Missouri Lakes Fishing Report by Steve Wilson

Lake - Lake of The Ozarks 12/19/07:

Higher than normal water level has made the fishing a little tougher than years past here at The Lake of the Ozarks.
 
Normally this lake is drown down to winter pool by now. Which puts the same amount of fish in less water. It actually schools the fish up in deep holes.  But there are still good stringers to catch. The fish are just a little more scattered out and it takes a little more work to catch a limit.  

Lake level: 659.03 with minimum generation scheduled for the next few days. This should hold lake around 659  Truman 706

Water temps: 43-48 degrees

Dam and Gravois areas to Hurricane Deck Bridge: Clear to slightly stained. This is the part of the lake I have been focusing my fishing. The reason is: I break down all man-made lakes the same way. I looked at them as funnels. Meaning they’re wide at the mouth (Dam) and the narrow down into rivers. Those narrows in the rivers have water spread out into creeks and cover all over the place. And dirtier water conditions. With the lake up this leaves you with too much cover to fish and cold, dirty water conditions. On the lower end of the funnel the water is clearer and these deep fish have moved shallower on the available cover. The question is what cover to fish and which baits to fish it with. The best cover to fish has been rocks on the pea gravel secondary points. This secondaries are located just inside creeks (coves) usually where two smaller creeks split in the back. The best baits have been slow rolled spinnerbaits, suspending jerkbaits and wiggle wart crankbaits fished shallow. Once you find a good secondary back off and fish it deeper with a ½ to 3/4 football jig. Most of the time the better secondaries have a brush pile or two out deep. This is where these fish spend time when they are not feeding. Fish the football jig around till you hit that brush. Mark it with your GPS. Then fish it slowly. Usually you can pick up an extra keeper or a big fish doing this. It will also teach you more about that secondary. You will understand why that secondary is so productive.

Another cover the bass have been using is Boat Docks. The boat dock bite has been really good this winter due to the higher than normal lake level. They have stayed on the docks with brush ambushing large gizzard shad. Normally I am all about fishing rocks this time of the year. And my boat can usually be seen fishing down a channel bank in the river. But not this year. I have had better luck fishing docks. I been slow rolling a white spinnerbait and fishing a jerkbait around them. But the best bait has been the jig. I have been fishing a 5/16 finesse jig on light line and a 3/8 Rattleback on 20# line. They have been biting both them good. I go with the heavy stuff behind the cables and fish the finesse jig on the rest of the dock. And they are not as deep as you would think. For me 4'-10' is where I am catching all my jig fish. Natural browns and greens are working best.

Bluffs: The bluffs on the lower end are producing. Fish go up and down on this vertical cover as the water level goes up and down. I like to throw a jerkbait or slow roll a spinnerbait on the bluff end points. But the stuff in the middle of the bluff I fish with a jig. I look for rock slides and small indentations in the vertical bluffs. These make a radical depth change. From very deep to shallow. Fish can be caught right up against the rocks on this structure. I know a lot of people are catching them on bigger football jigs fished deep on the bluffs. But I am doing better with a small finesse jig fished right against the rocks from 2' down to 10' deep. I am seeing some really big spotted bass come off this structure.

Note: Sorry about not having a report up for a while. I was really sick and didn’t get back on the lake till last week. It took me a few days to get back on the fish. And the weather sure isn’t helping much. I fish in the cold and the snow. No problem. But I stay inside when it rains. If you have any questions about fishing patterns/lures or would like to book a trip at Bassfactory Instructional Fishing Trips send me an email at Bassfactory@Charter.net

Thanks and Good Luck!!!

Drop me a line at Bassfactory@Charter.net and book a trip with BassFactory Intructional Fishing Trips. Fishing could not be any better in the Ozarks!

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