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Fishing is excellent here at Lake of the Ozarks as the big bass feed up for winter. The number of 3# to 5# bass in this lake is amazing. The reason is all the bait in this lake. These fish really grow fast when they start gorging themselves on gizzard shad. These shad are 5" and bigger and provide a big meal to a hungry bass. From now till the end of March is the very best time to catch a real trophy.
Water temp: 43-52 degrees
Lake Level: 656.9 with a slight rise in the lake level. Truman lake level: 705.6
Dam and the Gravois: The Dam and Gravois areas are very clear and warmer than the rest of the lake. You can easily find water over 50 degrees around here. And on cloudy days or early in the morning still catch qaulity fish on topwaters. The fish are holding around the big rock on main lake and secondary points. You can also catch these fish with a jerkbait. It is hard to beat the Megabass Vision 110 on this part of the lake. It catches both quality and numbers and will work on cloudy windy days and sunny calm coldfront days. On the calm coldfront days when the sun is high you can use a football jig around them same points and channel drop ledges. The fish are deep 20'-30' range but once you find a good school of them you can catch them really good. Todays electronics really are a big help in finding these schools of bass on deep structure. I use 2 Lowrance HDS 8 units with structure scan. I am looking for fish then I drop a bait down to find out if they are bass. There are also fish holding around the docks that can be caught on small jigs, shakey head worms and chomper grubs.
Glaize area: Clear to stained. The water temps in the glaize are 50 degrees around Pb 2 and the water gets really cold as you go up. The bite is best between 54 bridge and a few miles above Anderson Hollow. Deep football jigs are taking fish around the points. You can also catch some fish suspended on jerkbaits in the same areas. Fish can also be caught around the docks on jigs and chomper grubs.
Nianguas: Clear. The water is clear in the Nianguas but might dirty up after this rain. The lower portion always stays fishable after rain. Fish can be caught on jigs deep on ledge points and around docks. Channel banks in the small creeks are also producing fish on small jigs and chomper grubs.
Osage River: It is starting to get too cold in the Osage. But the lower river around Hurricane Deck Bridge still has some warmth to it. Mid to upper 40's. Jigs and slow rolled spinnerbaits are producing fish on the creek channel banks with chunck rock.
Thanks and Good Luck!
I fish all winter long here at Bassfactory Instructional Fishing Trips. This is the very best time of the year to catch a real trophy bass and some big walleyes. This is also an excellent time of year to hone your jig and jerkbait fishing skills. To book a trip email me at Bassfactory@Charter.net or give me a call (314) 406-3913 Gift certificates available....Merry Christmas!!! Steve Wilson
