JACK'S GUIDE SERVICE
on Lake of the Ozarks
Professional Licensed and Insured Guide Service
573-434-2570
Fishing Reports for Lake of the Ozarks
July 26, 2010 My computer was in the shop for a while so I'm sorry to those of you who where looking for your pictures on my website. It's the dog days of summer now with water temps near 90. Fishing has slowed up quite a bit for the most part. Bass are good some days but other days pretty tough. Plastic worms are the key either around docks or on points. Some good fishing can still be had but this heat makes it tough for the beginner angler. Catfishing has been slow but should be picking up any day now. Actually right about now is usually the best catfishing of the whole year. Crappie fishing has actually picked up a little. Catching a few more keepers on jigs around docks. I've got to go because I've got another trip tonight. Good luck fishing everyone!
June 22, 2010 They stopped pulling water because of the Missouri river flooding. It's made the bass fishing more difficult for the average fisherman. The best bass fishing is in the brushpiles with a 7 or 10 inch berkley worm. A guy had a 6plus today but they have gotten tougher the last couple weeks. If you're a good bass fisherman there is still some very good fishing. Good ole texas rig on points or brush. Catching a few whites and a handful of hybrids. The best bite has been the big blue cats! Several limits of cats have been taken just about everyday. Mostly good eaters around 5lbs. But I kept saying we were due for a big fish and we got her yesterday. 42.7 lbs on the scale took over 20minutes to get in. Let the big girl go and kept all the eaters. Not before taking a few pictures though. They will start pulling water again shortly, maybe a week or so. Usually this helps the bite, but it might hurt the great catfishing.
June 8, 2010 Just when you think fishing can't get any better on this lake it does. I've been so busy catching fish I haven't been able to post any reports. Well the crappie fishing stinks but they are mixed in with the whites for the most part. So it's still pretty fun because white bass are little crack heads running around the lake in a feeding frenzy. Plus we ran into a couple hybrids this morning chasing the whites on ultralites! Crappie are relating to deep docks on tube jigs same with most of my white bass. I was catching a ton of little whites (like literally a 100 fish in a morning) but the big ones moved in and I guess pushed out the little runts. Catfishing has been real good too. Drifting cut bait 20-40ft deep in coves mostly. Catching a good number of keepers 1-10lb range. Either one of these patterns is great for novice fisherman or families. Bass fishing has been the best out of everything. They are moving out to summer humps and roaming around in schools feeding aggressively at times. Even chasing shad out of the water in hot pursuit! Football jigs, 10inch worms, DD22's, shaky head senko, and a spoon have been working. Set up a milk run and make long casts and set the hook hard. Good 4-5 lb fish every now and then with a bunch of keepers bass too. PB2 has been hot, but there are lots of areas of the lake that have been good. The main lake above the 25mm has been rather stained but is really starting to clear. Rest of the lake is light stained what I call "good green". As always if you don't believe me check out my recent pics I just added. No other guide here at this lake does what I do.
May 20 Well the fishing hasn't really changed all that much. The bass are still shallow for the most part. Some are moving deeper but see with the water temps still around 65 degrees most are still shallow. Shaky head, wacky rig, carolina rig, a little topwater, but mostly soft plastics fished slow and shallow. Still fishing around docks skip casting at times to the walkways. A few of the big ones get off fishing this method but you still land most of them. We have had a ton of rain lately and it has muddied up much of the lake. I live at the 31 and viability is improving today. I can see about 10 inches down now, which isn't horrible, but I generally prefer to take my guide trips to the lower part of the lake where the water is still clear. Some bass are still on beds. Mostly males, few females lots of the fish have signs of the spawn. I imagine the shallow bite will remain strong for until the end of the month. The lake has risen quite a bit the last couple of weeks. The lake stills drops a couple inches and it messes with the fish to where they like to be on a slightly steeper bank instead of a flat shallow pea gravel spawning bank.
