes good quality. Still it is hard to catch the weights that are needed at this lake. The rivers are good because of the lack of pressure lets a fishermen be at peace for they can figure the fish out instead of worry about all the fishing traffic. If you fish in the best areas (Dam and Glaize) you have to expect boats on top of boats. In the not so good spots an angler can adopt to the fish. The best action seems to be coming from the mouth of the Big Niangua around the Osage split to the mouth of the Little Niangua. The bass are moving in and out of the feeder creeks to the main lake points. On the main lake points they can be caught on DD 22 in shad color and football jigs. Back in the feeder creeks fish the chunk rock channel swings with jigs and crankbaits.

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. Areas of the river are really going to be cold after these cold front. Some spots were in the low 50's. Might seem them slip down into the upper 40's by the weekend. Keep in mind, it is good to hold onto the warm temps will you still can. Look for the warmest water in the river and fish there. With the cooler water temps slow rolling a spinnerbait and fishing a jig along chunk rock channel banks will be hard to beat.

Thanks and Good Luck!

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