Hello,

Planning a spring trip to LOZ.  Any and all suggestions are appreciated.  What time is best?  We were thinking sometime in March or April.  Also, we are not real familiar with the lake so locations are also appreciated.

Thanks for your help.

Larry

I would think that the early the better at LOZ. As the weather warms boat traffic can get heavy. I am heading out to LOZ early next week weather permitting.

March or April are both good months down there.  As for where?

It's a 50,000 acre lake.  There are plenty of good places during those months.  Gravois arm, Glaize arm, Niangua, up river, mid lake.  I'd suggest heading down to the boat show and picking up a LOZ vacation guide.  Most of the resorts that are still left down there advertise in it.  

In early March you are going to need to stay closer to the dam most likely.  Not many people fish up the Osage (past the 35mm or so) when it is cold and sometimes murky.  As it warms up (and certainly by April) the whole lake is very popular - from Warsaw to Osage Beach.  The Gravois, North Shore, and Niangua arms are pretty popular in the early spring.

Timing depends on what you want to fish.

Early pre-spawn you are pretty going to throw small jigs, jerkbaits and wiggle warts.  The lake won't be very crowded and the fish are easier to locate.

Late post-spawn (end of March, early April) opens the tackle box to about anything you can think of - Wiggle Warts, jigs, spinnerbaits, carolina rigs are all popular.  Fish are starting to scatter a bit and can be caught behind docks - a fun way to fish.

Spawn will take place in April - probably starting with the first full moon.  If you get in the clearer water (Gravois, Niangua, lower Osage) you can see plenty of fish on the beds.

Rates will more than likely be lower the earlier you go too.