Missouri Lakes Fishing Report by Steve Wilson

Lake - Lake of The Ozarks 04/03/08:

Heavy rains throughout the lake area Monday left the lake high and muddy. The lake level peaked around 660.7 Close to 661. Heavy generation and open flood gates at Bagnell Dam have got the situation under control if we don’t get a whole bunch of rain Thursday. The fishing has been tough. But not impossible. The key is to locate the best quality water. Just the same as any lake under flood conditions.  

Lake level: 658.9 They have 11 flood gates open at Bagnell Dam. So water is moving through the main channel. Truman is 717.6 and rising. They are holding water back to keep this lake from flooding. Lake of the Ozarks is dropping to create a buffer for the storms possibly heading this direction. But we haven’t got very much rain yet. It looks like it could pass just to the south of here. 

Water temps: 48-55 degrees     
 
Gravois and Dam area to the Toll Bridge. There is dirty water in the main channel of the Osage all the way to Bagnell Dam. Inside the creeks the water goes from muddy to stained. Depending on how soon after a rain that muddy to stained water color line will move and mix throughout the creek. The best baits have been Jigs, wiggle warts and spinnerbaits. There are some fish being caught on Pointer 100's if you can find the water clarity for it. Chuck rock transitions to pea gravel and secondary points have been holding fish. Also there are a few fish being caught behind docks with jigs. The best docks have been on steep banks. This year reminds me a lot of the spring of 1994. The water came up real fast and you needed a bait that could push a little water in order to get bit.

 
 Glaize: Cold muddy water. I have been avoiding this area of the lake because it is so muddy. But that is probably a mistake. Those fish probably adjusted to that muddy water and can be caught now. Try a slow moving lure such as a jig in a dark color and larger profile and fish it on the rock transitions and behind the docks. 

Nianguas: The Niangaus are still real dirty. But there is some clearing conditions starting to develope. It is also warmer in this section of the lake. The fish are holding on chunk rock transitions. Chunk rock to pea gravel and if there is any wood along the transition that makes it better. Jigs, wiggle warts and spinnerbaits fished along this transitions work good. Pick your lures based on water color. Those natural translucent colors that worked so well last season don’t work as good in these dirty conditions. Fish solid colors that put off a good profile in the water.  

Osage River: Very Muddy strong current in upper sections. Climax Springs got 3.5 inches of rain from Sunday and Mondays rain. So the Osage was hit hard this time. Some creeks are worse than others. And some still have small sections of stained water in them. But that could be changed with one good rain storm. The bite was good in this section of the lake last weekend. But a lot of them places where the fish were biting were washed out by the run off. There are still fish to catch up here you just need to make the adjustment to the fish. They are moving with changing conditions. Once you get a bite though there are usually a few in the same area. Also lure selection and colors are easy to pick when your faced with these conditions. Remember a fish in this dirty conditions just sees a flash from the profile of the lure. It also helps if it puts out a strong signature by moving a lot of water like a wiggle wart does. 

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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