Missouri Lakes Fishing Report by Steve Wilson

Lake - Lake of The Ozarks 03/28/08:

The fishing is starting to get better now the water temps have risen a little. But threats of more flooding aren’t going to help the muddy water situation. 

Lake level: 658.7 and rising. Heavy generation is predicted for the next few days. They are dropping Truman to try and get ready for any heavy rains. So the water is predicted to rise here to 659 by the end of this weekend. Sunday and Monday heavy rains are predicted so I expect to see 660 and a dirty lake. 

Water temps: 45-56 degrees    
 

Last weeks flooding rains had a big impact on this lake. The way I like to fish a flooding lake is by tracking which direction the storm is headed and then checking out my map to see how that is going to effect regions of the lake. The storm came from the south and they had 6.5" of rain in Lebanon and flooding on the Gasconade river near Hwy 44. So a lot of run off is coming into the lake in the Nianguas and the Glaize. They are the muddiest. Where there wasn’t as much rain to the North and the Gravois has the best quality water. There wasn’t much rain to the West and the Osage River has some good quality water in the lower section of it near Hurricane Deck Bridge. But all this will change with the new storm coming in this Sunday-Monday.
 
Gravois and Dam area to the Toll Bridge. As you head from the Toll Bridge the water gets better quality. Bagnell Dam is generating heavy and pulling that muddy water right out of the Glaize. It starts bleeding off around the 10 mile marker and mixing in the creeks with water that is a little clearer. The majority of the Gravois has good fishable conditions. This is the easiest area to find quality water. Just go around looking for slightly clearer water. If there is some gulls in that section of water that will indicate there are some baitfish in the area. They are there to eat the dying shad just like the bass are. Use jerkbaits in these areas. Target secondary points and channel banks in that slightly clearer water. Rogues,Lucky Craft Pointer 100 and 78's and MegaBass Vision 110's all are working with shad colors still working best. Jigs fished on the channel banks and around docks are also catching quality fish. There is a little bit of a wiggle wart pattern developing but flooding and this cold front will hurt it.

 
 Glaize: Wow! Whatever you do don’t try to walk across it. Because that mud is 47-50 degrees. The Glaize got hit pretty hard by the run off. I would call it very muddy on my water color scale. But you can find water that is slightly clearer. And  bass don’t just stop eating and kill themselves just because the water got muddy. I fished here last weekend. Just because I knew it would be one of the few times the Glaize wouldn’t get any pressure on the weekend. You need to pick a lure with a big profile like a jig or a spinnerbait and hit them right on their heads with it. I know I didn’t get a bunch of bites. Just 4. But one of them was the size of a small child. So if you have to fish in the mud make it count. Pick lures that move water and put out a strong signature so the bass can find it.

Nianguas: The flood really impacted this area also. Most of the Nianguas are really dirty. But the situation here isn’t as bad as the Glaize. Tunnel Dam helps keep the water clearer in this area. So it is starting to clear in some sections. In the clearing sections the bite is starting to pick up. Jigs and  wiggle warts are picking up a few fish. The fish are holding on rock transitions. And some around boat docks. 

Osage River: Very Muddy strong current in upper sections. Stained more fishable conditions towards Hurricane Deck Bridge. The river didn’t get a lot of run off from the storm. What is hurting, at least the upper section, is all the current from the water being released from Truman Dam. That is why it is 3/4 muddy and 1/4 stained. There is a mud line in the Osage River making its way down lake. The fishing is better below that mudline. In the stained section of the Osage the fish are being caught on Jigs, wiggle warts and a few on spinnerbaits. One thing about the river is the fish really move up and down with the water level. This weekend the water level is going up and the fish will go up with it.

Thanks and Good Luck!

Note:  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

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