Deep water winter fishing at Lake of the Ozarks

Winter is a great time for fishing LOZ. The lake during winter can be broken into two types of fishing. The first is shallow fishing in 8 ft. or less of water. Lots of bass can be caught shallow. Most anglers use jerkbaits, jigs and umbrella rigs. The umbrella rig wins the majority of winter tournaments. Fishing bluff ends, 45 degree banks, and brush piles are the most common ways to fish shallow. I estimate that over 90% of winter anglers will fish shallow.
In traditional lakes with trees and cover, such as Table Rock, anglers will find the channel and back up the slope until they locate forage schools. Pretty easy to find bass in many cases. LOZ is not a traditional lake in that the lake was clear cut before filling in 1933 and the channel is now silted. So, locating forage schools with electronics is how to fish the lake. If you have an older map, it will show where the channel used to be. Mid channel shad schools will reform after their run into the coves and creeks over where the channel had been located. That's one group of bass you can fish. The secondary forage schools will be found as you back up the slope. Similar to Table Rock but you can't see a channel. These two areas will be where the bigger bass feed during most winters.
While my large grubs will work during the winter, I will switch to jigging spoons to fish deep. I use .75 and 1 oz, spoons for most of my fishing with a 1.25 oz. spoon used if exceptionally deep or the bass want a faster drop. Most deep fishing will be for suspended bass. Winter forage schools are usually suspended from 25-40 ft. over up to 100 ft. of water though I have caught them at 60 ft. The lure is dropped to the level of the forage school and a lift and drop cadence is used. Most bites will be on the drop. Follow the spoon with your mind as it lift and drops. Occasionally, bass will carry the spoon upward. Your mind has to detect the loss of weight and you need to be ready to reel quickly to catch up to the bass and set the hook. The bass will tend to school so you can catch many bass very quickly. I use colored spoons during winter with white, chartreuse and blue being my best colors.
While I do this at LOZ, these tactics can be used on many deep lakes. Same as always, "Find the forage, Find the bass".

Wizard

 

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