Well the holiday weekend is upon us and it looks like a perfect weekend to spend on the lake. The weatherman is forecasting a perfect weekend weather wise here at the lake. Mid 80's during the day and mid 50's at night with no rain in the forecast. With this nice weather we are having the deer are also liking it so extra caution is advised when traveling as they are out and about in full force. The lake is still down a little over a foot so a little extra caution is advised here also, it sure saves on props.
LAKE LEVEL: 704.68
WATER TEMP: 79 deg.
WATER CLARITY: Light stain.
CRAPPIE: Crappie are being caught on several patterns now. Trees on the flats in 12' to 17' of water fished with minnows down 10'. They seem to roam between the cedars and hardwoods everyday. Brush piles in 14' to 18' fished with minnows is also good. Wind drifting the piles seems to work better than sitting on them. Bluff banks in 20'+ water fished with minnows down 15' is also working but you will have to sort through some short fish. Isolated clumps of trees on the flats in 14' to 20' of water have been producing some nice fish. Some of these fish have been holding a foot off the bottom. Here again minnows are the best bait.
BASS: Bass fishing remains the same as last week. Points are the best pattern with both main lake and secondary points working. 8' to 12' of water seems the best when fished with a big worm or a jig and frog. The top water bite is still working with buzz baits in the early am. on the flats. Square bills are working on the tree lines bordering the creek channels. With the cooler weather coming next week I look for the water temp to start dropping and these fish to start moving around.
WHITES & HYBRIDS: With the lack of water flow through the dam the hump fishing has slowed down but the surface activity has really picked up. The shad pods are on the surface all over the lake and the whites seem to be hanging right with them. Rooster tails and small Rat l traps work great on these fish. Early in the am it seems there are fish surfacing everywhere. The evenings are also good but keep a rod ready during the day as you never know when a school of fish will blow up right in front of you. KK Island and both Big and Little Pommie have lots of surfacing going on. The hybrids are also starting to get more active chasing shad. A Sassy shad on a 1/2 oz head has been working here.
CATFISH: We are starting to see lots of big blues come in now. Jugs seem to be the best when using cut bait. The edge of the flats in 12' to 20' of water with baits set about 8' is producing several fish over the slot. It seems this week there has been more fish in the slot caught than in the past. Rod and reel fishing has also picked up on the flats fishing 8' to 12' with cut bait.
WALLEYE: The walleye fishing was good last weekend with trolling flicker shad over the humps. With the lake down a little the baits will dig the bottom a little more and it seems the walleye are liking that. The crawler rigs seem to have picked up this week also. The saddle on the shallower side of the humps seem to be more productive than the deeper side. Cooler weather coming so let hope these fish get fired up.
That's it for this week so come on down and join in on the fun here at Osage Bluff Marina 660-438-2939 over the holiday. The number for the Osage Bluff motel is 660-438-2891. Looks like next week it is going to start to cool down so lets get ready for some good fall fishing.
Till next week
Tommy