Crappie fishing is ok I guess. I had a crappie trip yesterday and we caught them better than what I thought we were going to. We are just catching a ton of them, they are just small though. We killed about 20 keepers yesterday in about 4 hours. Not bad, just not a lot of good fish. Mostly just keepers or just short of being a keeper. We caught at least 50 fish to cull through the 20 keepers. Jigs with minnows was the bait. The Crappie were loosely related to some docks I had found in practice. We would of had our limit eventually but they wanted to try some bass fishing.
Catfishing has been good, although I haven't done all that much of it. Some parts of the lake shad are at a premium. Shad are the best bait and this past cold winter took it's toll on the shad population. The Niagua and the Grand Glaize still has plenty of shad. I've been fishing next to bluffs to catch em. No giants yet, plenty of good fish and some good eaters too.
I've got this weekend open if anyone is interested. All next week is booked solid.
April 28 I've spent almost everyday on the water this month catching fish. Very few tough days, almost everyday has been great. Lots of keeper bass plus lots of limits of crappie. We have already had a good spawn which was the first wave of spawning fish move up and lock onto beds. I expect more fish to be moving up soon because we have a full moon coming up. My most consistent bite has been on the sunny pleasant days. For the most part my bass fishing has been done with a carolina rig. I have also been sight fishing for bedding bass if they are locked on a bed. Tubes, jigs, plastic worms are also taking fish. The crappie fishing for much of the lake is slow for most people. Some keepers but lots of small fish in the 6-8 inch range. I've been fishing a different part of the lake than I normally fish to get away from all the small crappie. It's been working, just yesterday we had our limits by 11:30. Mostly keepers all dark shallow fish. Half on jigs half on minnows. More waves of spawning fish are going to be moving up in the weeks to come. Once again if you don't believe me look at my recently added fishing pictures. Lots of fisherman talk about great fishing but I have the proof in the pictures.
April 13 The fish are biting! Now is the time to get on the water. In the last few weeks everything has changed, we had frozen water a month ago now the lake's water temp is as high as 66 degrees. Most of the lake is around 59 with most of the fish are in full prespawn mode. Secondary points, main lake points, steep banks, even a few fish have moved all the way back in the coves to where you can sight fish them. There are a few beds made however I have not caught any fish on them yet. Very spooky females for the most part, I can catch a few little buck bass sight fishing so far. I imagine that will change this week with the 80 degree sunny weather for the next 5 days. The entire lake has turned on however I'm still concentrating my efforts on the Niangua and lower lake section of the lake. There is a good early morning bite, and good all day bite especially if you have some wind. In the afternoon or early evening keep your eyes open and look for fish. The surface water is the warmest and some fish are hanging around the docks or anything floating in the water. Right now you can catch fish on the whole tackle box everything from jerkbaits, jigs, crankbaits, spinnerbaits, tubes, worms, mojo rig, beavers, brushhogs. Fish the wind on the bright days and try to be as stealthy as you can while casting.
April 7, 2010 WOW fishing has really changed! Water temps a month ago were frigid. Now temps are up to low sixties up some rivers. Spinnerbaits are easy to use and are catching fish. We had a couple of 4 pounders the other day on spinners. To catch more numbers stick with the jerkbait. And you still have a great chance of landing a pig. I caught a fish almost 7 pounds today with a jerkbait. Fish the wind and steep banks. If you've always heard about the jerkbait but never mastered it now is the time to book a guide trip to learn how to fish it properly. The bass fishing has been really good, I would say it's the best April I've seen. On to Crappie fishing, it's pretty good. On the docks with shade, jigs only, no minnows are needed. Much of the lake is overwhelmed with short 7inch crappie. We must of had a good spawn a couple years ago. I've got a couple areas of the lake that are still producing the nice crappie. I'm not going to mention which part of the lake. We've caught a few crappie up to 15 inches so far this year. Those are really big for crappie!!
