Find Bass Any Time at Lake of the Ozarks

[John Neporadny Jr.]

Bass live a transient lifestyle in their constant quest for the comforts of home.

While warm heaters, cool air-conditioners, a soft bed and a roof over our heads give us a comfortable year-round place to live, a bass must constantly roam its watery world to avoid the heat and cold, and find a spot to eat and procreate. An abundance of cover and lack of deep water causes some bass to stay put throughout the year, especially in river and shallow lakes. However, Lake of the Ozarks bass migrate more throughout the seasons to take advantage of the diversity in water depths, cover and structure.

My home waters of Lake of the Ozarks serves as a classic example of a man-made reservoir filled with plenty of cover and structure to accommodate migrating bass. The following are seasonal patterns from my home lake.  

Prespawn

Prespawn bass move from their winter haunts and follow the creek and river channels to staging areas along secondary points or main lake bluff-ends in the early spring. These spots allow bass to move up shallow to feed during sunny days, then retreat and suspend over deeper water when the weather turns cold and nasty.

As the days grow longer and the water temperature rises, the fish migrate to transition banks from the mouths to about halfway back in the coves and pockets. The banks feature shoreline transformations where the rocks change from slab to chunk or chunk to pea gravel.  These areas give bass quick access to the adjacent spawning flats and a deep-water sanctuary for any severe spring cold fronts.

Jerking suspending stickbaits such as a Rattlin’ Rogue produces the biggest bass in the early spring when the heavyweight fish are suspended along the various staging areas. A jig and plastic crawfish dragged over the rocky bottom also takes quality bass on calm, sunny days. A crawfish-colored crankbait or spinnerbait works best along the transition banks on sunny, windy days.

If early spring rains turn the lake turbid, prespawn bass can be taken slow rolling a 1/2-ounce spinnerbait along the bluff ends or secondary points. When the fish move to the transition banks, pitching a jig-and-craw combination to lay-downs and the shallow sides of boat docks takes prespawn bass in murky water.

Spawn

Typical spawning banks on my home lake are pea-gravel flats in the backs of coves or gravel shores in small protected pockets.  Some coves feature vast expanses of gravel flats, but the best spawning sites usually can be found within close proximity to deep-water structure such as secondary points and creek channel swings.

Bass prefer building their nests on hard bottoms and in spots protected from wind and boat waves.  The fish spawn almost anywhere along the gravel bank, but the biggest bass prefer building their nests deeper in hard-to reach areas.  The favorite nesting areas of quality bass include the walkways and pillars behind boat docks, fallen logs and sunken brush piles. 

Boat docks are ideal refuges for bass during the spawn. The fish can hold in the sunken brush piles next to docks before locking onto their nests or can suspend under the boathouses during inclement spring weather. 

Sight fishing the shallows with a variety of soft-plastic baits takes nesting bass in the clear water, while dragging a plastic lizard or finesse worm 6 to 10 feet deep along the gravel flats produces the biggest spawners.  In murky water, flip or pitch a jig and jumbo trailer or a Texas-rigged 8-inch plastic lizard to shallow cover or behind boat docks to trigger strikes from bedding bass.

Postspawn

After leaving their nests, bass follow about the same migration route they used during the prespawn. The fish in the backs of coves return to the transition banks first and then key on the secondary points as the water temperature continues to rise in late spring. Bass in the small pockets migrate to the first available drop-off or the bluff-ends.

When early summer arrives most of the post spawn fish in reservoirs have moved to long, tapering gravel points. This structure provides bass a multitude of depths for feeding, recuperating from the spawn and gradually retreating to their summertime haunts.  Postspawn bass can feed in the shallows during the early morning, then follow baitfish to the mid-depth ranges for a brief brunch. The point's drop-off serves as an afternoon resting spot for these weary fish.   

