Lake of the Ozarks Offers Plenty of Action After Dark

Nabbing Lake of the Ozarks Bass From Spawning Hideouts

"Warning!!  If you have a heart condition, it is recommended that
you avoid fishing behind this dock  because the effects of hooking
a spawning bass  could be hazardous to your health."

 No, the Surgeon General hasn't posted any signs like this on any
of our lakes yet, but  the perils of trying to land a thrashing largemouth
behind a dock might be more than the faint-hearted can bear.  "A guy
who has a heart condition doesn't want to fish for big spawning bass
behind docks," says Bruce Gier, a tournament angler and owner of Gier's
Bass Pro & Liquor Shop in Eldon, Mo.  "Sometimes, you're using 6-pound
line when you hook a 6-pound fish, and then you have about six cables
for the fish to go over.  You can flat get into some jams then. I've
had some heartbreaking experiences behind the cables."

 In other Midwestern lakes spawning bass seek the shelter of flooded
timber and lay-downs, but on Gier's home reservoir, Lake of the Ozarks
in central Missouri, bass build their nests behind boat docks. "A
dock is the biggest log on the lake," says Gier. The floating structures offer bass plenty of cover
to protect them from wind and intruders.  Their favorite dock shelters
include cables, walkways, pillars and sunken brush piles. 

 The dock's location is the key to finding spawning bass.  Gier locates
the majority of nesting bass behind docks in the backs of coves, except
during the latter stages of the spawn when he concentrates on main-lake
condominium docks.

 No real pattern exists as to which docks hold spawning bass. Gier
notes that he doesn't seem to find them in exactly the same places
every year.  "You need to go back in the  most awful looking area
you can find," Gier says. Any dock that has pillars is a prime target
because bass will spawn next to every support.

 Another prime target is a dock with two or three sets of cables running
from the pier to shore.  "The docks that seem nearly impossible to
get behind are the ones where  the fish congregate best,"  Gier says.
In most cases, the fish are unmolested because the average angler
shies away from the menacing cables.

 In addition to keeping anglers away from the spawning territory,
cables also serve as security blankets for bass. Some fish spawn right
under the cables.  "They seem to know that they can deal you some
fits on those dock cables and they can,"  Gier says.

  Some bass also spawn in the open areas behind the docks. Even if
the dock has plenty of cover, Gier wastes little time fishing behind
it if he fails to find a nest (a round, shiny spot on the bottom).
Shiny spots that are barely visible in 8 feet of water usually hold
bigger fish.  Bass spawn at various depths on fluctuating lakes affected
by spring rains. Gier finds most of the spawning bass on Lake of the
Ozarks behind docks in less than 10 feet of water.

 If Gier finds a nest close to the bank, he tries to catch the bigger
bass first  by working deeper water and then gradually moves in shallower
to catch the smaller male fish on the nest.  "A lot of guys make the
big mistake during spawning time of fishing for the bass they can
see," Gier says. "If the big fish is there, of course, go ahead and
get her. She is generally lying just out to where you can't see her,
though."   However,  in a tournament, Gier concentrates on catching
a limit of keeper-size fish initially and then works on the kicker
fish. When the spawn reaches its speak, Gier can catch a limit fishing
behind five docks in a row.

 The depth of the cables determines where Gier positions his boat
behind a dock.  If the cables droop deep enough, Gier slides his boat
on top of them and uses the cables to hold his boat in position. When
the cables hang above or on the surface, Gier keeps his trolling motor
next to the moorings.  "I don't have any paint on the shaft of my
trolling motor because it's constantly rubbing against the cable."

    Once he finds nesting bass, Gier offers them a wide range of lures
because he feels the fish will eventually bite.  "You just have to
have a giant arsenal of every kind of plastic lure known to man,"
 Gier says.  He either flips or pitches to his targets,  or casts
with an underhand sling to skip the lure under walkways and cables.

 Gier's strategy starts with  heavy-duty equipment and then scales
down to lightweight  tackle as he moves in closer to the fish.  During
his first presentation, Gier stays  back far enough to where the fish
is just in sight.  As he moves in, he switches to lighter line and
smaller lures.   "You can come close enough to where you can spook
off the fish  but it will come right back," he says.  When using line
as light as 4-pound test, Gier can move within 10 feet of a spawning
bass and still coax it into biting.

  In murky water,  you can use as heavy as 20-pound test line behind
the docks, but since Gier mainly fishes the clear water of the lake's
North Shore area, he usually scales  down his line size. For aggressive
fish,  Gier selects bait-casting equipment and 10-pound test line. 
"I feel I have a little bit of an advantage with this heavier tackle,"
he says. His favorite lures for this application are a brown 1/4-ounce
jig and brown No. 11 pork frog or a Hula Grub in earthworm or crawfish
colors. With most of his lure choices, Gier prefers  crawfish or earthworm
colors (brown, dark green, motor oil), especially for finicky fish. 
"If you have a fish that's in the mood or about half ticked off  at
your bait, then go ahead and throw something chartreuse,"  Gier says.
He suggests that you can even catch aggressive fish on sunny days
with a cotton candy or pink-and-chartreuse plastic lizard.