March 25, 2010 Crappie bite is on! We had a great day the other day. No monster crappie but lots of keepers. I wish everyday was like that. They really moved since last week but the bite has gotten even better. Mostly jig fishing with a handful of minnows at times. Bass fishing is still a little challenging. At times you can find a big group of bass feeding. Like 15 to 20 loaded up on a bank. I catching them on a jig, and a soft plastic craw. Little stickbait still on windy banks. The bass have been a little sluggish still. Maybe a few more warm days and I'm sure things will change again.
March 15, 2010 The Crappie fishing has really picked up lately with the warm weather. Crappie always like to be close to brush and this is no exception. I'm finding crappie close to the bank and in good sized groups. As the water temps continue to rise so will the crappie in the water depth. Jigs for searching, minnows for catching. There is not a ton of spots that have crappie, but the few spots that have them have a good number of crappie waiting for you.
Bass fishing has been tough for many people, Including myself, until recently. There is a few guys that have figured out what some big bass are doing and the tournaments are taking 18 to 20lbs a day to win. Weights quickly drop after the first few places. I'm catching my fish on a crankbait, jig, and a tube. All fished shallow, and slow. The main bait has been the stickbait like a Megabass, Pointer, Rogue or the little smaller Frenzy Firestick. Fishing has finally going good. Spring has finally sprung and warm temps are here most days. Today's forecast is 67 and sunny. I love this time of year!
December 7, 2009 Water Temp low 50's to upper40's water clarity finally clearing up. Water levels dropping with the beginning of the winter draw down. The dams are now just pulling light generation after 2 months of heavy generation. Crappie are quite numerous but you have to catch lots of numbers to bring back enough for dinner. Which is fun but you have to go into it knowing most of the fish are going to be under sized. Still after a nice day on the water their is enough for a good dinner. Which I had a fresh crappie dinner just the other night. Bass were on a great buzzbait bite on the cloudy days! It was incredible. Spinnerbaits in combination with wind and bluffs is now the best and more consistent bite. Numbers have been down but size has been up. You can cover a whole bluff and only get 2 bites. Those few bites are going to be quality fish though and you can not let your guard down. You have to be ready for the bites. Slow your bait down and keep it steady coming back bumping the rocks to provoke a reaction strike. Then just find the next bluff of steep rocky bank. The famous Lake of the Ozarks stickbait bite is just around the corner. The water needs to clear a bit more before it gets really hot. Dress warm with layers and windblocker clothing, a good warm hat, and try to fish the warmer days with some sun. Once your body gets accustomed to the cold even a 40 degree can really be quite nice and pleasant.
Nov1, 2009 Well I'm a famous actor now guys. I was invited to help a TV show called MonsterQuest on the History Channel. They needed a professional fishing guide to help them find Piranha in the Lake of the Ozarks! Obviously we didn't find any. But there actually has been at least 3 caught by fisherman in the last three years. It was a blast but I'm a horrible actor! I'll stick to fishing. Three days with the crew last week while we did a lot of under water scuba diving and filming, interviews with locals and a lot of playing around with a dead chicken. Look for the show next spring.
Water temp 57degrees. Most of the lake is turning over and heavily stained. There is an area that still has clear water and fish biting. Fishing trips have been up and down with the lake turning over. Luckily I worked though it and found this area with good water conditions and it is not turning over yet. Yesterday we had a 5 pounder, a 4 pounder and a few keeper largemouth bass to finish our limit. Still catching white bass and small hybrids on windy points. However numbers have gone down. Crappie in that clear water are fair to good on brushpiles and bluffs. Next week looks to be great weather sunny (no rain finally!) and temps around 60 degrees. Spinnerbaits, football jigs, a little shaky head worm for the largemouth. Small hybrids on white jigs, whites on in-line spinners burned back to the boat. I've got Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday booked already --every other day open for calls.
October 16, 2009 It's been chilly!! Now is the time to put some fish in your freezer before it gets really cold. White bass have still been my main species to try for most days. A bit more spread out now but still the hottest fish biting. 20-30 keepers is average on any good windy day. Caught a monster 35lb 42 inch blue catfish yesterday after catching a bunch of whites and a couple of hybrids. The perfect finish to a great day. Congrats to him on catching his largest fish ever. Largemouth have been feeding heavy on shad. Spinnerbaits and buzzbaits around the big groups of shad will produce numbers and keepers for you. I had a few crappie guide trips before the dirtier water came in and hopefully the dirty water will leave in a couple of days. Did well on taking a number of limits of crappie from brushpiles. Between now and the end of the year fish are going to be feeding as the water temps decrease in advance of the extreme cold coming.
