Shady dealings

Docks offer cool comfort to bass, big opportunities to Stren Central anglers

OSAGE BEACH, Mo. – From about 7:05 to 7:30 a.m., the Grand Glaize Bridge pilings got a good look at bass boats. For the rest of the day, Lake of the Ozarks docks will entertain the majority of those vessels for round three of Stren Central Division action.

Not surprisingly, docks have been the make it or break it element for most of the tournament field. Brush piles, rocks and a few other scenarios have contributed to the overall productivity, but floating or fixed, covered or open – docks have and will be the dominant pattern.

The formula is pretty straightforward: Bass will chase schooling shad for a few hours after daybreak, often frothing the surface with aggressive feeding. However, as the sun climbs higher, most of the fish will retreat to the shady comfort of docks.

That’s when the cat-and-mouse game begins. Hundreds of docks scattered throughout the lake offer daily opportunities and the ones who find the active structures first stand a good chance of grabbing a quick limit with plenty of time to cull up.

Day two brought a good round of dock action for Chevy pro Dion Hibdon. Working jigs, he bagged a limit weighing 15 pounds, 8 ounces and advanced from 27th place to fifth. The Stover, Mo. angler said that figuring out a particular presentation strategy was intrinsic to his day two success.

“The way I’m fishing is a transitional (pattern), and the key is how the fish are positioning on the docks,” Hibdon said. “I’m fishing all around other boats and (positioning) is the key. Do I think it’s the bait? No, I think it’s where (the bass) are at on those docks.”

Timing has also proven important for Hibdon. “I caught a lot of keepers on day one, but a few bigger ones got to where I could catch them. It’s October and those fish are on the move. Some of the big ones are just now getting to where I want them to be. The largemouth finally caught up with the spotted bass and now they’re all right there together.”

Kellogg’s pro Greg Bohannan found some good fish in the Grand Glaize area on day two, so he’ll start fishing near the launch site and work outward. He’ll fish jigs and shaky heads around bottom structure early and then move to docks later in the day. Considering his takeoff order, Bohannnan knows the importance of time management.

“The bite has been getting later every day,” he said. “I know a few guys in the last flight yesterday caught a couple of keepers in the last 30 minutes. We have an early flight today, so we have to catch them early today. We’re still hoping for a good noon to 2 o’clock bite.”

Iowa pro Jay Lamb zeroed on day two, but he believes he has a game plan to get himself back on track to a respectable finish. He’ll spend some later hours on docks, but he’s going to fish 2-foot flats with wood early. He’ll throw mostly a square bill crankbait.

Lamb said that finding baitfish will be the key to this pattern. “There has to be a lot of shad and the bass have to be busting the shad. They don’t have to be right on the wood, but if they are around the area, I can catch them.”

Logistics

Anglers will take off from Grand Glaize Recreation Area – Public Beach No. 2 located at 711 Public Beach Road in Osage Beach at 7 each morning. Friday’s weigh-ins also will be held at Grand Glaize Recreation Area – Public Beach No. 2 beginning at 3 p.m. Saturday’s weigh-in will be held at the Walmart store located at 4252 Highway 54 in Osage Beach beginning at 4 p.m. Takeoffs and weigh-ins are free and open to the public.

The Lake of the Ozarks Stren Series tournament is hosted by the Tri-County Lodging Association. Pros are fishing for a top prize of $65,000 and co-anglers are competing for a $35,000 award.

Friday’s conditions:

Sunrise: 7:15 a.m.

Temperature at takeoff: 52 degrees

Expected high temperature: 80 degrees

Water temperature: 67-68 degrees

Wind: from the Southeast at 8-10 mph

Humidity: 46 percent

Day’s outlook: Sunny early, then partly cloudy