 When  bass shun his jigs, Gier changes to spinning tackle, 8-pound
test and soft plastic baits. His top lure choices are 4- and 6-inch
plastic lizards and  plastic crawfish. 
  The next step in Gier's scale-down approach involves 6-pound test
line and 4-inch plastic worms on a No. 1 wire hook. "You stay with that as long as you can and as
a last resort,  when you just have to have that fish, pick up the
little stuff  and throw everything you can at them," Gier says.

 The "little stuff" Gier resorts to consists of trout fishing tackle,
an ultralight rod and reel with 4-pound test line and a small plastic
trout worm impaled on a tiny hook. Gier sticks the hook through the
head of the worm and leaves the point exposed to ensure a good hookset. 
This rig is especially effective on fish that Gier has missed a couple
of times with his larger lures.  "What have you got to lose? You can't
 catch that fish  the other way, so you might as well go to the real
light stuff," Gier suggests.

 The Missouri angler retrieves all of his lures at a snail's pace
or even slower.   Occasionally he'll twitch a lure fast for aggressive
fish.  "Every fish lying on a bed has its own personality," Gier says. 
"If you move your lure  just a hair when it's in the nest she might
look at it.   Big fish don't want a fast-moving bait.  If you present
something to them  fast, I guarantee that  they won't even look at
it. They don't get big by being stupid."

  When a fish strikes, Gier carefully pulls his line to set the hook.
A soft touch and a sharp hook are critical, especially when fishing
with light tackle. "On spawning fish, it's unbelievably important
to have a sharp hook.  That thing  has just got to be like a needle,"
Gier advises.  He also suggests that you remain calm if you see a
big fish hit your lure, otherwise you'll jerk too hard on the hookset
and break your line.

 The real challenge comes after you've set the hook. Trying to weave
a stubborn bass through a maze of cables, pillars and other obstacles
can be a pulse-raising experience.  Gier catches most of his 5- and
6-pound fish on the heavier line (8- and 10-pound test) with his drag
set light. "You can turn a 6-pound fish during the spawn with  8-pound
test line. It's a trick but it is possible,"  he says.    Since spawning
fish tire easily, Gier usually lands them if he controls their initial
surges.

 Patience helps Gier land the smaller male bass (15- and 16-inch fish)
 on the lighter tackle. He has even landed bass after they have jumped
over a cable and looped the line around to where it was ready to form
a knot. But when a 4-pounder smashes one of his mini-baits on 4-pound
test line, the bass has the edge. "He's the boss.  You have to leave
it up to him as to whether you're going to land him or  not," Gier
says.  "That doesn't usually last too long. It's usually Fish 1, Gier
0."   With a lack of obstacles behind the dock and a little bit of
luck,  the heavier fish can still be landed by keeping slight rod
pressure on the bass to wear it out and then guide it toward the boat. 
However, the light tackle is no match for a  bruiser bass behind a
dock loaded with  brush piles. "That's where the big boys win every
time," Gier says.  "If those fish bury their heads in the brush  while
pulling 4-pound line, I don't care if Houdini is holding the rod,
the fish is going to win."    

 Frequently checking your line improves your chances of catching fish
behind the docks. Gier advises retying your line whenever it

 rubs against a cable.  "It's over for your line if it touches that
cable," he says.

 If your heart can take it, sneak behind a dock this spring and try
to coax a bass from  its spawning hideout. 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.  
  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.

White Bass Runs Are Springtime Barrel of Fun

About the closest you can come to catching fish in a barrel occurs
when Lake of the Ozarks white bass make their spawning runs up the creeks and rivers
in the spring.

White bass, a member of the sea-bass family, are close relatives
of the striped bass. Most of the time, these silver-sided bass prefer
deep, still water over sand and gravel bottoms, but when they make
their spawning run, they seek out shallow, flowing water. Large schools
of white bass concentrate near the mouths of tributary streams during
their upstream spawning runs. Greg Stoner, Missouri Department of
Conservation (MDC) fisheries management biologist, likens white bass
to salmon in that both fish migrate up rivers to spawn on clean swept
gravel bars rather than build nests. Whites prefer to spawn on the
gravel bars where their deposited eggs stick to the rocks. The current
keeps the eggs clean and well oxygenated, which causes them to hatch
within two days.

The spawning run is mainly influenced by the increasing length of
daylight during the spring, says Mike Colvin, a MDC fisheries research
biologist who has studied white bass runs on the Niangua and
Pomme de Terre rivers since 1991. Other lesser influences affecting
the spawning run include water temperature and flow.

White bass usually make their spawning runs at Lake of the Ozarks in early
to mid-April through the first to second week of May, according
to Greg Stoner, MDC fisheries management biologist and an avid fisherman.
The best run occurs on the Big Niangua arm and some limited reproduction
takes place on the Little Niangua River and Grand Glaize and Gravois
creeks.

The lake level determines where white bass spawn every year. "They
tend to go to the first or second riffle above the lake boundary,"
Stoner says. "If the lake's down real low at that time of the year,
they won't go up the river as far as they do when the lake is at
normal pool or above."