October 2, 2009 White bass are biting really good right now. All other species have slowed. Bass can be caught on spinnerbaits, Frenzy cranks, Berkley heavyweight sinkworms, and jigs. Bass are very heavily pressured with lots of big tournaments so patterns have been difficult to run. Slightly stained water has moved in and slowed down the crappie bite, they will pick up again in a few days. The best has been the white bass fishing today we had 30 keepers, Tuesday we had 30, yesterday we only had 15 but most of them were hybrids. So much fun, and good to eat. Hard fighting, 1 to 3 pound crackheads in shallow water. Any day that the wind blows this time of year we can get into a bunch of them! And this is going to be a good year for them. Come on down and get ya a stringer full!
September 16, 2009 Sorry for the lack of fishing reports, I've had a string of equipment problems and then I wrecked my truck. I've been fishing again for most of the past week. Yesterday we limited up on crappie before lunchtime all from brushpiles and a couple of docks. The day before we had about 40 keeper crappie which is great. They are feeding pretty good with a few big ones in the 13 inch range. Wind from the north and east has helping some fall patterns come early this year. White bass need a good wind to make them bite on points. Largemouth are on docks in the backs of coves on wacky worms and shallow running crankbaits. If they drop the water overnight the bass will suck out to slightly deeper docks with some structure to hold on to. Casting accuracy is very important right now. If you can put your bait where you want it you will get hit. Often times right off the bat. Play the wind in your favor but don't fish in spots that it so windy that it causes you to be on the dock every 5 minutes. The baitfish have been moving around from main lake to back of the coves by the afternoon. That is the best time to catch bass in the afternoon. They pull tight to cover because of the sun. All you have to do is quietly place your lure next to them and pay attention for the tick. The mornings have been just so so. Some mornings are good but they are hard to predict. Most bass are one to two pounds while the big bass (4pounds or bigger) have been tight lipped. We caught one big bass this week. But much of my attention has turned to crappie. Just like we did yesterday on a full day guide trip we caught crappie in the morning for a few hours and then turned our attention to bass to finish up the day with a few bigger fish. The weather looks to be unbeatable they say next week with highs around 80 and lows in the 60's. The lake traffic has died down to a crawl which is so nice for me. I've got a lot of open days next week after three trips tomorrow, and Saturday and Sunday mornings booked with half days.
August 13, 2009 Crappie are biting on deep water docks around brush suspended 2-20feet deep. Some days we catch a bunch of little guys other days we are catching mostly keepers. I've been hitting this one dock a lot lately and it is hot. Crappie nibbles are worth their weight in gold to me!! Catfish are improving quite a bit, lots of good evening trips with some nice fresh fish dinners for my customers. Since my last fishing report we busted a 25lb blue and a 30lb Blue. All on shad trolled behind the boat going real slow. One ounce weight and 17lb test on basically bass tackle. The big fish are not the norm but all very possible this time of year. Once again I am not one of those fisherman that just talks about good fishing, I prove it with my client pictures. I take average fisherman and try to make the most out of the conditions to have you catch more fish. I fish 6 days a week (at least) and take fishing seriously. I usually push my customers to expand from their previous fishing experience to the next step in learning how to be a better angler. I just put up some more client pictures for you guys to enjoy.
