Missouri Lakes Fishing Report by Steve Wilson

Lake - Lake of The Ozarks 08/17/07:

The Lake of the Ozarks has been through a lot of change in the last few weeks. We have gone from heavy current and lake levels of just a few tenths over 660 to minimum generation and a two foot drop in lake levels. The main Osage went from muddy to clear within that time frame. And we are in dire need of some rain to wash in some nutrients and feed these baitfish.

Lake level: 658.23 with medium generation scheduled for today and minimum for Sat and Sun. This should bring the lake down to 658.1 then 658.0 Truman: 708.

Water temps extreme! 86-low 90's in the shallows. This is very hard on fish. Extreme water temps purge the system of weak fish.

Dam and Gravois areas: Clear. Now that the current has slowed. The waters in this end of the lake have really cleared. There was a few patterns going on in this end of the lake. But this weeks extreme temps have limited what a fish is willing to do. It seems pretty dead in a lot of areas. In the mourning it has been best to go straight to the deep water. The lack of rain has really hurt the shallow bite. And topwater has been more miss than hit. The football head jig really shines under these "pull the plug" conditions. After all the lake did fall 2 feet. Points, channel swing ledges and humps are all holding fish. And don’t be afraid to use the 3/4-1 ounce football head jigs. These fish have moved deeper. Start around 15' and fish down to 30' till you make contact. You can look for bait on your depthfinder but they haven’t been very active lately. So the best way has been to get a bite and take note of the depth you caught that fish. Start concentrating your fishing efforts in that depth range on structure. Deep crankbaits have also been taking some fish on the shallower structure and brushpiles. DD 22's have been the most popular bait.

Glaize: Clear. The best fishing has been on the structure in the first couple of miles of the Glaize. At least the boat traffic has slowed down. The same patterns as mentioned before are working here also. Deep bite is dominate with the falling lake. Football jigs, Texas rigs and carolina rigs on points.

Nianguas: Clear. The lack of rain has really hurt the Nianguas. The water has been really clear throughout both rivers and that is keeping the fish deep. The first couple of miles of the rivers provides the best structure fishing. Points, humps and river channel ledges are holding fish. 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.

Osage River: Clear, stained and slightly muddy in the main channel in the upper portions. The river is starting to settle down a little with the decreased current. The flush that the Osage had the last month had to shift some things around and silt in some areas. So the upper portion should going to be different than years past. And the middle portions of the Osage shouldn’t be effected as much. With the falling water the fish are positioned on points and just inside creeks where they can be caught on medium depth crankbaits, Texas rigs and jigs. Deeper docks toward the main Osage are also productive. Texas rigged worms and jigs fished in and around the brush on the docks is a good way to catch quality fish.

Good Luck!

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!

Click here to email Steve Wilson and
schedule your fully guided dream trip today.