Stoner's lure selection for spawning whites includes Gay Blades,
Roostertails and 2-inch Rapala Floaters. Cut shad also works well.
"One thing about the Niangua , the hybrids will also move up in there
during the spawning period so you might lose some lures with lighter
tackle," Stoner says. To prevent hybrids from running off with this
lures, Stoner uses 8- to 10-pound test.

I have also caught spawning white bass in
the Lake of the Ozarks creeks throughout the years. My favorite technique combines a 4
1/2-inch Rapala Floater with a 1/16-ounce white or bright pink doll
fly. The jig is tied on an 18-inch leader line of 4-pound test and
the leader is attached to the back hook of the Rapala. I cast this
combination upstream on a gravel bar and let it drift down into the
hole below the riffles. As the lure drifts down, I jerk the rod hard
to make the Rapala flash and attract the white bass' attention. Most
of the time, the whites hit the jig trailer, although I have caught
some bigger fish that smashed the Rapala on the surface.

When the white bass make their spawning run at Lake of the Ozarks this spring, you can
catch them in a hurry if you find them bunched up in the tributaries.
It's the next best thing to fishing in a barrel.
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.

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.

Lake of the Ozarks’ Gravois Arm Is Clearly A Bass Haven

The 10-mile Gravois arm is one of the oldest developed sections of the Lake of the Ozarks so its shoreline is dotted with boat docks. Whereas other sections have more docks for yachts and off-shore racing boats, the Gravois features more docks owned by fishermen who sink plenty of brush piles to attract bass and crappie.
Fed by the gin-clear waters of the Gravois, Little Gravois, Spring Branch, Soap, Indian and Mill creeks, this arm usually remains one of the clearest sections of the lake throughout the year.
The upper end turns murky quickly from rain runoff, but the flow from the creeks also flushes out the dirty water faster than on other arms of the lake. The warmer water from the feeder creeks causes the Gravois to warm quicker than other arms in the spring which makes the Gravois one of the most popular spots to fish for bass in February and March.
The structure on this arm is similar to the North Shore with plenty of deep water on the main channel and long creek coves filled with numerous gravel pockets that are ideal spawning banks for bass. Other attractive structure for fish on this arm includes plenty of main and secondary points, creek channels, bluffs, gravel flats and some old road beds.
Missouri State Highway Patrolman Scott Pauley honed his skills fishing the Gravois arm while a member of the Eldon Bass Club in the early 1990s and relied on this section of the lake to lead the 1999 BASSMASTER Missouri Invitational at Lake of the Ozarks and eventually finish in 10th place.
From December through March, Pauley usually depends on two lures to catch bass on the Gravois arm. He selects a Suspending Rattlin’ Rogue (silver/black/orange or clown color) for suspended bass or a brown Jewel Eakins’ Pro Model Jig tipped with a Jewel Eakins’ Pro Model Craw, Chompers Twin Tail plastic grub or a Bass Pro Shops XPS Single Tail Grub for bottom-hugging bass. When jerking the Rogue, Pauley uses 8-pound test line; he opts for 10-pound test fluorocarbon line for working his jig.
The most productive spots for wintertime bass on the Gravois include main and secondary points and transition banks where the shoreline changes from bluffs to chunk rock and gravel. “The real key to Lake of the Ozarks is the angle of the bank and the types of rocks,” advises Pauley. “Once you figure that out you are on your way to putting a pattern together.” Classic examples of transition banks on the Gravois are spots where the creek channel swings close to a point and the bank changes from bluffs to 45-degree chunk rock shores or from the chunk rock to a flat pea gravel shoreline.
During the winter and early spring, Pauley starts fishing the main lake points and then works his way into the coves until he finds the fish. He rates February and March as the prime months to catch big bass on the Gravois arm, especially after a three-or four-day warming trend. Another prime time to catch trophy bass on the Gravois is from the first week of November until Christmas.
When the water temperature rises into the upper 50s and low 60s in the spring, Pauley switches tactics to catch prespawn bass. “Once the water starts warming it seems like the fish go to plastics right before the spawn and close to the spawn,” says Pauley. He drags a Carolina-rigged plastic lizard or split-shot rigged finesse worm or French Fry worm for bass along the pea gravel banks. His favorite colors for these soft plastics include watermelon or green pumpkin in clear water and dark colors (black-and-blue or black neon) for murky conditions.
When the fish lock onto their nests Pauley relies on a Zoom finesse worm attached to a 1/8-ounce jighead. A tube jig also catches nesting fish in off-colored water. The best spots to find spawning bass are pea gravel cuts or backs of pockets with either steep or flat banks.
During the postspawn stage, Pauley finds fish close to the spawning areas first and as the water temperature continues to warm he follows the migrating fish out to deep structure. The first area bass move to from the spawning banks are flat, rounded secondary points.
A Zara Spook or Cotton Cordell Jointed Red Fin worked on 10- to 12-pound test line produces plenty of exciting topwater action for Pauley during the postspawn. If the fish are reluctant to attack his surface lures, Pauley switches to flipping a magnum tube bait or a 10- to 11-inch plastic worm in blue flake, tequila sunrise or electric blue. He Texas rigs the lures with a 3/0 or 4/0 wide gap worm hook that he ties on 20-pound test line. A 1/ 4-ounce weight works best for Pauley when flipping the shallows but he opts for a 1/ 2-ounce weight when he works his worm at depths of 20 feet or more.