July 27, 2009 Fishing has slowed down for bass. We are still catching bass but concentration and diligence while fishing your plastic worms around brush and brushpiles is the key to success right now. Yesterday we had a small limit plus a five pound kicker fish. So I guess I can't complain to much. That's still pretty good. There is lots of tournament fisherman that would love that. Almost getting hung up and then as soon as your bait comes free is when most of the bites are coming. The crappie are actually getting better on a couple of docks I got. Mostly small but enough keepers to bring home a meal. Catfish are fair, the numbers are good but we haven't popped a big one yet. Any day it could happen, 30, 40, even 50 pounder are possible. I've got lots of trips planned for the next couple of weeks so if anyone is looking for a trip I don't have many mornings available, however I can do evening trips starting usually about 4 or 5pm and end at 9pm.
July 14, 2009 Fishing has finally slowed down this past week a little bit. They stopped pulling water though the dams and the fish are still biting, but not lights out like it was. The white are back to normal and bass are biting on plastic worms on points. Still getting some nice fish occasionally, yesterday we had a 4 and a 3 pound bass to go along with a handful of 2 pound keepers. We've been getting a lot of rain lately and I'm thinking that they should increase the current flow I hope. Overall the fishing has gotten harder so in this situation you want to slow down most of your presentations and work the area thoroughly when you find a couple of fish. Bouncing point to point means if they not there in the first 10 minutes it is time to move. If they are there slow down, pay attention, and swing hard.
July 3, 2009 I've been real busy with lots of guide trips and lots of fish being caught! The last few days the white and hybrids have been schooling up at this one spot topwaters worked fast have been the best and spoons when you don't see them popping. Yesterday between two guide trips we had o ver a hundred fish! Whites, hybrids, catfish, largemouth, a walleye and crappie all being caught. This won't last long. Whites are rare around this lake, hopefully this will be a good year for them. They are good eating and second in flavor only to crappie. Aggressive, hard fighting, and good eating is pretty hard to beat.
June 16, 2009 Summer is here and fishing is hot. Now the bass are on points in schools chasing baitfish feeding at times very aggressively. Football jigs and jighead worms, even a little swimbait action. Hitting the school right is a timing issue. I've been running back and forth from spot to spot catching some quality fish. The docks have been also producing lots of fish but they are small, but fun. We hit one dock today that we caught about 25 to 30 bass. Mostly small but really really fun. We're not catching as many quality bass as we were a few weeks ago. Still caught 3 bass over five pounds this week and a number of 3pound bas.
May 26, 2009 Fishing is still really good right now. We had 14 keeper bass this morning all on plastic worms shallow around spawning areas. 2 to 3 pound bass with a 4 pounder every now and then. If you like to catch bass in shallow water right now is the time to come down. I haven't messed around with crappie or catfish but I hear they are biting. The bass have been pretty solid for a couple of weeks now. The lakes have been very full and conditions I'm sure will change, they always do. Today they wanted the worm on a jig head shakey style.
May 15, 2009 Bass fishing is great right now and for the next couple weeks. We had 8 good keeper bass yesterday on floating worms mostly rigged wacky style on the lower lake. A fun way to fish when the fish are shallow and nesting. You can go out right now and catch them on about what ever lure in your tackle box. I've caught keepers on crankbaits, topwaters, spinnerbaits, jigs, lots of differant soft plastics, you name it. A few days ago on a guide trip a gentleman caught 2 SMALLMOUTH!! I've been fishing this lake for 20 years and never seen a smallmouth before until that day on this lake. And they were small either, they were solid keepers. Check out my pictures page to see. We have been dodging the rain clouds and down pours which have muddied up some parts of the lake. I can fish the mud but generally prefer to run away when possible to clearer water. I had a trip a couple days a go in the mud and we did horrible. Besides one big bass (4lb) the day was one to be forgotten. Then yesterday we head to the dam and smoked them. Pockets inside coves, behind docks, in protected areas, are the typical spawning areas. Fishing pressure (other fisherman) are taking their toile on the fish so if you can come down during the week. It has been a big difference. Time of day has not been a factor in regards to fish activity. I have even been catching fish on topwaters in the afternoon on sunny days. Skip casting while easy to do does take a little practice to master. It has been worth the extra time and effort to cast to places others have pasted by by using this technique.
