Missouri Lakes Fishing Report by Steve Wilson

Lake - Lake of The Ozarks 07/11/07:

There will be heavy generation at Bagnell and Truman Dams till they get the water levels down at Truman. All of the flooding rains have flooded Truman big time.

Lake level: 659.76 with heavy generation scheduled for the next few days. The lake should stay around 659.8 the next few days. Truman: 729.5 and rising.

Water temps 81-86 degrees

Dam and Gravois areas: Mostly stained with some clear water in some places in the Gravois. With all the current going through the main lake. Points and main lake structure fishing has been the way to go. The activity level (depth where you see the most bait on your depthfinder) is the deepest in the whole lake here in the lower end. There is a lot of activity around 12'-16' (bait) and then around 20'-25' (Bass) So look for cover (brush piles) on structure starting around 12' down to 25'. Some of the best lures to fish these places are Texas rigged 10" Power Worms, Football jigs, Carolina rigs and deep cranks. On sunny days those fish are moving right into that brush. Cloudy days are the best deep crank days and if you see fish breaking off the points topwaters can also be good. A good back up plan to the structure pattern. (Sometimes boat traffic keeps you off the points) Fish the deep docks near the points. Some will have brush. Fish those with a Texas rigged 10" Power Worm. This is a great pattern for night fishing on the weekend.

Glaize: Stained with some clearing water around PB 2. The best fishing has been in the first couple of miles of the Glaize. With all the generation there has been plenty of current to position baitfish on the deep structure where they can easily ambushed by the bass. The same lures as mentioned above are working here. And the night bite is very good. Add a black spinnerbait on those cloudy nights. There is fish at all depth ranges in this part of the lake. They are stockpiled on top of each other in the Glaize from all the tournaments. You never see a release boat anymore. It should be mandatory. So look for fish from 2'-25'. I launched in the Glaize Monday and caught a couple keepers on a jig on a boulder that was 2' deep. One was 5#’s. Then I moved out to a brush pile in 25' of water and caught 2- 4# fish on a bigger jig. So there is just a lot of fish through out those depth ranges.

Nianguas: Clear to stained. The first couple of miles of the rivers provides the best structure fishing. Points, humps and river channel ledges are holding fish. The activity range here seems to be a little shallower 6'-12' with some fish down to 16'. Texas rigs, football jigs, deep diving cranks and carolina rigs all are producing fish. Brush around docks on steeper banks (best if around points) has been holding quality fish. Jigs and Texas rigged worms are best. During cloudy days the topwater bite has been good in this area of the lake. Steep main lake points have been good for walking baits such as the spook.

Osage River: Stained to muddy. Fishing has really been up and down with the lake level here. At least the shallow fishing has. The most reliable pattern has been main river points. The fish have been holding on these points no matter if the lake is falling or rising. Texas rigs, football jigs and Carolina rigs have all been working on the points. Docks near the mouth of the creeks with brush are also good. Fish the brush around them with big jigs such as the Rattleback in 3/8 to ½. Also creature baits and big plastic worms are taking quality fish. The fish are really taking advantage of all this current. They aren’t right out in the main current but they are pretty close to it. All this flooding at Truman and current is showing us some different fishing conditions then we have seen in years past. Time to learn as much as you can.

Note: I have changed internet providers. My new internet address is Bassfactory@Charter.net Drop me a line and book a trip with BassFactory Intructional Fishing Trips. Fishing could not be any better in the Ozarks!

Good Luck!

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