On sunny summer days, Pauley likes to pitch a Texas-rigged magnum tube bait (3/16-ounce Lake Fork Mega Weight and Owner Rig’N Hook on 20-pound test line) to any visible cover. He selects a green pumpkin tube for pitching in clear water and a black/red flake model for murky water.
Night fishing produces the most consistent action on the Gravois during the heat of summer. Pauley opts for a 7- to 10-inch plastic worm in black or dark purple hues that he works through the sunken brush at depths of 15 to 20 feet.
When the shad migrate to the backs of creeks in October and November, Pauley targets the baitfish schools to find bass. “The schools of shad roam on the big flats and are so thick that it seems like you can walk on them sometimes,” he says.
Swimming a white Jewel Eakins’ Pro Model Jig and white Jewel Eakins’ Pro Model Craw produces bass for Pauley in the fall, but his favorite tactic involves a Bill Lewis Rat-L-Trap. During the Bassmaster tournament, Pauley caught a hefty limit to take the first-day lead while burning a shad-pattern Rat-L-Trap (green back and pearl sides) on 15-pound test line. On sunny days, bass in the upper ends of the creeks use isolated stumps, tree roots and lay-downs as ambush points so Pauley bangs his lipless crankbait into the cover to trigger a reaction strike.
For information on lodging 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.
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.

Lake of the Ozarks’ Tournament Strategies

This is the second part of a two-part series on tournament winning patterns at the Lake of the Ozarks. Part One focused on how to pattern bass throughout the spring from pre-spawn to post-spawn, while Part Two will discuss the top patterns for summer and fall tournaments at the lake.