I would also like to take a moment to thank some of my recent past clients. I've been very fortunate lately with some really fun trips with guys that are really easy to get along with and I really appreciate your business. People that are even new to bass fishing (or just fishing in general) can have a very productive fun day if they listen to me and do what I tell them. It has worked out great recently even with difficult conditions and challenging fish.
One more quick note the crappie are going to be difficult for about 10 days or so until they regroup on main lake structure. Also the water has to clear which who knows when that will happen.
May 8, 2009 Peak Spawn right now at Lake of the Ozarks. I have had a number of good trips this past week with the bass and crappie shallow and aggressive. Minnows have been the ticket for crappie and a couple of tricks I'm not going to mention to really get the multiple bites from one location. The crappie should go into a funk here in a week or so and then rebound in a couple of weeks in big groups in the main lake. Bass fishing should stay good for a while eating floating worms, or split shot rigs. Bass are on beds right now all over the lake. Not necessarily the best time to catch a huge stringer, but great to catch lots of fun chunky fish. The water is at full pool with heavy generation from the dams not being a big factor until latter this month. Water temps in the mid 60's in the afternoons. Have been trying to dodge the thunderstorms and have been somewhat successful. One nice thing about Lake of the Ozarks is that when the bad part of a storm comes you can hide under a dock until the heavy stuff passes and then get back to fishing. This is my favorite time of the year to catch fish. Right now I only have 3 trips scheduled for next week so give me a call if you are thinking about doing a guide trip.
April 23, 2009 Water temp in the mornings are around 51 climbing to 63 during the warm afternoons. Bass and crappie are spawning right now in the shallow water in the backs of the coves. Rising water levels, along with rising water temperatures are getting the fish back on track. This year has been a different year than the usual spawn. I've had some rather tough days while other days we tear them up. I predict everything will be much better after this warm, sunny stretch of consecutive dry days. We've got heavily stained water clarity in my end of the lake with the crappie fishing better in this end. I've also been spending a lot of time down by the dam fishing for some guide trips, the water is clearer and a little cooler. Bass are on beds and very spooky. The bigger females are around waiting for the right moment. You can see them but they won't bite just yet. Backs of the creeks around docks. Tubes, craws, floating worms. Soft plastics are important right now with the sunshine. Split shotting is an easy way to put fish in the boat. The other main method is to skip cast underneath docks and walk ways. This spring has been late so the next month of may should be phenomenal.
April 6, 2009 Water temperatures have ranging from high 40's to low 50's here around Tan-Tar-A. Fish are feeding pretty good in preparation for the spawn in about a month. Bass and crappie are shallow next to brush in coves. Bass are 1-5ft (for the most part) hitting spinnerbaits, crankbaits, jigs and tubes. In the morning concentrate on steep banks with big rocks in the backs of coves. As the day moves on you should try bumping your crankbait off of cover to trigger a bite. Stickbaits were catching a lot of fish until recently now you can cover more water with the other baits more efficiently. The fish are in groups still and when you find a couple slow down and work the area thoroughly. Crappie are a little more unpredictable in what areas they are using. They are in big schools in a few areas I have found and have been working for a while now. There are more crappie moving in to replace the ones I'm taking out everyday. Just like with the bass you won't catch all the fish there so return later after the area has rested. If anyone of you have fished with me in the past you know how I believe in Berkley Crappie Nibbles, well right now is no different. Colors will change daily, don't get hung up using just one color. Plus once you have showed a school of crappie a particular color change up and show them something else after a while. Keep it simple- I use 1/16oz jigheads with 4lb Berkley Sensation line in the bright green solar color so I can watch for light biters. Some docks have been loaded while other docks have been barren. Fishing is pretty good right now and getting even better in the time to come. I love this time of year, dogwoods are blooming, fish are shallow and getting ready to spawn. Some fish have already spawned. Good luck fishing.
