Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri should be called the fishing capital of the United States. If it already hasn't been deemed this official designation, I hereby decree that Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri is the fishing capital of the United States. How could it not be given this official title?

There's a huge lake smack dab in the middle of the Ozark Mountains that has many tributaries running off of it, that are teeming with fish. The lake itself is 92 miles long, with just shy of 1200 miles of coastline, that has an abundance of fish swimming around waiting for someone to entice them onto their line. The fish are practically jumping out of the water at Lake of the Ozarks, begging you to catch them.

Let's get down to some statistics first. The State of Missouri's record for largest striper catch was set right here at Lake of the Ozarks, in 2002, weighing in at 20.5 pounds. Back in 1998 a huge paddlefish of 134 pounds was caught right here at the lake. A 77- pound flathead catfish was captured in the Missouri River in 1997. Catfish are a popular fish in Missouri, so anything is possible here at Lake of the Ozarks!

The type of fish you can catch here in this Central Missouri location are numerous: catfish, largemouth bass, small mouth bass, white bass, crappies, stripers, walleye, and Kentucky bass all swim and bite here.

Fishing season is truly amazing in Lake of the Ozarks--it never ends! It goes from January 1 to December 31. It might get cold in the Midwest, but the fish are always ready to be caught. In the springtime anglers work the cool, spring waters using deep diving crank baits, with jig-n-frog lures. In mid-spring the plastic worm replaces the crank baits. In the summer, anglers find bass hanging around the deeper parts of the lake. Just when you thought the action was over, it's not. When October and November come, the fish come back to the shallows where the water is warmer, especially those sneaky bass.

There are certain times of the year at Lake of the Ozarks that are better for catching fish. Anytime of the year is good here to catch large mouth bass. The absolute best time though is during the spring when they are when they go into the smaller tributaries for spawning season. Fish are pretty smart though, because in the summertime large mouth bass will hide in submerged timber about 30 feet deep.

Small mouth bass are good fighters and you can find them at the lower end of the lake, and the upper reaches of the main tributaries, especially in the spring. While Kentucky bass are abundant in the entire lake, they can be found in the larger tributaries.

For the avid angler that loves to compete in fishing tournaments, there are so many at Lake of the Ozarks, that they are too many to name. Every month except December, January, and February has numerous fishing regattas. I'm not talking about ten to twenty either, no the number is closer to one hundred. (Don't despair, if you are looking to compete in the winter--December, January and February have fishing regattas, but under twenty are held during this time.)

You can charter a boat, rent a boat, have a guided boat tour and you can always bring your own boat to fish here at Lake of the Ozarks. There are tributaries along the lake that you can just wade into the water and fish.

Any time of the year is a great time to go fishing. Make sure you get up earlier than all those other anglers, though. That way you can catch more fish, without all the competition. You might just have your name in Missouri's record books for having the biggest catch!

This guide to the year-round fishing availabile in Lake of the Ozarks was brought to you by Kate Johns.