The massive size of Lake of the Ozarks plays a key role in tournament strategy for the summer and fall.
The heavy recreational boat traffic becomes a burden for tournament anglers throughout the warm-weather months, so they usually have to compete at night or in the upper arms of the major tributaries. Most daytime tournaments in the summer and early fall take off from the Drake Harbor access in Warsaw, which is the extreme upper end of the Osage arm. This end of the lake provides the best daytime action during the heat of summer and has the least amount of boat traffic.
Night tournaments are popular throughout summer and early fall on the lower end of the lake where the winning catches are frequently five-fish limits weighing more than 20 pounds. These nocturnal events usually take off at Grand Glaize Public Beach 2, Shawnee Bend and the Coffman Bend access.
Here’s a look at the best summer and fall patterns to help make you a winner at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Summer
In June, a short-arm, ½-ounce spinnerbait with a single number 5 Colorado blade takes bass at night. Best colors for this spinnerbait pattern are black or black-and-red skirt with a gold blade.
This tactic works best pumping the lure off the bottom and letting it flutter down along chunk rock points. The fish will be holding anywhere from 1 to 15 feet deep throughout the night.
From mid-June to the latter part of July, nighttime action for bass turns on in the Big and Little Niangua arms where the fish hold in brush piles around docks. Flipping behind docks can also be productive after dark on the Little Niangua arm.
During the last part of July and throughout August, the brush piles on the lower end of the lake produce the best nighttime action. Some of the most productive areas during this time include the Gravois arm, North Shore area, and the Osage arm around the Lodge of the Four Seasons.
The depth of the fish varies throughout the night as bass come up to feed at certain times. Start the evening keying on brush piles 15 to 20 feet deep and when the fish stop biting in the brush, move up shallower to search for bass feeding behind docks.
Magnum-size plastic worms (10 or 11 inches) and jigs consistently produce victories during night tournaments. Berkley Power Worms in darker hues, such as black, blue fleck, June bug and red shad work well, along with a brown or black 3/8-ounce jig with a rattle and some type of plastic trailer (craw or double-tail grub) in a bluegill color. Cast the worms beyond the brush pile and slowly crawl the lure through the limbs to trigger a strike.
During windy nights, slow-rolling a spinnerbait along main lake chunk rock banks also produces summertime bass on the lower end of the lake. Try a 3/8- or ½-ounce model with a silver willowleaf blade and a black twin-tail plastic trailer for the best results.
Main channel brush piles on the lake’s lower end also yield good stringers of bass during the daytime for any anglers with enough persistence to withstand the constant barrage of large wakes. The fish will be holding tight on the brush or the bottom, so slowly work a Texas-rigged 8- to 10-inch plastic worm over the rocks and through the wood cover.
The upper Osage offers tournament anglers a break from the daytime pleasure boaters. The main channel of this section provides the most consistent summertime action since bass stay cooler and have more oxygen created by water flowing from Truman Dam. Key areas to try in this riverine section include points, islands and docks on the flats. Lay-downs and shallow brush piles are also prime targets to try for summer bass.
When the current flows, throw a ½-ounce spinnerbait with large blades or flip a red shad 6-inch worm to the docks and other shallow cover. On calm, sunny days, pitching a 10-inch Berkley Power Worm deep into the wells of shallow main lake docks usually produces the biggest bass.
Fall
The upper Osage continues to generate the best daytime action in early autumn. Major creeks in the upper end, such as Proctor, Big and Little Buffalo, Rainy, Turkey and Brush, start to turn on in September. The water starts to cool down quicker in this section of the lake and bass become active in various spots, including the shallow weeds in the coves, along points and flats near the main river or creek channels and laydowns on the main channel.
Flipping 8- to 11-inch ring worms (motor oil, pumpkinseed or fire n’ ice hues) into the shallow weeds produces keepers throughout early fall. The big flats in the creeks are excellent spots to catch quality fish on 3/8- to ½-ounce buzz baits.
The main lake points remain productive throughout September. Bass remain 10 to 14 feet deep and can be taken on magnum-size plastic worms or black-and-blue or brown-and-black jigs with number 11 pork frogs or plastic craws.
Touring pro Randall Hutson relied on a magnum worm pattern when he won the Central Pro-Am Association’s September 2000 Lake of the Ozarks Pro-Am. Hutson pitched an 11-inch red shad plastic worm to docks about halfway back in the creeks of the Osage arm and caught most of his fish bumping the worm slowly along the bottom and through brush 7 to 9 feet deep.
An effective lure for taking kicker fish on the upper Osage through September and October is a ½-ounce Tennessee shad Rat-L-Trap. The lure works especially well on points when bass bust the surface.
October can be a tough month throughout the lake because the upper ends start to experience turnover and the lake’s lower end hasn’t cooled off enough to activate the big fish. Running a 3/8-ounce white or chartreuse spinnerbait along the sides of shallow docks on the main lake flats of the Osage arm above the Hurricane Deck bridge is one of the most productive patterns for October. Swimming a ¼-ounce white jig with a white pork or plastic trailer is an effective way to catch kicker fish from the same docks.
Brush piles on the lake’s lower end still produce some quality fish in October. Work a Texas-rigged 8- to 10-inch plastic worm through the brush in the 10- to 15-foot depth range along main and secondary points.
November is the most popular fall month for two major tournament circuits to visit the Lake of the Ozarks. The Missouri BASSMASTER Central Invitational had been held on the lake every November since 1998 until 2002 and the Central Pro-Am circuit frequently runs its Fall Pro-Am Spectacular event there.
The winning patterns for the last four BASSMASTER events show how diverse the fishing can be during this month. In all four tournaments, the winners relied on patterns that were different in lure selection, structure, cover and area of the lake. Weather and water conditions played key roles in dictating the best pattern for these fall events.
During the 1997 BASSMASTER event, daytime temperatures never climbed above 32 degrees and the water temperature dropped into the 50-degree range so Jay Yelas relied on a slow presentation to catch his winning stringer. Stopping at more than 100 docks each competition day on the Osage arm near the Grand Glaize bridge, Yelas worked a ½-ounce black-and-blue Berkley Rattle Power Jig and a black-and-blue Berkley Power Frog along the bottom next to each dock. His most productive docks were on points with brush piles at depths of 10 feet.
The lake showed why its one of the top bass fisheries in the country during the 1998 BASSMASTER tournament when Dan Morehead won with an impressive catch of 15 bass weighing 60 pounds, 10 ounces. The lake was abnormally high and murky for November, which made conditions ideal for shallow buzz bait action. Morehead keyed on the unusually dirty waters in the dam area and threw a 3/8-ounce Mann’s Hank Parker Classic Buzzbait. Positioning his boat parallel to the bank, Morehead ran his buzz bait in water less than 1 foot deep along algae-covered rocks on secondary points. A buzz bait also produced several fish for the other top five finishers in this event.
The lake was lower and clearer for the 1999 BASSMASTER Invitational and the bass were reluctant to hit a buzz bait. So tournament winner Randy Jackson headed for the Niangua arm and concentrated on chunk-rock banks and boat docks near channel swings. In the mornings, he ran a white ½-ounce Crock-O-Gator 4×5 spinnerbait along the shallows of rocky banks and in the afternoons he flipped a Crock-O-Gator Heavy Tube (watermelon/red flake) along the dock foam.
Relying on a pattern usually applied during the winter, Curt Lytle won the 2000 BASSMASTER tournament last November. Early in the competition, he took keepers running a brown-and-white crankbait in pockets between bluffs in a creek on the upper Osage arm. But as the weather got colder throughout the week and the water temperature continued to drop, Lytle switched to a slower presentation. Positioning his boat parallel to the bluffs in the creek, Lytle slowly twitched a chrome-and-blue suspending jerkbait to catch bass suspended along the rock walls.
Another winning technique was revealed when Central Pro-Am held its Bass Pro Shops Fall Pro-Am Spectacular event the weekend before the BASSMASTER Invitational. Relying on a traditional fall pattern, Gary Carrier won this event by keying on wind-blown points on the Osage River above Hurricane Deck bridge. However Carrier avoided fishing the bank and ran a shad-colored Bomber Model 7A crankbait for bigger largemouth bass holding in the 4- to 8-foot depth range.
Take your pick. The Lake of the Ozarks has plenty of water for trying a variety of patterns. It’s just a matter of narrowing down those choices to find a winning combination.
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.

