Fishing Report For July 2013
Monday, July 1, 2013
This months fishing report meeting was at the Willmore Lodge on the night of the Bassing Bob website launch. Special guest contributing are Greg Stoner- biologist with MDOC, Denise Dill-Bassing Bob professional woman’s advisor, John Neporadny-author of The Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide, Roger Fitzpatrick -top tournament fisherman at Lake of the Ozarks along with out experts James Dill of Crock-o-Gator Bait Company, Wayne Fitzpatrick of Fitz Tackle and Jack Uxa with Jacks Guide Service
Check out the round table video of the Bassing Bob experts and special guest discussing all these tips for fishing Lake of the Ozarks in July.
This months fishing report meeting was at the Willmore Lodge on the night of the Bassing Bob website launch. Special guest contributing are Greg Stoner- biologist with MDOC, Denise Dill-Bassing Bob professional woman's advisor, John Neporadny-author of The Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide, Roger Fitzpatrick -top tournament fisherman at Lake of the Ozarks along with out experts James Dill of Crock-o-Gator Bait Company, Wayne Fitzpatrick of Fitz Tackle and Jack Uxa with Jacks Guide Service
This report by these experts are based on many years of bass fishing experience at Lake of the Ozarks. Here is what they have to say about what to expect fishing in the month of July 2013 for bass.
The water temperature this July should be well above 80 degrees. The current will remain an important factor as to where the fish will be positioned early in the month When Truman Lake falls to normal pool this will cause the generation to shut down at Lake of the Ozarks. All the experts agree that the generation will be important as to where the bass will be positioned.
While there is still medium to heavy generation, you should fish main lake points with large profile baits. These large baits will move a lot of water which will attract the bass. Use large 1 oz jigs around main points and ledges. The Crock-o-Gator reaction jigs are an excellent choice on the ledges. Also football jigs work well on the ledges in July as the bass will be holding just off the end of the ledge. The bass many times will hit the lure just as it falls off the ledge so be prepared. The bass can also be found on long points that extend out towards or alongside the channel. This area can be difficult to fish during the day with heavy boat traffic. If the boat traffic is heavy, then fish early in the morning and evening around the main lake. As the generation slows and the water continues to warm or stops the bass will begin to spread out and move to brush piles and other cover.
Another tip by Roger Fitzpatrick, to avoid the boat traffic, fish from the 80 MM to Truman Dam. In this area there is little boat traffic and the fishing is excellent. Fish the laydowns in the main river and also fish long points. roger suggest using a square bill crankbait, topwater lures and 10” worms.
Another pattern that works well is fishing in the coves around docks. There are many no wake coves around the lake that are a bit more relaxing to fish in. Go towards the back of the cove and concentrate on the shaded sides of the docks in 10 feet of water. Try a finesse jig in these areas. The small shaded area between the pontoon floats and dock floats are an area on the dock bass can be caught.
According to Greg Stoner, a biologist with the Missouri Department of Conservation, as the water tempature rises the oxygen level decreases. The bass will exert more energy when caught in these warmer conditions. Greg also suggest that the bass need to be handled carefully. It is important to keep the fish wet, return the fish to the water as soon as possible, keep the fight to a minimum and avoid the fish from coming in contact with the carpet of the boat or anything else that will damage the protective coating of the fish. With the warmer temperatures the bass are much more susceptible to damage and disease and therefore need to be handled with great care. These points are extremely important for the survival of the bass during these warms months.
According to John Neporadny although he agrees with with fishing the deeper bluffs and deep points in July he also recommends fishing in the coves around docks in 10 feet of water.
Here are the go to baits of each expert for July at Lake of the Ozarks
John Neporadny-finesse jig in no wake areas around shaded sides of docks
Roger Fitzpatrick-1 OZ jig PB&J
Denise Dill-Reaction Jig Green Pumpkin
James Dill-Big 1OZ Crock-o-Gator jig on bluffs and ledges
Jack Uxa-Magnum Shaky head with 10” worm or brush hog on points with current, brush piles without current. Back of coves with baitfish nearby.
Wayne Fitzpatrick-Big Jig and big trailer such as a Rattlin Crawler and sometimes a large 10 or 12 inch worm. Nighttime a 10” worm in brushpiles. Dark colors at night. The bass will come shallow at night especially if the shad are shallow.