Docks Attract Lake of the Ozarks Crappie
By John Neporadny Jr. 

Deer season is prime time for catching Lake of the Ozarks crappie. 

When many outdoorsmen turn their attention to the woods during November, Roger Fitzpatrick spends a lot of his time on the water because he knows it’s a prime month for catching slab crappie on Lake of the Ozarks. “Until it gets really, really cold, the fish that time of the year stay shallower than most people think,” discloses Fitzpatrick, a Pro Division angler from Eldon, MO. 

  Crappie can be taken from the numerous sunken brush piles scattered throughout the lake, but Fitzpatrick’s favorite November pattern is keying on fish suspended under the docks. “If the wind is blowing, a lot of times the fish will be lying on the sides of the dock facing into the wind,” he suggests. “If it is a calm day the fish will either be on the cross bars in the wells or suspended up under the hoists of the docks.”  

The local expert has found crappie as shallow as 1 to 2 feet below the hoists or 4 to 5 feet deep along the crossbars. “As it gets colder into December the fish still suspend, but they could be down to 10 feet,” says Fitzpatrick, who believes the warmer water surface temperature in November causes the crappie to suspend higher in the water column.  “I’ve caught those suspended fish up to the middle of January until the colder water and air temperature pushes them deeper.” 

Certain docks at the mouth of the Gravois arm to Buck Creek on the Osage annually produce crappie for Fitzpatrick in the late fall.  “The same docks seem to have the fish all year long,” he says.  “You can go down a row of about 15 docks and the crappie may be on two of them.” 

The local angler believes the better docks probably have brush piles sunken underneath the boat houses. “I think brush is there but the fish are suspended,” he claims. 

Productive docks can be found either on the main lake or in coves.   “They are not always in real deep water,” advises Fitzpatrick.  “There is one place I have caught them where the front of the docks are in about 12 feet of water,” Fitzpatrick says. 

Wind tends to position crappie along certain locations of a dock. If the wind is blowing into the sides of the docks, Fitzpatrick keys on the wind-blown side. He targets the front of docks if the front ends are facing the breeze. 

Once he finds the right set of docks, Fitzpatrick selects a 1/32-ounce plastic tube jig for pitching into the wells and along the foam.  He prefers the lightweight jig because it falls slower and stays in the strike zone of the suspended fish longer.  “You can catch them on a 1/16 (ounce), but you’ll catch them three-to-one on a 1/32-ounce jig,” says Fitzpatrick. 

Lure colors for this technique depend on the water clarity. In clear water, Fitzpatrick relies on more translucent hues and switches to a brighter hue such as chartreuse if the water is stained to murky. 

After pitching his jig to a target, Fitzpatrick employs a slow retrieve by letting the jig fall and swing back towards the boat.  He keeps a taut line while the lure descends but he never reels in line or imparts any action to the jig. If he thinks the fish are holding on the crossbars, Fitzpatrick pitches his lure into the dock well and lets it fall back to the metal bar. After it hits the bar, he drags the jig over it and lets the lure fall again on the other side. 

Despite using such a lightweight jig, Fitzpatrick can still detect strikes by watching his line.   “They are so aggressive that time of year that it’s like when a bass bites up shallow—the line really jumps,” exclaims Fitzpatrick. 

Fitzpatrick’s tackle for this tactic includes an ultra light spinning reel and a 6 1/2 –foot light-power, fast action St. Croix rod. He believes the rod’s length is crucial because it helps him accurately deliver the lightweight jig back into the hoists of the dock. 

When fishing clear water, Fitzpatrick uses 4-pound test line, but he opts for 6-pound test in off-color water. “You’ll break a lot of those 12- to 13- inch crappie off trying to lift them over those crossbars with 4-pound test but that’s what I usually use,” he says. 

 The dock pattern produces more quality fish for Fitzpatrick during November. “A lot of times the suspended fish are bigger than those in the brush piles,” he claims.  “You might hit one brush pile and catch a limit but those fish aren’t as big as the ones suspended under the docks.

 “The last several years have been fantastic,” says Fitzpatrick, who has taken numerous fish ranging from 9 to 12 inches.   “Most of the fish you’ll catch will be over 10 ½ to 12 inches and you’ll catch a 13-incher every once in a while.” 

The dock pattern produced especially well for Fitzpatrick one frigid morning in late fall. “This particular morning it was so cold that my partner didn’t show up,” recalls Fitzpatrick. “So I just  went out to an old broken down dock in about 25 feet of water and I had 15 fish in about 10 minutes from one little  corner of the dock.  The only reason it took that long is because I had to keep warming my hands up since it was so cold I couldn’t feel my fingers. I basically caught one on every cast and it was the biggest stringer of crappie I’ve ever caught.  They were all over 12 and 13 inches.”

If he has trouble locating fish suspended under the docks, Fitzpatrick keys on the brush piles in the 20- to 30-foot range. He still uses the 1/32-ounce jig for fishing the shallower brush, but he favors a 1/16-ounce model when probing cover deeper than 25 feet. 

 Fitzpatrick positions his boat over the brush and drops his lure straight down for a vertical presentation.  “A lot of times the crappie will be holding on top of that brush and they’ll hit it as it falls,” he claims.  After his lure touches the brush, Fitzpatrick reels up the lure so it stays just above the cover. He uses a jighead with a weedguard in this situation because it allows him to drag the lure through the limbs without hanging up. 

In December, Fitzpatrick has also caught some suspended crappie by jerking a LuckyCraft Pointer 65 (silver with green sides). When the lake is low, he likes to jerk the suspending lure over the top of brush 12 feet deep.  “That’s a pretty neat deal and a lot of fun,” says Fitzpatrick.  He works the lures with 8-pound test line, which allows the jerkbait to dive down to 8 to 10 feet. 

If you prefer crappie filets over venison, head for Lake of the Ozarks in November and December to enjoy some of the best crappie action of the year. 

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.

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