Jan 3, 2008 Winter fishing is my toughest time of year. Water temps right now are about 40 degrees they shouldn't drop to much more. Usually the lake bottoms out at 37 degrees. Fish are certainly still biting however you have to adjust to the low metabolism of the fish. Crappie are being caught from deep brushpiles around 15-20 feet deep with a slow presentation. When I first pull up to a pile I'll fan cast and then slowly position the boat to have a vertical presentation. One secret right now is to let your jig almost get hung up on a limb and then just leave it there motionless within an inch of the limb. You will get a bite, you just have to be patient. There are some docks if you hit them right can be very productive. The best part about dock fishing is you can move very slow and pay super close attention to the light bites. Now is the time of year I try to concentrate on all of the other aspects of fishing but not actually going fishing. I buy a lot of gear this time of year, rods, reels, baits then I test everything. Deep clean of my boat, organize tackle, plant brushpiles, work on advertising for next year, and work sport shows. I'll be at the Pure Fishing booth all this week at Kansas City Sports Show. I'll also work the St. Louis Boat Show and usually one or two Bass Pro Shops Spring Classics. If you attend any of these shows stop by say Hi and we'll talk about fishing.
Nov 12, 2008 Fall feeding frenzy is in full effect. Water temp is around 60degrees and slowly falling. Crappie are biting very well. They are suspended around and above brushpiles in 5-12 feet of water. On cloudy days bounce around from to brushpiles, get a rotation going picking off the active crappie until your limit is full. The bass fishing is what is really fun right now. The bass are shallow in the backs of coves on spinnerbaits. Double willowleaf blades, 17lb mono and a 7ft MH rod slow and steady retrieve. They're really eating it. If the shad are active and you're around them fish in and under them. If the shad not present that's OK fish the shallow brush and or lay downs. I had 2 guide trips last week and one fun fishing day with another guide. All on spinnerbaits and few bass on stickbaits. I had one morning I had 37 bass before noon about half were keeper sized bass. It's a great time to get out on the water, it's pretty quite. Most guys are in the woods. This fall pattern will last until the water temp drops in the the 40's, usually in mid December.
Sept 16, 2008 Bass fishing has slowed quite a bit. Catching 12-20 bass is pretty typical right now with a handful of 2 pounders. A lot of baits are working pick one and get used to it. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, topwaters, plastic worms, senkos, flukes, jigs, about anything can catch fish right now. It's more about casting accurately to the docks. The fish are widely scattered from main lake points to coves to creek arms. The shad are everywhere with fish (bass) are busting shad aggressively at times. Crappie are really biting, I've got a dock that has been loaded with fish. Numerous limits the last couple weeks have been taken out. Vertical fishing over brushpiles over deep water. Crappie jigs with crappie nibbles are all you need. It's been a lot of fun. Typically if you drop 10 times you will get 9 bites and catch 6 fish 3 of which will be a keepers.
Sept 2, 2008 The fish have really moved from their summertime pattern to more of a early fall pattern. This is a great time to get out and catch a ton of 1-2lb bass. Great time for beginners to get some confidence and practice catching numbers of bass. The down side is the big 5 pounders have almost vanished. Literally 2 to 3 dozen bass in a full day guide trip is normal right now. But of those 30 bass only one or two will be a 4lb bass if you are lucky. Most people don't complain because they are too busy catching bass. The bass have followed the shad into the coves and are hanging around docks. A variety of baits will produce such as crankbaits, spinnerbaits, plastic worms, fluke style baits, tubes, even topwaters. The bright sunny afternoons have been the best. The more sun and the more wind the better fishing will be. The mornings have been slow for bass so we've been keeping busy catching crappie. Crappie fishing will continue to improve and get bigger and better fish. Catching numbers of crappie right now is not the problem it's weeding through the shorts to eventually get a nice mess for the frying pan. This is a nice time of the year before it gets cold and high temps are in the 70's. Early fall can be difficult if you're looking for lunkers however it is a great time to go fun fishing and catch lots of numbers. I've got lots of fishing guide trips lined up for the September but October is looking pretty open if anyone is interested in coming to Lake of the Ozarks for a fishing guide.