Lake of the Ozarks’ Tournament Strategies

This is the first part of a two-part series on tournament winning patterns at the Lake of the Ozarks. Part One will focus on how to pattern bass throughout the spring from pre-spawn to post-spawn, while Part Two will discuss the top patterns for summer and fall tournaments at the lake.

Under its disguise of luxurious condominiums, million-dollar homes and dock-to-dock shorelines lies one of Missouri’s top bass tournament lakes. Although younger reservoirs appeal more to the bass angler’s eye with all the flooded timber and undeveloped shoreline, the Lake of the Ozarks entices bass tournaments with its hidden charms.
Numerous tournaments ranging in size from 10-boat bass club events to 150-boat national circuit contests are held each weekend at this 58,000-acre reservoir from February through May. With this sort of attention, the lake receives plenty of fishing pressure, yet still yields heavyweight stringers of bass to tournament competitors.
Since Lake of the Ozarks is such a popular site for bass clubs, charity benefit organizations and regional and national circuits to hold tournaments, let’s look at the best springtime patterns to help make you a winner on this massive reservoir.
Pre-spawn Tactics
The Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League (formerly Red Man) circuit usually gets the early jump on the Lake of the Ozarks tournament season by holding events in February. As the days get longer and warmer throughout this month, bass begin their pre-spawn staging on secondary points.
These pre-spawn bass move close to the bank on sunny days but overcast weather causes the fish to suspend in deeper water. Some of the heaviest stringers of the year are taken in late February and throughout March, as big bass become active after a long winter’s slumber.
Jerking a Suspending Rattlin’ Pro Rogue or other weighted stickbaits on 8- to 10-pound test line produces best in the clear-water sections of the lake, including the North Shore, Gravois, Grand Glaize, Big and Little Niangua and the lower half of the Osage arm. The most productive stickbait colors are clown (yellow, red and white), silver/blue, silver/black and fire tiger.
On calm, sunny days in the early spring, a 1/4- to 3/8-ounce jig and an Uncle Josh number 11 pork frog or plastic crawfish trailer dragged along the rocky points and creek channels take quality bass. The best color combinations for the jig-and-trailer include black/brown, black/blue and black/chartreuse.
Slow rolling a ½-ounce white-and-chartreuse spinnerbait along bluffs produces pre-spawn bass if early spring rains turn the lake turbid. When the lake remains clear, slow rolling the same spinnerbait through shallow brush in the stained waters of the upper Big and Little Niangua arms takes heavyweight bass on sunny days.
When the water temperature climbs above 45 degrees in March, a brown crawfish Storm Lures Wiggle Wart crankbait becomes an effective lure for catching a quick limit of bass. This lure works best along the flat gravel banks inside coves on the Osage arm above the Hurricane Deck Bridge.
While the crankbait pattern produces good numbers of fish throughout late March and early April, most of the major tournaments held during this time are won on jigs. Allen Armour won the April 1994 Missouri BASSMASTER Invitational flipping a Lunker Lures Rattleback Jig and Riverside Big Claw plastic trailer to shoreline cover along creek channel banks on the Osage arm. Takahiro Omori captured the April 1996 Missouri BASSMASTER Invitational by working a Hula Grub on a 1/8-ounce jighead along main lake points and chunk-rock banks on the Grand Glaize arm.
A couple of Central Pro-Am Association events held in the spring were also won with a jig. Jim Eakins won the March 1998 Lake of the Ozarks Pro-Am pitching a homemade brown 3/8-ounce jig and a brown Gene Larew Salt Craw to chunk rock banks in the back of creeks around the Hurricane Deck bridge area. His son, Troy Eakins, took first in the April 1999 Lake of the Ozarks Pro-Am using the same homemade jig and a green pumpkin Zoom Critter Craw, which he pitched to ledges in the backs of cuts and shallow boat docks on the Osage arm and the mouth of the Niangua.
Perennial tournament winner Bruce Gier earned one of his biggest victories on his home lake by relying on a brown 3/8-ounce jig and a number 11 Uncle Josh pork frog during the April 1992 Lake of the Ozarks Pro-Am. The local angler moved back and forth from shallow to deep water along sandy, gravel areas in pockets of coves in the North Shore area.
Spawn Techniques
The number of tournaments at the lake declines and the winning weights drop sharply by late April and early May when bass move on the nests.
Bass spawn anywhere along pea gravel banks in pockets, but the biggest fish usually build their nests behind boat docks where cables, walkways, pillars and sunken brush piles offer protection from the wind and nest intruders.
Targeting docks in the backs of coves is a key to finding spawning bass. The back ends of main-lake condominium docks also attract bedding fish in latter stages of the spawn.
