Phil Lilley

She had permission to post here.

418 area code correct? No problem on the post.

When crappie spawn on Lake of the Ozarks, catching them can be as simple as casting a jig or minnow to a shallow brush pile. Within a matter of minutes you'll be hauling in a mess of these popular panfish. Since the actual crappie spawn can be short-lived, some anglers who depend on catching them in the shallows miss out on some good action by not fishing the entire crappie spawning cycle from pre-spawn to post-spawn. The following tips will help you to find and catch crappie through the spawning cycle on Lake of the Ozarks. This central Missouri reservoir probably offers the most consistent year-round crappie fishing in the state, but its best action occurs during the spawning cycle. The pre-spawn begins when crappie stage in March 5 to 8 feet deep near the spawning banks (a mixture of pea gravel with chunk rock in the backs of coves or pockets of river bends). Crappie move into the pre-spawn stage when the water temperature reaches 45 degrees. In clear water, throw a light pink (shrimp-colored) tube jig with either a 1/16-or 1/32-ounce jighead. For darker colored water, select a purple-and-white or black-and-chartreuse hues. If the fish refuse to these offerings, switch to a marabou jig. Use ultralight spinning tackle and 4-pound test line. Retrieve the jig slowly, but if the water has warmed, switch to a Roadrunner and swim it through the brush. When a cold front hits and drops the water temperature, attach a bobber about 6 feet above your jig and let this combination dangle over a brush pile. The bobber-and-jig system allows you to keep your lure in the crappie's strike zone longer than his other presentations. Lake of the Ozarks crappie move in to spawn when the water temperature ranges from 52 to 62 degrees. In early April, they fish will just about be on the bank spawning. The fish will be in about 1 1/2 to 6 feet of water along the pea gravel banks. Nesting areas are easy to find if the water is clear. The fish fan out about an 18-inch to 36-inch diameter nest. When you look at the bottom, it will look like silver dollars down where they've fanned all the silt away from the rocks. A variety of plastic-bodied jigs, including Sassy Shads, tube jigs or curly tail bodies, work during the spawn. Five basic colors to try are purple-and-white, chartreuse tail with yellow body, hot pink, a red/yellow combination and pearl. During the spawn, the fish become more aggressive and attack anything that gets close to the nest. Try a 1/8th-ounce jig and attach a small cork set about 1 1/2 feet above the lure. Cast the jig and cork toward the spawning area. Roll the cork with your rod which moves the jig just enough to attract attention. When on the nest, a crappie will attack it. After the spawn (usually late April and early May), crappie will start moving deeper. As the water gets progressively warmer, the fish will go progressively deeper. Anglers need to fish the same type of brush where they found crappie in the pre-spawn, usually in the 8- to 12-foot range. Whereas the crappie bite all day during the spawn, the best fishing now will be in the early morning, late evening or at night. If the surface temperature jumps into the 70- to 80-degree range, the crappie will seek shady hideouts 15 to 20 feet deep. Hang a lantern on a dock to catch crappie at night. The best bait is a minnow fished straight down in the brush. In late May, the crappie are nearly in a summertime pattern. Start looking for beds closer to the main channel because the water's cooler there. Look for fish in the 12-foot range and then probe deeper until you find crappie. Minnows are the exclusive bait during this time of year. The shad population replenishes during this time, and the crappie start pursuing livelier and larger prey than a jig offers. Hook medium-size minnows behind the dorsal fin to prevent driving the hook through the bait's vital parts and killing it. The bait rig should include a number 4 to 6 hook and a 1/16-once split shot set 6 to 8 inches above the hook The spawning cycle ends when crappie return to their deep brush piles (18 to 20 feet deep) for the summer. For information on lodging and other facilities at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a free 162-page vacation guide, call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-FUN-LAKE or visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at funlake.com.

Wrong dam... this is below Bull Shoals Dam, not Beaver.

For those who are wondering, no damage on the upper lake. Stormed passed over taneycomo at the landing. Not good there though. Scotty's is ok I think.

Marsha is KU alum. She'll be those seats second half. She' ll be in blue!

Going to KU at OSU tonight. Watch for me a couple of rows behind official table. Maybe the cowboys can throw a monkey wrench into KU's road to the title.

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Great day for fishing. Our trout, though, didn't cooperate as well as most would have liked. But there was some good weights brought in.

Would like the opinion of a fishery biologist. In OK, until just recently, there wasn't a limit on sand bass and there seemed to be an unlimited number of them on many lakes. They were once considered trash fish so many at that time they weren't harvested like they are today. I believe it would be difficult, but not impossible, to over harvest them. The damage to the population would be as they are or just before they spawn and that's when they're targeted the most and easiest to catch. I say difficult because one female lays so many eggs. The thing that hurts the population most is weather/rain. Cold fronts at the wrong time and/or a lack of rain and/or other weather related conditions will put the hurt on the spawn and affect future populations much more than harvesting them, I would think.

After wrestling with the Tapatalk people and finally paying them to help install the app on the forum, it's done and should be working. They give us just enough info to almost get it installed - actually leave one step out. Then, if you pay them $25, they'll finish it for you. Oh well... everyone has to make a living.

No music... I'd rather hear the birds. But I am putting a bunch together mainly for our resort site. Not sure about selling them.

<iframe width="640" height="360" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/ysUZazvQRXw?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> Just a short clip of my trip the other day. This bird came pretty close - I could see his eyes and it wasn't on me, the dog or the boat. It was on the fish!

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/TX6CggbUgjM?rel=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe><br><br> This is another instructional video for those who like to drift Gulp Powerbait eggs on Lake Taneycomo. Hope this is helpful! Watch in HD if you can. You'll be able to see the rod better.

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You didn't tell me it was your birthday! Be fun to go tonight with ya. I'll bring a cake.

http://www.ozarkanglers.com/blog/2012/02/20/tims-crane-creek-audible-fishing-report-220/ Good one! Share it on facebook if you get a chance.

About 18 inches. yes- same rig.

Babler uses the same configuration as the rigs in our shop. I just use a split shot above the fly(s)

http://ozarkflyfisherjournal.wordpress.com/2012/02/13/show-me-the-shad-baby/

The walleye this guy is talking about are being caught down lake I'm sure.

If you knew their habits here on Taneycomo, I'm sure you could hone in on them and be successful. He's right about the amount of anglers fishing for trout only and not targeting other fish. Yes some do but not as many as other area lakes. I don't know of any guides targeting walleye but that doesn't mean much... I doubt if he's blowing smoke.

Got out this afternoon and fished with friend John Johnson. Boated up to the Narrows and started with jig and float... and ended with pretty much the same thing. Four feet under an indicator, I used a black half-micro jig, John used a 1/125th oz scuplin/ginger with an orange head -- 2 pound line. Actually fished below the Narrows and up against the chunk rock bank and down to the boat ramp and caught rainbows. Some were nice - up to 14 inches, heavy and fought hard. Great conditions- cloudy and a slight breeze chopped the water perfectly. Boat traffic didn't seem to bother the bite. Everyone was nice and polite. Looks like they're going to run water tomorrow. The boys have already rigged up with an egg fly / scud tandem for drifting the trophy area.

http://www.ozarkanglers.com/blog/2012/02/17/bablers-table-rock-audio-fishing-report-21712/ Bill's audio report.

They're doing the same with the lakes down here. All lakes in our chain are higher than 2011 right now.