August 3, 2008 Fishing is still pretty good even through all of this extreme heat. The bass are still biting good on football jigs and big worms. The good points are not as common as they were a month ago, but when you get a good school of bass biting you can load the boat quickly. In addition to the point fishing the dock fishing is really picking up. This past week we had 2 bass on one crankbait! I've only done that once before in my whole life. Catfishing has continued to improve with lots of 2-5lb eater's and an occasional big fish. We caught a 53lb blue on cut shad. WOW that is one fat fish.
July 13, 2008 Fishing slowed down a little bit compared to the past few weeks. It has been really good for so long it couldn't last forever. Still had a 5pounder Bass plus a few other keepers plus some shorts. 11 Flood gates are open and the current is raging out on the main lake which is good but all the muddy water has hurt my main area I guide out of. Fish are certainly still biting even with the dirty water.
Catfish are biting pretty good. Few days ago that was pretty much what we fished for most of the day. Landed 4 good 3-5 lb blues but the big one got away. We set the hook on one big fish but after a 30second initial run she broke the line! Same spot that we had that 40lb blue a couple weeks ago. We still had a good stringer though. Caught some bass to finish off the day.
July 10, 2008 Huge blue catfish we landed last week check out the picture on my client picture page. Catfish are biting well on cut shad off of points in 10-30 feet deep. Most catfish are 1-5 range but bigger ones are out there and biting. Slowly drag a big hunk of meat with 1oz weight behind the boat. Watch your depth finders for activity. I recently bought that Side Imaging depthfinder from Hummingbird and WOW how cool is this thing. Really helps for catfishing.
The bass are still really biting well on current swept points. 10inch worms and football jigs are the ticket to quality bass. A nine year old boy had a 5plus pound bass last week. All by himself also, he casted, he set the hook, he played him in until I netted the lunker. In addition to the point fishing the dock fishing for numbers of bass is really getting going. We had 19 bass off of one corner of a dock. That's one big school. Mostly smaller buck bass but they bite and offer some fast action.
June 26 Fishing has been great lately. The largemouth are really bunching up in small aggressive groups on main lake points with current on them. It's a great time to get your football jig and big worms out and catch some quality bass. Current is the key with all of this rain this year fishing should remain good for a while. Truman and all of the other lakes are high and tough fishing is the result. But not on Lake of the Ozarks since it has so much development along the shore lines it can't flood. The current from Truman Dam and Bagnel Dam working together is the key. Current is what is positioning these fish out on points for easy meals. Bass have been anywhere from 2 feet to about 15 feet deep. Not that deep. Long points that stick way out close to the channel are the best. Brushpiles help and or big rocks help but not needed. Darker football jigs have been taking most of the fish, Berkley 10inch worm in black and blue has been working, and crankbaits.
Crappie are in big schools right now. I got a three spots now that I have been hammering for three weeks now taking out limit after limit of crappie. All deep water docks with current nearby positioning these fish and waiting for food. An added bonus is the white bass we've been catching while fishing for the crappie. Both of the fish are really good to eat and I would be happy to clean them for you.
Catfishing: I just recently started fishing for the blues and have caught some. Good numbers but no big ones yet, just good eaters 1-6lb range. I'm sure as the bass fishing diminishes I will invest more time catfishing. There is one spot very close to where I guide out of that they were really biting at. No messing around nibbling the bait either they bite and took off hard towards deep water. All of the better blue cats have come on cut shad. Nightcrawlers and prepared baits are just catching smaller channels right now.
Just for fun yesterday I ran into a big school of gar. Those big ugly fish are really a challenging fish to hook and land. Sight fishing, accurate casting, loose drags, and patience are critical. I landed 4 fish in 3hours however I lost about 20. Boy those fish have really sharp teeth we where gloves to protect our hands but one gar about 4 foot long flopped and cut my arm as he was falling back into the lake. What a cool fish.
No Fish--No Pay Policy
If we don’t catch a fish your next trip is 100% FREE.
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Jack's Guide Service
378 Winter Wood Loop
Linn Creek, MO 65052
573-434-2570
jack@fishinglakeoftheozarks.com