CapnKenny

Regarding the females, I read someplace that when the females come in towards the bank and release their eggs they only release a portion and return to deeper water afterwards. They will do this several times, it is Mother Nature's way a preserving the species (in case the lake level drops suddenly and the eggs are left high and dry). The cooler weather this week probably has pushed the fish out a little deeper than normal.

A friend of mine mentioned that he has been picking up a few fish using minnows behind the docks....but generally fishing has been tough.

I fished a little while yesterday above Hurricane Deck bridge and found the crappie in closer to the bank than Saturday. We caught several in 4-7 feet of water using 1/16 Roadrunners with either a white or chartreuse mister twister tail - crappie nibbles didn't seem to matter. The surface water temp was 62, the water clarity was pretty good expecially since they are letting the water flow from Truman. The fishing should be great for the next couple weeks.

I have really good luck with Slimy Grimy http://www.slimygrimy.com/ it is safe for the environment too!

Bill, any particular color in the Pop R? I may pick up a couple to use with my 7yr old for this weekend - thanks!

Hi, my son and I are getting ready to take up dock shooting to experience some nice summer action - hopefully. Is anyone on this forum having any recent success at the lake? We may have a chance to get out this weekend and was wondering how the bite was doing giving all the rain and the slow down with letting water out of the lake. Thanks!

Hi, I haven't tried jugging for blues this year - but checked my jugs a couple weeks ago and have them all ready. I fish around the mid-lake area too. I set my hooks anywhere from 6-15 foot deep off my jugs and many times the 9-12 foot range gets most of the action. I'm curious, how deep are you fishing? I typically use fresh cut shad and have pretty good luck on that, I'll have to give the live bait a shot. Thanks for the report.

Hi Jacob, I have a place near the 31mm. I don't bass fish so I'll leave it to others to advise you there. I see you are bringing your family down for the week. You didn't mention it, but if you are thinking about a guide trip I'd suggest you check out http://www.fishinglakeoftheozarks.com/. I have been out with this guy before and he is great with families and little kids. August is still a great time to get into some crappie action for the little ones. Have fun on your vacation!

For the past several years I have taken the first week of May and fished exclusively for crappie. I always fish with my father who turned 81 this year and the weather always seemed to be better once we turned the corner into May. Having said that, I've observed over the last few years from my experience and various reports is that the last two weeks of April seemed to offer better fishing particularly if the water warms up quicker than usual. I've experienced this on both Truman and LOZ. A couple years ago I was fishing Truman the first week of May and the spawn was basically over since the weather was unusually warm that year. I'm taking next week as vacation and will be fishing LOZ, but next year I think I'm going to move my trip up at least a week if not two. The crappie are still spawning at LOZ and have been for a few weeks. I think the cooler weather has prolonged the spawn and the population of fish is up from last year in the mid-lake area. I expect my Dad and I will have a pretty good week based on the information I've been getting.

Bragger, you can't make a post like that and not provide any details! Come on, give up some bite details on both. We are all interested in hearing how this latest front has effected both the crappie and the "trout".

Fish Dreamer - you mind sharing some tips on how your fishing behind the docks with minnows. The only way I can think of is for both guys to be up front on the casting deck (bass boat assumed) and fish with long jigging poles. I'd like to have my little kids experience that fun, but they aren't experienced enough to cast into such tight quarters so long poles may be the ticket.

It was brutal Saturday with the temps and the winds, and even though my 6 yr old and I didn't slay them we caught enough to make it fun. Mostly males that were scattered about 4-8 feet off the bank, we were fishing the mid-lake area. Most came off jigs outfitted with a crappie nibble (my son refers to them as stink bait!), red/chart or black/chart seem to work the best. I noticed the water temp had cooled a bit, about 56 degrees. We fished today and ended up with about the same count, but a little better fish. I was using a white power grub today. I'd like to hear how others did this weekend and if you think fishing will pick back up with some warmer weather. We missed the awesome fishing last weekend when they were on the banks, but I'm hoping to catch the next wave should there be one.

The ramp is actually in the State Park. Come up hwy 54 through Osage Beach, the State Park entrance is will be on your right past Lake Regional Hospital. If you hit the Grand Glaze bridge you will have gone to far. Sorry, I don't have a bass report for you.

Slothman, thanks for the feedback. My little boy and I will be out there tomorrow - wind and all. If we find them I'll be sure to post the details.

Any thoughts from anybody as to how this upcoming cold front will effect the crappie this weekend?