With experiencing a few days of summer again this week the weather person is saying we are going to go into fall conditions this weekend. I guess they are right on time with the first day of fall being Sept 23. I hope they are right some cool weather would feel good now. The water temps have been jumping all over the place the past couple weeks and the fish are having a hard time figuring out what to do. The lake in dropping slowly as the COE has not run much water this week. With a little rain in the forecast maybe they will step it up a little this weekend.
This week the leaves have a little bit more color to them. With the moisture we have had the last month I think we should have some fantastic fall foliage this year. Bow season opened last Sat. but I haven't been brave enough to hit the woods yet. Not real sure if those are A-10's or mosquito's out there so I'm waiting for a little cooler weather. At least it will give me a couple more weeks of good fall fishing.
LAKE LEVEL: 707.32
WATER TEMP: 81 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Light stain.
CRAPPIE: Depending who you talk to the crappie bite is either really good or really slow. If you find the right tree it doesn't take long to catch a limit of fish if not it makes for a long day. In this area it seems the brush piles on the points are the best. 15' to 18' has been the best depth. On cloudy days the crappie seem to hang on top the piles while the sun pushes them in the piles. Either minnows or jigs are working. Isolated trees on the flats in 15' - 20' are second best. The fish seem to be holding about 12' down and minnows are working the best here. The bluffs in 25' to 30' of water fished down 15' with minnows will also produce some fish. The closer you fish to the points the better.
BASS: The bass fishing is the same as it was last week. Points either secondary or main lake are the best. The top water bite is working early but slows when the sun gets high. Buzz baits are working the best. During the day either square bills or jig and frog are best in 8' to 12' of water. Look for the points with the wind blowing across. Once this water temp gets moving on a downward trend the bass fishing will come alive.
WHITES & HYBRIDS: With the conditions we have had this week the whites and hybrids have slowed down. I saw very little surface activity this week even though there are tons of shad working the top. It seems they have backed off the windy points to. Best bet is to watch for gulls feeding and fish that area with either a Rooster Tail or run a 1/4 oz. spoon through them. With the weather we have coming this weekend I think these fish will pick up again.
CATFISH: The cat fishing is still pretty good. Seems like the blues have backed off to the edge of the main lake flats in a little deeper water. 18' to 22' seems to be the magic number. Jugs seem to be the best when baited with cut bait set at either 6' or 15'. Next week I'm going to try pulling back in the creeks off the creek channels and try that. With the cool down coming I'm hoping they will move a little.
WALLEYE: The walleye bite got tough this week. Had some friends out Sat. and Sunday and they had a rough go. It seems funny how just a couple of degrees of water temp can make such a difference. The only good report I had was right at sunset trolling deep running crank baits on the humps picked up a couple. 14' was the depth and the fish were right on top the humps.
That's the report for this week. You can contact us at Osage Bluff Marina 660-438-2939 or view us on Face book at Osage Bluff Marina. Check out our new updated web site at www.osagebluffmarina.com. I don't know about you but I'm looking forward to some fantastic fall fishing. We have plenty bait and gas so stop on by.
Till next week
Tommy
