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102 FunLake.comThe Missouri Department of Conservation%u2019s 9-inch minimum length limit on crappie has helped keep crappie fishing consistently good throughout the year. Limits of keeper-size crappie can be taken in the shallows from March through May and again in October through early December. The key to catching crappie the rest of the year is to find some of the hundreds of brush piles sunken at various depths throughout the Lake. The Lake is also loaded with keeper-size bass thanks to the Missouri Department of Conservation%u2019s 15-inch minimum length regulation on black bass. Renowned for its bass fishing, Lake of the Ozarks draws hundreds of tournaments ranging in size from 10-boat bass club events to 150-boat national circuit contests, which are held each weekend just about year-round. With this sort of attention, the Lake receives plenty of fishing pressure, yet still yields heavyweight stringers of bass to tournament competitors. White bass are another popular catch in the spring and the fall. Local anglers head for the riffles in the major creeks and tributaries to catch spawning whites in April and May. In the fall, they target wind-blown points and pockets to track down white bass chasing baitfish. Lake of the Ozarks catfish are an obliging sort. They will eat just about anything you put on a hook and can be taken on a variety of methods throughout the warmer months. The three most popular species to catch at the Lake are channel, blue (or white cats as the local anglers call them) and flathead catfish. The Lake has a reputation for yielding big blue cats each year and has also produced a former state record flathead catfish, a 66-pounder caught by Howard Brownfield in 1987.Three state record fish have come from the Lake of the Ozarks. Gene Snelling caught a state record muskellunge (41 pounds, 2 ounces) in 1981; Allen Schweiss landed a 36-pound, 12-ounce smallmouth buffalo in 1986; and Ronald Wagner made the record book in 1980 with a 40-pound, 8-ounce freshwater drum. Numerous marinas and resorts rent boats to visiting anglers who don%u2019t own one and want to venture out on the water. Newcomers to the Lake also can have a rewarding day on the water by hiring a Coast-Guard licensed guide. Check www.funlake.com for a complete list of fishing guides.Customers at the various resorts on the Lake can enjoy catching crappie, bass, bluegill and catfish from the docks that the resort owners enhance by sinking brush piles in multiple locations. Big Bass BashOutdoors & FishingPhone: (573) 280-1455 %u2022 www.BlanksBass.comFull Service Fishing Guide %u2022 US Coast Guard Licensed %u2022 Open All Year Bass, Crappie, Catfi sh, Bow Fishing & SnaggingGuide Service, LLC