Standing timber and sunken brush piles provide excellent cover for recuperating bass along the postspawn migration route. The fish also favor hugging the rocks on long gravel points or the sharp drops of bluff ends.  Working a Zara Spook or topwater chugger along gravel points is a popular early morning tactic during the post spawn. Some fish can also be taken on Texas-rigged plastic worms worked through the wood cover. The most consistent pattern for postspawn fish though is dragging a Carolina-rigged plastic lizard or finesse worm from the mid-depth ranges to the drop-offs on the primary and secondary points.

Summer

Hot surface water drives bass to a cooler comfort zone of the lake’s deep structure.  Summertime bass relate to bluff ledges, creek and river channel bends and the deep ends of points and humps.

Sunken brush piles in the 20- to 30-foot depth range become key targets throughout the summertime on my home waters. The fish either suspend over the top of the brush or burrow into the wood cover. Current caused by power generation causes some fish to move up on the points and humps to feed during the day.

Working magnum-size Texas rigged plastic worms or craws through the deep brush at night produces the most consistent summertime action. Slow rolling a spinnerbait through the brush or along the bluff ledges also catches some nighttime bass. The best patterns for daytime bass include dragging a Carolina- or Texas-rigged plastic worm or running a deep-diving crankbait along the points and humps affected by current.

Fall

Baitfish migrate to the backs of creeks where bass follow the forage.  An autumn feeding frenzy usually occurs on the flat side of the creek where bass chase shad in the shallows. Bass relate more to forage than cover now so finding baitfish is the key to success.

As the water turns colder and the annual reservoir drawdown begins in late fall, baitfish and bass evacuate the shallows.  The fish make a brief stop for a week or two along secondary points, then head to the transition banks (where the rock changes from chunk to slab) close to the mouths of the creeks or to the shallows of main lake points. Bass remain in these spots until frigid weather forces them to their wintertime havens.

A variety of patterns work throughout the fall.  Buzz baits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits trick bass chasing shad in the shallows of the coves and creeks or when the fish move back to the main lake points and steeper rocky banks. Inactive fish can be taken flipping a jig-and-craw to shallow cover or working a Texas-rigged plastic worm  through brush piles on secondary points and transition banks.

Winter

Bluff ends  and main-lake points adjacent to channel swings are two prime wintertime hideouts for reservoir bass. The fish either suspend in the open water under schools of baitfish   or  cling to the bottom at the edge of a drop-off.  On mild, sunny days, some fish move to brush piles 10 to 15 feet deep in the main lake pockets. Docks sitting along steep channel banks on the main lake or in the bigger creeks also attract winter bass.

Three patterns work best for bass in these wintertime haunts. Jerking a Suspending Pro  Rattlin’ Rogue close to the baitfish schools and around the main lake docks coaxes lethargic suspended bass into biting. Dragging a double-tail plastic grub attached to a heavy football jighead along the channel drops catches bottom-hugging fish while a tube jig works best in the brush piles of the deep pockets. 

Weather and water conditions slightly alter the timetable of these seasonal migrations, but the basic destinations remain about the same every year. By following the natural highways of creeks and river channels, you can find bass any time of the year on the Lake of the Ozarks.

For information on lodging and other facilities at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a free 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.  

Copies of John Neporadny's book, "THE Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide" are
available by calling 573/365-4296 or visiting the web site www.jnoutdoors.com.

[fishinwrench]

I can't stay quiet about this any longer 😁

The long standing and perpetually repeated theory that bass follow creek channels to and from one area to another like we follow roads, and seek out points of land to live on is not doing us any favors in our search for fish on any given day.   I have never spent any time down there swimming with the fishes, and I have never been part of any mass bass tracking study, but I have chased fish around long enough to form a different theory that I believe is way more accurate.   