On the upper Osage and other stained-water sections of the lake, pitching or flipping with heavy line (20- to 30-pound test) and flipping tackle behind the dock cables produces the best fish. A ½-ounce jig and jumbo trailer or a Texas-rigged 8-inch plastic lizard usually triggers strikes from bedding bass in water less than 3 feet deep.
Sight fishing can be a productive pattern in the clear sections of the lake throughout the spawn. Aggressive fish can be taken on a brown ¼-ounce jig and number 11 pork frog or double-tail plastic grub worked on bait-casting tackle and 10-pound test line.
If nesting bass shun jigs, these same finicky fish can be tricked into biting a variety of soft plastic baits tossed on spinning tackle and 6- to 8-pound test line. Top lure choices for tournament anglers include 6-inch plastic lizards and small plastic crawfish imitators rigged with either little or no weight to create a slow fall.
In the May 1995 BASSMASTER Invitational, George Cochran won the event by catching most of his keepers on a Texas-rigged purple Riverside Air Worm that he threw on spinning tackle and 10-pound test line. He found spawning fish next to shallow laydowns at the mouths of pockets in the Grand Glaize arm around the Public Beach No. 2 weigh-in site.
Since quality fish locked on beds can be difficult to reach sometimes, keying on cruising bass provides an alternative method for taking kicker fish. Run down the pea gravel banks and make long casts with Zara Spooks, 5- to 7-inch soft plastic jerkbaits or 6-inch floating worms. Retrieve all of these lures at a steady pace and move the lure faster if a dark shape starts following the bait.
Bigger bass also tend to spawn deeper—especially in clear water. The best lures for these spawners are 6-inch plastic lizards worked on Carolina or split-shot rigs. Drag these lures on the bottom along the front or sides of docks at depths of 8 to 10 feet.
Post-spawn Tricks
The winning weights continue to drop by late May when bass are recuperating from the rigors of spawning. During this time, catching a limit of 3-pounders usually ensures a high finish in most tournaments.
A variety of patterns pay dividends in the post-spawn stage. In the early mornings and late evenings, quality fish can be taken on Zara Spooks, Excalibur Spittin’ Images, and propeller topwater lures worked along flat main lake points. Twitching a pearl or shad-colored soft plastic jerkbait along the same structure also tricks hungry post-spawn bass on the points. Topwater action can last all day when the skies remain overcast.
A problem tournament anglers must contend with during this time of year is increased recreational boat traffic. The wakes from pleasure boaters makes the surface choppy and curtails the topwater bite. So competitive anglers resort to tactics that allow them to probe deeper water.
The most consistent pattern for taking bass during this situation is dragging a Carolina rig along main lake points and humps. After the topwater bite ends, try dragging a rig in the 8- to 10-foot depth range and eventually move out to depths of 20 to 25 feet.
The best lures for dragging are 6-inch plastic lizards, double-tail plastic grubs and the new creature-type baits (Zoom Brush Hog, Riverside Lures Wooly Hawg Tail, Berkley Power Hawg and the Gene Larew Hoo Daddy). The most productive colors for all of these lures are green pumpkin, watermelon, watermelon/red flake, pumpkinseed and pumpkinseed/chartreuse. Components for the Carolina rig should include a ½- to ¾-ounce slip sinker, plastic or glass bead, swivel and a 3- to 4-foot leader line tied to a 3/0 hook for the plastic lizard or 4/0 to 5/0 hooks for the plastic grubs and creature baits.
After catching a limit of bass on the Carolina rig, you can try for a kicker fish in the backs of creeks. Head for the last docks on each side of the creek and pitch a plastic worm in back and down the sides of the dock. Bluegill are plentiful around the docks and are a post-spawn bass’ prime forage. You should mimic this bait by using 5- to 6-inch ring worms in bluegill hues, such as camouflage, pumpkinseed/chartreuse, green pumpkin or rootbeer/green flake.
If the water is murky on the lower end, post-spawn bass remain behind the docks throughout May. These shallow fish can be taken on 5/16- to 9/16-oucne jigs and Uncle Josh number one pork frogs or plastic crawfish pitched behind the cables.
The upper Osage arm also produces winning catches during the post-spawn. The best pattern for this area is flipping black-and-blue or black-and-brown 3/8- to ½-ounce jigs and plastic craws or 10-inch plastic worms (pumpkinseed, red shad, electric grape or green pumpkin) along the sides of docks in the coves. The bigger fish will be holding at depths of 6 to 10 feet. On windy days, plenty of keepers can be taken by running a 3/8- to ½-ounce chartreuse or white spinnerbait with willowleaf blades through the shallow brush.
Night tournaments usually begin in May on the lower end of the lake. Sunken brush piles in the 8- to 10-foot depth range along secondary and main lake points are ideal spots for working a Texas-rigged plastic worm after dark. The most productive plastic worm for this pattern is the 10-inch Berkley Power Worm in dark colors (blue fleck, black/blue, red shad, electric grape, black and tequila sunrise).
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.

