Report 4/7-4/9

[catman70]

Well, the crappie are definately begining to move shallow. Limited out on nothing smaller than 11" Thursday night and Friday morning using minnows and jigs in 4-8 feet of water on or near brush. We're directly across from the Gravois Arm on the 6-mile marker – much farther downstream than from where most of the reports have been coming in. Bass still seem to be fairly sluggish and have not moved shallow. We did manage to catch a few in the 2-3 lbs. range using shad-raps and jerk baits in a perch color. There are a lot of bluegill around the docks after the sun comes up for a bit. Using these we were able to catch two blues that probably went 40-50 lbs and one smaller, probably 20-30 lbs. After that front moved through Friday night it pretty much shut everything down. Should be a great weekend over Easter.

P.S. All fish released unharmed save for a dozen crappie.

[shadman]

i am curious about the blues u caught. what depth ? time of day?

[catman70]

In the channel of a cove with about a 6/12 slope to the surrounding banks - probably about 10-12' deep. We caught them during the warmest part of the day between 2 and 5. As we progress into the warmer months they will become more active throughout the day and fight harder. Now it's just like reeling in a big log.

[redbeard]

This is my first trip to the lake I'll be staing at bass point resort.Is the fishing around there good .I'm from northern mich.I mainly fish walleys.Is the walleys hitting on the lake and if so where.SO what is a good bait for the crappies.thanks

[jcmojo]

Redbeard,

Don't plan on fishing primarily for walley or you will go home disappointed. There are walleye in Lake of the Ozarks, and the Mo. Conservation Dept. has done a fairly intensive job of stocking them, but the bite is mainly in the upper portions of the lake. You might catch one here and one there, and most are caught by accident. You could spend a whole season fishing for crappie on the lower half of the lake and if you caught any walleye at all you would be doing good. Crappie is the name of the game for the next two-three weeks. I don't know where Bass Point Resort is located at on the lake, but if you will be here within the next few weeks the crappie fishing should be good to excellent barring cold fronts, monsoon rains or other mother nature calamities. Good luck.

jcmojo

ps: good walley lakes in or partly within Missouri are Stockton, Bull Shoals, and Norfork. These are probably the best known. There may be others of lesser distinction.

Redbeard,

I forgot to add the crappie bait and lure of choice. You can't go wrong with crappie minnows and/or crappie jigs in 1/16 oz. size. Plain leadhead is ok, with a white or chartruese tube tail or twister tail. Ask locally at bait shops for the depth they are biting at when you get here, or check this forum for postings right before you leave.

jcmojo

[Bigmagic]

Well I'm not sure I agree with jcmojo. There are a number of Walleye fisherman who fish the lake and do pretty well. Yes a number of them are caught accidentaly while crappie fishing or white bass fishing. My father-n-law lucked into a 16lber a few years back. I was at Truman dam a while back when they shocked some 20lb plus females below the dam. Walleye may be a secret on LOZ but there are some people who fish for them succesfully. Also Truman is another lake that has quite a few Walleye and are caught regularly by some locals. I'll just throw in that I caught 32 Blue Cat today. I released all but five and had a nice fish fry this evening. See ya on the water!

[jcmojo]

Just saying that it's not a good bet to bank on catching walleye on the lower LOZ. Questioned a Missouri Conservation fisheries biologist a couple of years ago about where on LOZ they are stocking the walleye. His reply was, most all are going in uplake because little walleyes tend to find their way downstream to dams, and then through the dam. They didn't want to stock the Osage river below Bagnall Dam. I'm sure that some people target them around the 31 mile marker where the Niangua arm takes off, and then further on uplake as far as Truman Dam. Myself, if I had limited vacation time to fish I would stick with the crappie or even the bass. Just one fisherman's opinion.

Good luck.