Osage Arm Offers Consistent Lake of the Ozarks Fishing
By John Neporadny Jr.

Despite heavy development throughout the years, the lower Osage arm of the Lake of the Ozarks continues to produce good fishing year round.

The Osage arm from the 6 to the 24 mile marker winds around three peninsulas known as Horseshoe, Shawnee and Turkey bends. Running through the heavily populated Osage Beach area, this section of the lake contains several coves loaded with rows of boat docks. Numerous marinas and huge condominium docks cover large expanses of shoreline in this area. Recreational boat traffic is heavy in this section from Memorial Day to Labor Day, especially at the mouth of the Grand Glaize arm and around the Lodge of the Four Seasons.

The water in this section has a little more color in it than the dam area and the Gravois, but still offers good visibility most of the year. Water temperatures stay a little cooler on this main river section so fishing picks up a little later in the spring than on the other parts of the lower lake. However some early season action usually occurs in the bigger coves such as North Buck and Buck creeks.

Veteran guides Rob Shonfelt and Bob Cox offer tips on how to catch the following species on the lower Osage.

Crappie

Rob Shonfelt waits for the first couple of warm days in the winter and then tries his favorite method for catching cold-water crappie. The guide and Buck Creek Store operator then keys on brush piles ranging from 10 to 30 feet deep and floats a bobber-and-jig combination over the cover for suspended fish. He usually sets the jig 2 to 3 feet below the plastic bobber and throws the combination around docks, which have brush piles either tied at certain depths along the sides of the boat houses or sunk on the bottom. Docks on the main lake and in the deeper coves produce winter crappie for Shonfelt.

The local angler opts for a 1/32-ounce jig in clear, smoke or gray hues for his bobber-and-jig tactic. He also catches some fish throwing a 1/16-ounce Roadrunner around the same docks.

When spring arrives, Shonfelt still relies on his bobber and jig but moves to shallower docks along the pea gravel shores in the coves and pockets. When working along a barren gravel bank, Shonfelt casts a 1/32-ounce Roadrunner, but if he sees a shallow brush pile, he tosses his bobber and jig to the cover.

After casting his jig past the brush, Shonfelt winds the bobber right into the cover. Waves cause the bobber to rise and fall, which imparts action to the jig below yet keeps the lure in the strike zone longer. The bobber allows Shonfelt to control the depth of his lure to keep it in front of crappie longer, letting him move his lure slowly to entice sluggish fish holding tight to the cover.

During autumn, Shonfelt throws Roadrunners as he cruises down the banks of wind-blown coves. “There are times when I find them in the same brush piles where they spawn in the spring,” he notes. However most of the time, Shonfelt keys on points where he throws a 1/16 or lighter tube jig.

The guide uses 4- to 6-pound test line for all of his crappie tactics throughout the year.

White Bass

Summer and fall are the two seasons Bob Cox takes his clients fishing for white bass. Cox finds whites along the main channel in the summertime and fishes for them early and late in the day. He rates late evening as the best time to try for white bass.

His favorite tactic for summertime is working a 3/8- or 1/ 2-ounce jigging spoon (white with red eyes) or a white-and-red 1/ 4-ounce marabou jig 25 to 30 feet deep along the channel break. He selects 12- to 15-pound line for his jig and spoon tactics.

Fall is the best season for catching whites on the lower Osage. Cox usually starts catching fish in late September and pursues whites until November. “October is your prime month for whites,” he says.

A popper-and-jig combination works best for Cox along wind-blown points. He removes both hooks from a Rebel Pop-R topwater lure and ties a 24-inch leader line to the rear hook eye, then attaches a 1/16-ounce marabou jig (white with red head) to the end of the leader. “We just pop it like you normally would work a Pop-R,” recommends Cox. The guide throws his popper on 15-pound line and uses 10-pound line for the jig trailer.

The fish chase shad extremely shallow on the points so Cox throws his rig within a couple of feet of the bank. “The 1/16-ounce jig doesn’t seem to hang up as much as an 1/8-ounce,” suggests Cox. Limits of 15 white bass can be taken easily by running from one windy point to the next, especially on cloudy days.

Catfish

When the bass fishing gets tough in this section during the summertime, Cox offers his clients an alternative catch. From June through August, the veteran guide keeps his customers busy by taking them catfishing.

His favorite tactic for catching catfish is with a modified Carolina rig. He uses a main line of 15- to 20-pound test and slips on a 1/ 2- to 3/ 4-ounce bullet sinker followed by a swivel. Attached to his swivel is a 48-inch leader with a 2/0 hook on the other end. The guide completes his rig by cutting a Styrofoam bobber in half and clipping it about a foot above the hook. “That float keeps the hook out of the mud so the fish can eat the bait easier,” says Cox. His favorite bait is lake shad, but Cox suggests anglers can also use bait shrimp, crawfish, liver or hot dogs for this Carolina rig.

The Lodge of the Four Seasons guide drifts coves and tries to keep his boat over depths of 6 to 25 feet deep. “I go with the wind whichever way it is blowing,” he says. “If it is blowing from the back end of the cove forward, then I start at the back end or vice versa. We just tear the heck out of them in any of the little coves from the 18 or 19 mile marker on down lake.” The biggest catfish he has taken on his Carolina rig was a 33-pound flathead. His clients usually catch blue and channel cats in the 3- to 8-pound range on the drift technique.

Cox usually starts fishing for white bass in September, but he suggests anglers can probably still catch catfish on this drift tactic throughout the fall.

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.

January    February    March    April    May    June

July August September October November December