Bill Y.

Thanks for the information.... I don't really like fishing for largemouth or crappie.... Guess I'll find something else to do.

Hi My dad, brother and I are going fishing at the Niangua arm of Lake of The Ozarks May 7th to the 11th. We are going to be staying at Kon Tiki Resort. I've never been fishing at Lake of The Ozarks. My dad and brother are mainly fishing for crappie. I don't care much for pan fishing and was wondering about other species of fish in the Niangua arm... Does that part of the lake have a good walleye population?? What are the best ways to catch walleye there this time of year?? Is there any pure striped bass in Niangua, or just hybrids and white bass?? What are the best ways to catch them?? I've heard that Niangua also has some muskies that escaped from Pomme de Terre... How many do u think are in there?? Would it be worth my time to put on a muskie lure?? Have there been any recent sightings of muskie?? Besides largemouth and catfish what other sport fishes are there to catch in the Niangua arm?? Thanks for your help :) Bill

Jon Boats are $75.00... I asked about discounts and the lady didn't know what I was talking about. I asked if they could take the motor off the Jon Boat, charge me less, and she said no. Guess I'll find some other place to fish for muskies, like in Illinois.

Still too warm to be fishing for muskies.... A muskie should only be kept out of the water for as long as you can hold your breath. Any longer on these warm days will kill the muskie. It may swim away, but could die hours or days later.

Hi... I'm thinking about fishing Fellows lake later this month with my oldest brother and was wondering if they have Jon Boats to rent?? I haven't fished Fellows in over five years and never even met the new owners... I've heard that they have new boats, etc... I need a fishing boat that's fairly cheap.

I stopped fishing for muskies in Missouri a few years ago because I don't like the way the conservation dept manages muskies, and because hardly anyone in Missouri knows how to handle a muskie after being caught. I've personally witnessed this many times, especially at Fellows Lake. Even trying to educate fishermen for many, many years has not worked and they don't get it or just don't care... Fellows Lake used to be a gem for muskies. One October day back in 2004 I caught 5 muskies over 40 inches. All were released immediately unharmed. But now that the lake is more popular, you got more people fishing for muskie, killing them and taking up space making it more difficult to catch a muskie. Plus, the new owners of the marina only care about making money and have allowed more recreational boating and pollution. I only fish Illinois these days because they seem to have a better handle on managing muskies and Illinois fishermen are more knowledgeable about muskies because they have a lot more muskie lakes in Illinois than Missouri.

Wow, you just don't get it and probably never will... There is no plan, I really don't care who fishes it, cause after the lake becomes more popular, more boat traffic, more pollution and more people hogging areas for hours I'm never going back... Fellows is man made, duh. That doesn't mean it has to be exploited or turned into a recreational lake for pontoon boats, kayakers, water skiers, etc, etc. Fellows used to be great years ago, but is now just a shadow of it's former self, but you probably haven't been fishing long enough to remember that... Yep, some of those northern lakes are great, most people up there actually have respect for the environment, for other fishermen and for the sport fish they chase after. Down here it's all about exploitation, ignorance and selfishness.

~WOW- I never said that it was just my lake, you're missing the whole point and trying to turn it into something else, and trying to start a fight... You are obviously not reading or understanding my posts.... A small lake like Fellows does not need a marina or all those recreational boats, or crowds of people... And now, they want to make it even more popular??? This is not about whose lake it is. This is about greed and people who want to exploit the lake over and over to make money, while the fishing pressure increases and so does crowds, etc.. I don't care how nice these people are, (used car salesmen are nice too) what they are doing is not helping the fishing and just increasing boat traffic, etc. Fellows is not a big reservoir like Pomme or Stockton. I don't care about them or money, I want a decent, peaceful fishing lake that is not crammed with people, polluted, boat traffic and lousy fishing, etc. What they should do is get rid of the marina, only allow trolling motors and try to make it into a more natural area, instead of turning the lake into just another crowded, polluted recreational reservoir that is over fished and a circus. Like I said before, I'm going to fish Fellows for a while longer until the fishing pressure really starts to increase and the fishing gets even worse, then I'm going out of State to fish for bass, crappie, muskie up in the northern states... PS. I don't even fish for crappie at Fellows anymore because too many people fish for them already and I don't want to add to the demise... Plus, I don't want to be one of those jerks that sits in one area for hours on end while other people are trying to fish there. It' called being rude, selfish and dumb. Fellows is too small of a lake for that kind of behavior.

