While Missouri may not be known for its trophy bass fishing, there are plenty of great bass to keep an angler busy for a lifetime. To catch them, you will probably have to use different techniques than you use to catch smaller bass. If you’re willing to catch a few less fish in search of that wall hanger, this article is for you. First, I’ll share some of my favorite big bass techniques. Then I’ll pick some of the best lakes and rivers in the state to find the bass of my life.

Techniques:

Live bait fish

This is personally my favorite way to catch largemouth bass. The configuration is very simple. I use a 2/0 plastic worm hook, a split cast, and a large bobber. I hook the bait (I prefer a two to two inch green sunfish) on the back, just below the spine. How deep I fish depends on where I am, but generally two to four feet is best. It is important to wait several seconds after the bass hits to set the hook. When setting the hook, do it firmly, but not excessively. Besides green sunfish, live tarpon, sharks, suckers, and various other minnows do very well, fished in the same way.

Flipping jigs

This is one of the best techniques for largemouth bass and smallmouth bass in spring. Place the template on a heavy deck or near the springs, let the template sink in and move it up and down slowly as you go. Set the hook as soon as you feel resistance. This also works well during the summer, but it particularly shines between March and June. My favorite template for the method is the mini-Strike King template, in green and brown colors.

Plastic worms

Plastic worms are a good bait for large seabass from April to early November. The general rule of thumb is that the bigger the bait, the bigger the bass. I prefer to rig the bait in Texas and roll it very slowly, but there are countless ways to successfully fish for plastic worms, including the Carolina Rig, Wacky Rig, and Weightless Rig. My favorite big bass worm is a 7-inch Black Berkeley Power Worm. It works well for largemouth bass between two and five pounds, especially at night.

Lakes and rivers:

Table Rock Lake

Most people would consider Table Rock the best trophy lake in the state. This approximately 40,000 acre reservoir is exceptionally clear and deep. The deep water is home to many smallmouth and spotted bass, and the shallow waters contain mainly largemouth. Probably the number one trophy bass technique here is the three to five inch glitter free liner. Other successful offerings are spinnerbaits, tubebaits, crankbaits, and plastic worms. The main channel near the dam, the James River Arm, and the Kings River Arm are great places to find trophies, but the entire lake has snook.

Lake of the ozarks

This 55,000-acre lake in central Missouri is heavily fished, but somehow the trophy bass fishery remains one of the best in the state. Largemouth bass reign here, although there are limited populations of largemouth and spotted bass in some branches of the river. The best baits for trophies tend to be flip jigs, spinnerbaits, and various plugs. The key to success here is fishing from the many piers that line the lake, because the lake offers very little other cover. The Niangua Arm, the Grand Glaize Arm, and the Osage River Channel are good places to find large largemouths.

Gasconade River

The Gasconade River is a world-class trophy shallow river. From its humble beginnings near Springfield to the city of Vienna, the river is almost entirely dominated by largemouth bass. Between Vienna and the mouth of the Missouri River, largemouth bass is found near the smallmouth. Live minnows, crankbaits, tubebaits, flipping jigs, and spinnerbaits work well for both species of bass found in the river.

James river

You may have noticed in the Table Rock Lake section of this article, I mentioned that the James River Arm was a great place to catch large bass. However, the fishing does not end upstream of the lake. From upstream of Springfield downstream to where it becomes Table Rock Lake, the James River is an excellent float fishing river for the huge smallmouth and spotted bass. Crankbaits, spinnerbaits, live minnows, and soft plastics are all popular.

We hope this article helps you learn the techniques and locations for catching trophy bass here in Missouri. It may not be likely that you’ll catch a world record for bass in Missouri, but that doesn’t mean that fishing for them isn’t an exciting or throbbing experience.