St. Patricks Parade on the Water

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. – No one celebrates St. Patrick’s Day like the Lake of the Ozarks West Side.
The Lake West Chamber of Commerce is gearing up for its 22nd Annual St. Patrick’s Parade on the Water. The event is scheduled for Saturday, March 16. The theme for this year’s parade is “The Wild Wild West Side.” The chamber invites everyone to decorate their boat with a western flair and come join the fun.
A breakfast buffet will be served at Ozark-B-Que at 9 a.m. The parade will begin at 10:30 a.m., traveling from Ozark Bar-B-Que up the Gravois Arm, stopping at various participating restaurants.
A ride on the 100 passenger Tropic Island Cruise Boat is available for parade fun seekers for $30 per ticket; this includes the breakfast buffet.
St. Patrick’s Day Parade on the Water Schedule:
Breakfast buffet at Ozark Bar-B-Que 9 a.m.
Register boat for parade 9:15 – 10 a.m.
Captains meet for instructions 10 a.m.
Tropic Island Cruise boards 10 – 10:15 a.m.
Father Patrick Dolan blesses the fleet at 10:15 a.m.
Parade begins at 10:30 a.m.
The parade will travel from Ozark Bar-B-Que up the Gravois Arm.

http://www.lakeviewresortlakeozarks.com

Mountain Dew & Formula Boats to sponsor Lake Race 2013

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. -- Attracting the fiercest competitors in boat racing for a powerful weekend of speed is no easy feat. It takes organization and funding from the local business community. Pepsi Co.’s Mountain Dew and Formula Boats of Missouri officially signed on as lead sponsors on Saturday, Feb. 23, to help secure the Offshore Super Series for Lake Race 2013.

Lake Race 2013 has been scheduled for Thursday-Sunday, June 6-9, near Bagnell Dam and the Lake Ozark Strip.

World Champion Dave Scott has been selected the honorary chairman of the coming 2013 races.

The race committee continues to line up sponsors, donations and volunteers to meet the event’s financial and organizational commitments. Remaining funds will be donated to local charities and beautification projects on the historic Bagnell Dam Strip.

http://lakeviewwresortlakeozarks.com

Disc Golf Course slated for Lake Area

A disc golf course for Laurie, MO.

A request to install a disc golf course at the Laurie Park (located 9 miles from the resort) was approved by the Laurie Board of Alderman at the Wednesday, Feb. 14 board meeting at Laurie City Hall. Shawn Forbes, left, and Don Adams presented the request to the board and they displayed the type of discs used in the game.

2013 Mardi Gras Pub Crawl

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. -- Thousands of partiers from all over the Midwest got on the bus Saturday, Feb. 16, 2013, for the 12th Annual Lake of the Ozarks Mardi Gras Pub Crawl. Using 26 buses as designated drivers between 20 bars on the Lake's east side, the antics surrounding Mardi Gras were sometimes audacious, but all in good fun.
The Mardi Gras Pub Crawl has become one of the Lake's most popular winter activities drawing increasingly larger crowds each year -- 6,000 for 2012. The count has not yet been tallied for 2013. Book for next years Pub Crawl at Lakeview Resort, go to our website at:
http://www.LakeviewResortMO.com

Best Fishing Times

Book your next fishing retreat at Lakeview Resort at:

http://www.LakeviewResortMO.com

Hurricane Deck Bridge progress

According to American Bridge Field Engineer Kevin Lynch, each of the 135-foot girders will span from pier to pier, all the way across the Lake. There are four piers on land and eight in the water.


SUNRISE BEACH, Mo. – One-third of the structural steel has now been erected on the new Hurricane Deck Bridge in Sunrise Beach. The delivery of the massive steel girders has intermittently stopped traffic on Highway 5, for approximately 15 minutes at a time, and will continue to interrupt traffic until all 68 girders are delivered. Four girders were brought in last week.

Once the girders are unloaded, they are staged on a barge below the bridge and then placed on the piers. According to American Bridge Field Engineer Kevin Lynch, each of the 135-foot girders will span from pier to pier, all the way across the Lake. There are four piers on land and eight in the water.

After all the girders are erected, crews will lay a steel deck on the bridge, over which will be poured the concrete surface of the bridge deck. A small portion of the roadway surface on the north side of the bridge has already been completed, near the Deepwater Inn.

The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has contracted with the American Bridge Company to replace the existing Hurricane Deck Bridge with a traditional-type girder bridge: a 12-pier concrete structure to the east of the existing bridge. The new, wider bridge will be equipped with two 12-foot lanes and two seven-foot shoulders. It is projected to cost $32.3 million.

The old bridge will be demolished completely. First, the barrier wall and roadway surface of the old bridge will be cut out and hauled away on land. The rest of the old bridge will then be dismantled and dropped into the Lake with explosives. The deepest part of the Lake under the bridge is approximately 85 feet.

“We appreciate the public’s patience and general awareness of the project, and we ask you to focus on the road,” Lynch said.

The new bridge is expected to open near the end of 2013. The entire project, including demolition of the existing structure, is contracted to be completed in 2014.


http://www.LakeviewResortMO.com

The Reel Dill

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. – "Don't be afraid to fish shallow," says local fishing expert Jim Dill to anglers hoping to catch the big one.

Dill says both crappie and bass are not in particularly deep water right now; they will typically be no more than 10 feet deep. The caveat to the current trend is the shallow areas should be relatively close to deeper water, for example, the edge of a flat underwater shelf.