Perhaps you enjoy fishing crowded lakes with recreational boats (eyesores), polluted shoreline, a marina and other fishermen all over hogging areas like they own the lake, but I don't and it shouldn't have to be like that... Why must Fellows be like all the rest of the reservoirs in Missouri?? There's hardly any lakes where you can get any peace and quite unless you go out of State... I remember many, many years ago when Fellows was a nice little gem with hardly any boat traffic and fishing was great, not uncommon to catch a bass in the 20 inch range and slab crappie. Those days are now long gone thanks to the lake becoming more popular. I know they're gonna stay, just like Jim and Jan Carter did, I never said that they weren't so don't go putting words in my mouth and I already stated that they're not going to get a penny from me (except a darn boat tag) and hopefully other people won't fall into their money trap. To me, those people are no better than used car salesmen. I'm going to continue fishing Fellows until it becomes too much to bare, then I'm going to fish out of State, like Northern Wisconsin, Minnesota and Canada where the fishing is awesome. PS. Last year I had a Kayaker come right up to my boat and ask if I had a lighter so he could lite up his cigarette, only I don't think it was a cigarette.

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Don't be fooled... All those people really want is to make more money. That's their main goal.... Fellows Lake already gets way too much fishing pressure and they want to make it even more popular and bring in more crowds?? That means more fishermen, recreational boats, boat traffic, more pollution and less places to fish... That also means less fish. Fellows used to have a fairly decent crappie and bass population, but as it got more popular and more fishermen kept over harvesting, keeping undersized fish, etc. the population got worse and worse. The MDC does not stock crappie, bass or walleye, they rely solely on reproduction... Fellows Lake used to have smallmouth bass a long time ago, but thanks to these greedy, dim witted fishermen they are all gone. Some of these crappie and bass fishermen don't give a darn about over harvesting or keeping undersized fish, they somehow think the population is unlimited. Then when the fishing starts to get worse they blame other people or muskies, but keep right on doing what they've always done. I can't even tell you how many times I've been to Fellows and wanted to fish the north arm and there all these crappie boats lined up just sitting there for hours, and then no one else can fish the area... So, you either gotta go around them or just avoid the whole area. I've also been pushed out of an area by rude fishermen... It's even going to be more of a headache if Fellows gets more fishing pressure!! One of the main reasons I go fishing is to get some peace and quite, but it's almost impossible to do any more. They should get rid of the whole marina if they want to go back to the good old days!!! Why do they even need a marnia at Fellows Lake?? It's not that big of a lake...It's because They want to exploit the lake so they can make MONEY.

I've heard some disturbing reports of crappie fishermen killing muskies on purpose by gutting them or throwing them on the bank, because they feel muskies are eating up the crappie and diminishing the crappie population. Not true. There is a lot of speculation that they are eating machines and are capable of decimating other species populations that exist in the same system. Yes, muskies eat other fish, and they might even occasionally snag a crappie, bluegill, or even a walleye, but not nearly as often as some would like to have you believe. There is a lot of data recorded through Muskies Inc. that indicates a muskies’ diet consists far more of rough fish than it does other species like crappie, bass or walleye... Muskies are a lot like people and don't want to exert any more effort than needed to accomplish a task. A rough fish, such as suckers, carp, shad, etc. are far easier to prey upon than a quickly moving bass or crappie. Plus, they seem to prefer rough fish species... By keeping rough fish populations in check, muskies are a key ingredient to maintaining a healthy fishery for all sport fish. I've also heard reports of people accidentally killing muskies because they don't know the proper way to handle them or release them... Never over play a muskie! Take special care when removing hooks and do not rip up the muskies mouth!! You should never hold the fish vertically for either measuring or taking a photo, as it can cause damage to both the internal organs of the fish and/or the jaw. If you place your hand in the gills, that could also prove deadly to the fish. A muskie is naturally supported by water in a horizontal fashion, and we should try to keep them horizontal as much as possible. Only keep a muskie out of water for as long as you can hold your breath. Do not fish for muskies in water that is 80 degrees or higher. The MDC spends a lot of money and time to provide a unique fishing opportunity for us here in MO and there's no reason to kill muskies!

Hi, Fellows lake used to have smallmouth back in the '70s but are all gone now thanks to overharvesting... They have largemouth and some white bass but no smallmouth bass in Fellows Lake.

The MDC took out a 51 inch muskie during spring sampling at Fellows... There has never been any 60 inch muskies. The State Record muskie is 49 ½ inches long and came out of the Niangua Arm of Lake of the Ozarks back in 1981.

Hey, I was talking to Jim at Fellows marina and he told me after the last flood some muskies went over the spillway at Fellows and are now in McDaniels Lake... Does anyone know anything about this, and how many muskies went over and now live in McDaniels??? I would like to fish McDaniels, but doesn't it have a bunch of restrictions and you can only fish it from a bridge?? Thanks.