The truth of the matter is that mainlake fish can't follow a creek/river channel in a  highland reservoir for very far without experiencing a drastic depth change, so it is much more likely that bass in the mainlake areas simply move along the shoreline at the depth that suits them. Temperature, water clarity, and the availability of food probably determine which depth range preference that will be during any period.  A bend in the shoreline (point) or a depression in the shoreline (creek or ditch) might cause them to pause for awhile if there is anything there at that depth that interests them, and if the bend or depression keeps its integrity for a distance then the fish may follow it either deeper or shallower for a short distance, but it's not likely they will live on it and use it as their main point of reference for more than a few hours.  A brush pile or rock pile in the proper depth range along a long straight bank is just as likely to hold fish as any point or creek channel/bluff edge.  A bass doesn't need or even want to follow a point or ditch when changing depths, he just eases up or down the bank wherever he is when the desire to change depths suits him.  It's really that simple.

Bass in the upper lake areas possibly relate more to creek channels and points than mainlake fish do because the topography is flatter and they can be followed greater distances without making major depth changes, but the channels and points in those areas are covered in a blanket of silt and sediment below the depth of wave action that keeps the bottom substrate (rocks, gravel, ect.) exposed, and therefore they lack definition.  In these upper end areas you have bass that are true home-range critters that probably live their whole lives within a square 1/2 mile or so, and these are the fish that are hurt the most from relocation by tournament anglers.

I believe that bass, given the preference, would much rather use flats as resting places vs. vertical structure like steep points and God forbid "bluff walls", but you never hear of guys seeking out flat areas along a sloping bank.  Those areas are way more productive for me than points or creek channels, but they have to be in the fishes desired depth range. 

I promise you that this little area right here is way more dependable than any point, ledge, or creek channel bend I have ever fished.  

There is no brush or boulders on it whatsoever, and even though there is brush around the dock shown (and the one next to it.....and the one next to that one) you are more likely to catch fish on that little submerged flat than you are around the brush or under the docks if the fish are in that 12-18' depth range.  The only explanation is that the fish follow the sloping shoreline and when they come to a flatter area they LIKE IT.  They like it more than the nearby brush and more than the shade of the nearby docks.   And they like it more than the two points almost within rock throwing distance, or the creek channel bend that is nearer the opposite side of the lake 500 yards away.

[Old plug]

Well you all cam read this amd learn something and then again it might just throw a monkey wrench into your trip. Bass Just are where you find them. Past coupleple days I been catching bass on large plastic worms with a 1/4 or 5/16 weight on them. Been catching the bass at 2-10 ft in water 25 to over 40 ft deep. 

 

[nomolites]

Flats?  Who fishes flats?  Bah.....🙄

Mike

[Walleye13]

Hey Mike, saw you on your favorite point in the Gravois last night. Any luck with the jigging spoon?

[Old plug]

2 hours ago, Walleye13 said:

Hey Mike, saw you on your favorite point in the Gravois last night. Any luck with the jigging spoon?

Do ot kbow Mike but if be was the one setting on cedar point in a small bass boat last last evening I would advise him to be  very cery careful and observant. I passed him going around the point to see if I couldfish over there.When I came back 10 ninutes later brcause of the gigh wibd on that side I was really surprised the boat was sfill fhere. That is is one very rough place  to try to fish with a weekend like the 4th closing in.

 

 

[nomolites]

9 hours ago, Walleye13 said:

Hey Mike, saw you on your favorite point in the Gravois last night. Any luck with the jigging spoon?

Pretty slow, but did catch three decent hybrids and a few small(16") striper but fishing is not what it was earlier while they were moving water.  I had to work for every bite, glad to be out there before it gets crazy.

Mike

[fishinwrench]

I'm beginning to think the stripers in this lake are stunted.  They all measure 14-16".  

[nomolites]

They was a large stocking 2 years ago from what I can see; they are just babies at this point.  Next year they will be 3 and measure more like 22" and 5-6#.  Let them grow up and they will stretch your string for sure.

Mike

[MOPanfisher]

I asked one of the biologists once about stipe there, they stock them every 5 years, last one was in 2015 as nomolites said.  Even them smaller ones are fun to catch on a crappie rod.