With the recent rains in central Missouri, the creeks have swelled, and Dill says anglers may find luck there as well. Stick to the bigger, major creeks, he says, for the best chance at finding bass there.

At last weekend's Lake Ozark Winter Bass Challenge, "jerk baits"were the ticket to success for many anglers. Dill says the term "jerk bait" really describes the reeling action used for the lure. "A jerk bait is a suspended stick bait," he says. "Jerk describes the motion you use." The cold water helps these weighted baits hover below the surface, imitating a wounded shad. The technique, according to Dill, is to cast a stick bait very close to shore, up on a steep bank. Give it three to five cranks, bringing it down to the desired depth – about six to eight feet – and then jerk it. The jerking action makes the bait look like a wounded shad – an irresistible treat for hungry bass. Dill says bass are holding close to brush piles currently, so ideally an angler would bring the stick bait just above the brush pile, give it a little jerk, let it sit, and then jerk again. "The fish will come up out of that brush and hit it," Dill says. He particularly recommends smaller jerk baits, which are bringing in large crappie.

Water temperatures are holding typically in the low-40s, with clear water on the main lake, and clear to slightly stained water toward the creeks.

(LakeExpo.com interviews professional bass angler Jim Dill to publish the “Reel Dill.” Jim is fishing guide at Lake of the Ozarks, Mo. He has fished the Lake for 20 years and is sponsored by Sportworld Boat Center, Ranger Boats, Evinrude, Falcon Rods and Crock-O-Gator Bait Company)

http://www.LakeviewResortMO.com

Lake Ozark Winter Bass Challenge

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, Mo. -- The wind was gusting hard at the 8 a.m. take-off, which made the 36-degree temperature feel like 26 degrees for the 19 teams taking out of PB#2. The good news: the temperature hit a high of 47 degrees at the weigh-in.

The fishing conditions were fairly rough due to 15 to 20 mph wind gusts, but that didn't stop the bass from biting, it only made the anglers work harder to stay on the sweet spot.

Anglers brought seven bass over 6 pounds to the scales and twice that amount of 5 and 4 pounders. The bite continues to be the jerk bait and A-rig.

1st. Dan Swan & Mike Kelsey 25.06 lbs.

2nd. Scott, Sr. & Scott, Jr. Danek 24.61 lbs.

3rd. Dale Bergman & Marty McGuire 22..62 lbs.

The final Lake Ozark Winter Bass Challenge Tournament of the year is coming Feb. 17 and bass fishing couldn't be any better on Lake of the Ozarks. The tournament hours are 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Take-off and weigh-in are at PB#2. Entry is $100 per team (90% payback) and big bass is $10 per team (100% payback and is optional.) No late fee.

For additional information call Bill Cassidy at Osage Beach Bait & Tackle, 573-348-9333.

http://www.LakeviewResortMO.com

Mardi Gras Pub Crawl

LAKE OF THE OZARKS, MO. - A night of entertainment, food and fun awaits guests, Saturday, Feb. 16, at the 12th Annual Lake of the Ozarks Mardi Gras Pub Crawl.

The Mardi Gras Pub Crawl has become one of the Lake's most popular winter activities drawing increasingly larger crowds each year -- 6,000 last year.

"Our festival is helping to attract more and more winter visitors to the Lake every year," said Mardi Gras Pub Crawl organizer Jeff Carroll. "A lot of people who attend the festival reserve a room and schedule a weekend getaway around the event. This year, with Presidents' Day, they'll have a three-day weekend to shop, sightsee and explore. Winter is a beautiful time at the Lake and this event allows us to showcase a lot of the great things we have to offer. We have great fishing in the winter. We're the home of the largest outlet mall in Missouri. We also have five wineries and two state parks. And if the weather is good, you can golf at one or more of our 15 area courses. And I'm only mentioning a few of the attractions we have in the area. I think visitors are discovering that the Lake of the Ozarks is a year-around travel destination."

Eleven years ago, the Mardi Gras Pub Crawl started with just eight locations and four 16-passenger buses. This year, patrons will have the convenience of 26 full-sized buses, the variety of 20 nightspots and restaurants and the assurance of a safe, fun evening.

"Our message to our guests is to ride the bus, be safe and have fun," said Carroll. "We're all about safety and responsibility. We just want to make sure that everyone has a good time. I think one of the reasons that our pub crawl is so popular is because we offer safe transportation to and from each location from start to finish. We have a uniformed security guard on each bus and we work closely with the local police department to make sure that when you attend the Mardi Gras Pub Crawl, you can put your keys away and have a fantastic worry-free evening out on the town."

To ride the buses, festival-goers must purchase a $7 wristband that includes entry into all participating restaurants and nightspots, bus transportation between all pub crawl locations and pick ups/drop offs at participating hotels, motels and resorts. A wristband can be purchased in advance or on the night of the event at restaurants/nightspots on the route.

The fleet of 26 buses will transport attendees on a continuous circuit of all 20 bars and restaurants. The buses will make numerous stops at each venue and will make drop-offs at hotels, motels and resorts. Buses begin departing from partner hotels, motels and resorts at 3 p.m. and will run on the circuit until 2:30 a.m.

Most Mardi Gras Pub Crawl venues will have live entertainment. Some will feature live rock, blues and country music, while other locations have DJs and/or karaoke. The restaurants on the festival's bus route are an eclectic mix of food options for guests, including Mexican cuisine, prime rib, seafood, Ozark-style barbeque, Chicago-style pizza and much more. Shuttle riders also will be able to collect Mardi Gras beads and other themed souvenirs along the route.

http://www.LakeviewResortMO.com