Winter’s Best Bass Fishing at Lake of the Ozarks

Blowing snow stings your face and the wind pierces through gloves
to numb your hands. Even though the frigid temperatures turn your
rod tip into an ice cube after nearly every cast, you tolerate these
inconveniences in anticipation of catching the bass of a lifetime.

While the lakes in the northern half of the state freeze over during
the winter, Lake of the Ozarks usually
offers an ice-free spot to catch lunker largemouth bass throughout
January and February. Heavyweight bass in this central Missouri reservoir
reside along main lake structure and feed on dying shad that succumb
to the cold water. A lure resembling the fluttering action of a
dying shad, such as a suspending stickbait, works
best during this time of year. Fishing pressure will also be minimal
since fair-weather fishermen hibernate
in their warm homes.

Anglers willing to bear the cold for a chance to catch quality wintertime
largemouth should pack the thermal underwear and insulated coveralls
and head for the lake. Try the following tips for catching Lake of the Ozarks bass during winter.

Channel bends in the clear-water stretch from the dam to the 14-mile
mark hold schools of big bass during the winter at this
reservoir. Any time bass have a channel bend they can move up from
the deep water onto a flat and eat shad.

Lake of the Ozarks bass tend to congregate below schools of shad
in 12 to 20 feet of water. The shad usually suspend 8 to 12 feet
deep and bass hang right below them. The fish usually stay 4 to 5 feet
under the baitfish so they can follow the shad school around.
Even though bass feed on baitfish during this time, some anglers avoid
areas loaded with schools of shad because they believe bass have too much food to
choose from there. So these local anglers try channel bends with
sparse numbers of baitfish where they can work a weighted stickbait
without much competition from the natural forage.

A 5 1/2-inch medium-diver Rattlin’ Rogue or a Luckycraft Pointer 100 in the clown color produces bass during this time. With four or five turns of the reel handle you can make the
stickbait dive down to a depth of 4 to 5 feet. If the lure is properly
weighted, it will suspend at the same depth or sink slowly.
Let the lure sit for about 20 seconds and then twitch it once or
twice. A word of caution: the more you twitch the lure, the smaller the fish
you will catch. Even though the lure usually only dives down about 5 feet,
its action imitates a dying shad, which draws bass out of the depths
to strike it.

When the weather turns nasty, key on chunk rock points.
The worse the weather, the better the fishing so when the
wind blows real hard and it’s snowing, the fish will come up on
the rocky points.

If you can stand the cold, this is the best time to catch a 9- or
10-pound bass at the Lake of the Ozarks. This pattern usually lasts until the end of March when the water warms
and bass start chasing crankbaits and spinnerbaits.

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.
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.

Choosing Lures For Lake of the Ozarks’ Fall Bass Fishing

Selecting lures can be tough sometimes, but the decision becomes easier in the fall at Lake of the Ozarks if you pay attention to a bass' autumn diet. Since shad become a favorite meal for bass then, any lure that imitates this baitfish will produce for you. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jigs are three of the top fall lure choices for catching bass from this reservoir. If the wind is blowing, burn a spinnerbait along bluff ledges and main lake points. The size of spinnerbait depends on the type of cover you target. If you're concentrating on shallow cover, try a 1/4-ounce spinnerbait with a single number 5 or 6 chrome Colorado blade. When keying on main lake structure in windy conditions, switch to a 3/4- to 1-ounce spinnerbait with tandem willowleaf blades (numbers 5 and 7). Combine chrome and gold blades for clear water-cloudy day conditions, and select a copper-and-gold blade combination for dirty water situations. Favorite spinnerbait skirt colors of the local anglers are white and white-and-chartreuse. The single spin works best when burning the lure up to the cover then stopping it. Use a fast, steady retrieve on the larger model and you can also catch fish early on calm mornings by waking the blade bait across the surface. When the fishing gets tough and bass hold tight to cover, try the crankbait around any wood or brush piles you can find in the backs of shallow pockets or along shallow flats. Although the lure works best in wind, a crankbait also produces when the lake has a slick surface. A shad-pattern, shallow-running, Mann's 1-Minus or a Bagley's B-I in shad colors are good lures for the fall at Lake of the Ozarks. If the water is off-colored, switch to a black-and-chartreuse crankbait. Vary the speed of your crankbait retrieve, but always makes sure to bang the lure into cover. If the fish are really holding tight to the cover, burn the lure and bang it right into the cover Sometimes you might have to run the lure three or four times alongside a log to trigger a strike. When bass suspend under docks at the Lake of the Ozarks, swim a jig along the foam. This technique produces because you can drop the lure to spots in a dock well that are unreachable with other baits. While a jig is often used for sluggish bass in cold-front situations, the lure in this situation is used for active bass hiding in the shady areas of the docks. To detect the subtle strikes that usually occur when swimming a jig, use a heavier lure (1/2 to 3/4 ounces). A white jig with a white Gene Larew Salt Craw or a black-and-chartreuse model with a plastic chunk in the same colors work well for this tactic. Throughout the fall, a variety of lures will catch bass, but you can simplify your lure choices at the Lake of the Ozarks by trying a spinnerbait, crankbait or jig as a shad imitator. 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. 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