Crappie

Crappie fishing near Columbia, Missouri, can be fantastic if you time it right. The spring spawn is legendary, with crappie moving into shallow bays and coves in lakes like Lake of the Ozarks and smaller bodies of water closer to town. Target brush piles, submerged timber, and docks with jigs or minnows under a bobber. A local tactic is to use a two-pole setup, one with a minnow and one with a jig, to see which presentation the crappie prefer on any given day. Fall can also be productive as crappie school up before winter. The crappie in this area tend to be good-sized, and the competition from other anglers can be intense, so arrive early to secure your spot, especially during the spawn.