Lake of the Ozarks: Post-Spawn Bass Strong, Crappie Scattered, Catfish Steady

This is Artificial Lure with your Lake of the Ozarks fishing report.

We don’t worry about tides on this reservoir, but water levels have been bouncing a bit with generation at Bagnell. Expect a slight pull during peak power demand, which usually helps the bite on main-lake and secondary points.

Weather today around the lake is starting mild and a little damp, with morning temps in the upper 50s to low 60s, climbing into the 70s by afternoon. Light south to southwest breeze 5–10 mph, with a mix of clouds and sun and a chance of a passing shower. Humidity’s up, so it feels “fishy.”

Sunrise is right around 6 a.m., with sunset close to 8:20 p.m. The best windows look like first light to about 9:30 a.m., and then again the last two hours before dark. Midday will still produce if you fish a little deeper and tighter to cover.

Bass fishing has been strong. Local tackle shops and marina talk say lots of keeper largemouth with a few 4–5 pounders showing up in tournaments and evening jackpot derbies. The post-spawn transition is in swing: some fish guarding fry shallow, others sliding out to brush and docks in 8–15 feet.

For largemouth, work topwater early—Spooks, Whopper Ploppers, and buzzbaits over pea gravel points and around dock walkways. Once the sun gets up, switch to shaky heads with green pumpkin worms, 3/8-ounce jigs in brown/green combos, and Texas-rigged creature baits pitched to dock corners and brush piles. A white or shad-colored spinnerbait or 2.5 squarebill is good when the wind hits the banks.

Crappie action is decent but more scattered now. Anglers are picking up good eater-size fish, mostly 9–11 inches, around mid-depth brush and condo docks in 10–18 feet. Best bet is a slip bobber or tight-line over brush with 1/16-ounce jigs in monkey milk, blue ice, or chartreuse/white. Minnows are still putting fish in the livewell when the bite gets tough.

Catfish are steady, especially on the lower and mid-lake sections. A few blues and plenty of channels coming from channel swings and flats near the river channel in 15–25 feet. Cut shad, fresh skipjack if you’ve got it, and good old chicken liver on a Carolina rig are doing work. Night bite should pick up with this warmer, muggy weather.

A couple of hot spots to keep in mind:

– The Gravois Arm: From the mouth back to around Indian Creek, secondary points and big docks are holding bass and crappie. Early topwater on the points, then work docks with jigs and plastics.

– The Niangua Arm: Around the 3–8 mile markers, target main-lake points and adjacent pockets. There’s good mixed action—bass on points and docks, cats off the breaks, and some crappie holding on deeper brush.

If the lake gets busy later, slide into the backs of quieter coves and fish shade lines under docks; that’s saving a lot of trips right now.

This is Artificial Lure reminding you to match your bait to the water color: more stained, more chartreuse and vibration; clearer, go natural and subtle.

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