Matt Williams.

JULY
Community Lakes’Bass,
Bluegills And Catfish
July is the time to move away from Missouri’s large lakes in favor of the numerous community and conservation area lakes scattered across the state. Here you’ll find angling opportunities for bass, bluegills and crappie, in addition to channel and blue catfish. For starters, check out Little Dixie Lake, Smithville Lake, Hunnewell Lake, Binder Lake and Henry Sever Lake. In Little Dixie Lake, anglers have caught cats exceeding 50 pounds.

Other Options: Fish the Missouri River from Kansas City to Hermann. This river is quietly becoming one of the nation’s best trophy catfish fisheries. Anglers catch large flatheads and blues, along with numerous channel catfish from this great river each year. Check your fishing regulations, as the MDC is considering several special catfish management options for areas within this section of river.

AUGUST
Ozark Streams’ Smallmouth Bass
The dog days of summer bring some of the year’s best smallmouth bass angling. The key to catching August smallies in Missouri streams is to fish early and late in the day when light levels are low and stream disturbance from recreational floaters is minimal. Fish plastic baits on jigs around large boulders and under drowned timber in the pools or noisy surface baits after dark. Check out special smallmouth management sections on the Big Piney River, Big River, Osage Fork of the Gasconade River and the Jacks Fork River.

Other Options: Don’t miss the trout fishing offered by Lake Taneycomo. If you’re interested in harvesting trout, fish from Fall Creek downstream to the U.S. Route 65 bridge. This section is stocked regularly and reaps the benefits from the upstream special management area as large rainbows move out of the zone. For large rainbow and brown trout, fish the special management zone from Table Rock Dam downstream to Fall Creek. The lower lake also has some great largemouth bass fishing near the Powersite Dam.

SEPTEMBER
Muskies In Hazel Creek
And Pomme De Terre Lakes
Several Missouri lakes support some of the best muskie fishing in the nation, with catch rates higher than most traditional muskie fisheries in Wisconsin or Minnesota. As water temperatures cool in September, muskie feeding increases in Pomme de Terre Lake, Hazel Creek Lake, Fellows Lake, Henry Sever Lake and Lake 35 in the August A. Busch Memorial Conservation Area. Muskies are ambush predators, holding in cover, waiting to ambush shad, carp, sunfish or any prey that swims by. Fish large 8- to 10-inch crankbaits or large spinnerbaits around brushpiles.

Other Options: Take advantage of the catfish in Truman Lake and smallmouth bass in Table Rock Lake. Truman Lake catfish anglers, using cut shad, catch large flatheads and blue catfish at night. Fish on the bottom, over 9- to 10-foot-deep flats, drifting with the wind or anchored using slip sinkers.

Table Rock Lake supports a growing population of large, 20-inch-plus smallmouth bass. Fish along the south edge of Table Rock Lake, west of the state Route 13 bridge using jigs rigged with curlytail grubs.