Brush up for Lake of the Ozarks bass
By John Neporadny Jr. 

The rigors of spawning are over and now it’s time for Lake of the Ozarks bass to find a good place to recuperate. 

Manmade brush piles are the place for Lake of the Ozarks bass to rest before migrating to deep water. A brush pile provides cover and shade and draws baitfish that feed on its algae-covered limbs—all the essentials postspawn bass require for their recovery process.  “When the fish get done spawning they hole up in those brush piles from 6  to 10 feet deep and recuperate before they move back out on the ledges,” says Mark Tucker,  winner of the 2013 Everstart Lake of the Ozarks tournament. 

The Missouri pro targets points adjacent to spawning flats for pinpointing Lake of the Ozarks postspawn bass.  Time of day dictates which lure Tucker selects for probing the brush pile. “The biggest thing is how to figure out how the fish are positioned in the brush pile,” says Tucker. “A lot of times early in the morning the fish will get up on top of it and hit the lure on the initial fall. Very seldom will you have to work it through the brush. When the sun gets up you will have to sink it a little more and work a jig up and down to get the bite.” 

A green pumpkin or watermelon candy Zoom Trick Worm attached to a 1/8-ounce jighead is Tucker’s choice for Lake of the Ozarks postspawn bass suspended above the brush.  “Eighty percent of the time the fish hit it on the initial fall,” he says. If the fish fail to nab it on the descent, Tucker lets the worm fall to the bottom and shakes it three times before reeling it in for another cast.  He tosses his Trick Worm into the brush with a 6 1/2-foot medium action E21 Carrot Stix rod and Abu Garcia Revo Premier PRM30 spinning reel spooled with 6-pound Berkley Trilene 100 % Fluorocarbon. 

For bass holding tight to the cover Tucker opts for a 1/4-or 5/16-ounce Jernigan Jig and Zoom Junior Chunk or Critter Craw in a color mixture of brown, purple and chartreuse. He hops the jig through the brush on 10- or 12-pound Trilene 100 % Fluorocarbon with a 7-foot medium-heavy Carrot Stix rod and Abu Garcia Revo baitcast reel. 

Another brush pile option for Tucker is a green pumpkin or watermelon Texas-rigged Zoom Brush Hog with a 4/0 Gamakatsu Sproat Hook and 5/16-ounce sinker. “If the bass fry have hatched, hop that Brush Hog along so it will look like a bluegill trying to eat those fry,” says Tucker.  He snaps the lure hard with an 8-foot Carrot Gold Carrot Stix rod and Abu Garcia Revo reel filled with 17-pound Trilene 100 % Fluorocarbon. 

For information on lodging at the Lake of the Ozarks or to receive a free vacation guide, call the Lake of the Ozarks Convention & Visitors Bureau at 1-800-FUN-LAKE or visit the Lake of the Ozarks Convention and Visitors Bureau web site at funlake.com.

Copies of John Neporadny's book, "THE Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Guide" are available by calling 573/365-4296 or visiting the web site www.jnoutdoors.com.

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