July 28, 2007
There is a lot more to “The Lake” as Missourians call their sparkling Lake of the Ozarks than Party Cove, tall fish stories, its towering condo cities, and bully 60-foot yachts. These terms may need a bit of explanation to readers uninformed about lake lingo, and I will get to them I promise but not in any particular order. The tall fish story is last.
First, know that The Lake is a perfect place for a summer trip, but you require some background info before you go.
The Lake continues to be a recreational dream since its creation in 1932. According to the Lake’s Visitor’s Bureau, the Lake of the Ozarks was hailed as the most skillful engineering feat of its day.
The actual construction of Bagnell Dam by Union Electric (now Ameren UE) created what was at that time the world’s largest man-made lake.
In fact, the Lake of the Ozarks and its Bagnell Dam are about to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the Great Osage River Project. Watch for announcements of free tours of the dam and a weekend celebration, September 8-10.
Bagnell Dam created a behemoth 54,000 acre-lake that snakes for nearly 90 miles through lush Ozarks hills and valleys. The Lake impounds 646 billion gallons of water and has 1,150 miles of indented shoreline.
The Lake of the Ozarks is a giant by any standards, and it generates giant recreational fun as well as giant headaches.
It is a dichotomy of wild contradictions in my view.
The Lake provides spectacular recreational opportunities for visitors who love to fish, ski, wakeboard, boat, camp, shop, or dine. It is a dream vacation destination, a quiet beautiful Ozark wonderland.
Yet, it is just as favorite vacation spot for those who prefer reveling to fishing.
Case in point, The Lake’s world famous Party Cove. To its happy partiers, Party Cove is the ultimate in “adult” fun that includes what could also be described as over-imbibing and under-dressing.
To others, such as the Water Patrol and those who live nearby, it is more than a mere headache; it is a full-blown migraine.
The sad news is that a number of partygoers die in Party Cove each summer due too much carousing and too little respect for the dangers of the water. Lawmen do their best but are greatly outnumbered. Then, the nearby residents have to deal with the hullabaloo of it all.
Some boaters who prefer less raucous “coving out” (anchoring your boat to swim and sunbathe) find quiet residential coves and “tie up” to each other. They love it; the locals and the skiers hate it because the flotilla of boats blocks their small coves.
Thus, the dichotomy continues, but there is more.
Condo cities have mushroomed along the main channel and have spread to smaller coves as well. “Weekenders” who do not want the maintenance of a lake home prefer the condos. The “year-rounders” and second-home owners dislike the steady influx of crowds that stay in the condos and bring with them more cars and boats.
The crowds clog local highways and waterways, not to mention grocery store checkout lines. Storekeepers love the crowds, and well they should since the lake area depends on seasonal business. What a conundrum for all involved.
The aforementioned bully yachts that are a delight to their owners become a nightmare to those left in the wake of their 5-foot waves that can easily swamp a smaller boat. The yachters enjoy cruising the shoreline, and those on the shoreline hate the damage the cruisers cause to their docks.
There does not seem to be any ready solution to any of these wildly different, polar-opposite dilemmas at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Although The Lake does have a split personality, the partiers and cruisers and the fishermen and locals seem to make it work, most of the time, albeit with plenty of grumbling on both sides.
All agree on one thing. The Lake of the Ozarks has the biggest and best fish stories you have ever heard. I told you I would tell you a fish story.
Almost everyone who goes to The Lake has heard about the story of whale-like fish, more than 100 pounds, who are said to live at the bottom of the dam. Divers have supposedly seen them. Others simply say the massive fish at the bottom of the dam are nothing more than an urban legend.
Not so fast.
Michael Gillespie who writes about lake history describes what he calls The Lake’s first fish story. In 1931, an incident took place in the tail waters of the then brand new Bagnell Dam and was reported in The Eldon Advertiser. It goes something like this.
Three business-men were fishing on the deep water eddy near the Union Electric gravel plant at Bagnell when their line they were trolling caught and started moving their boat upstream. Impossible they thought.
The Eldon newspaper account states this: “They were in dead water and endeavored to raise the big fish or whatever had taken the line, but the boat was too light and would dip water as soon as they began to pull. The boat was towed upstream until a sudden lunge broke the hook off the line and released the whale or big fish that was causing the excitement.”
Some say the fish pulled the boat one-quarter mile, but that distance has grown over the years. Today, folks say there are many of these “whales” at the bottom of the dam and that this first fish story proves it. Gillespie writes, “It makes you wonder if that fish has some descendants below the dam to this day.” To read more of his lake history and fish stories, visit www.lakehistory.info.
Then, go and enjoy Missouri’s Lake of the Ozarks however you choose. It is not a tall fish story to say it is truly a priceless gem of a lake.
