Ozarks Fishing Report: Fall Bass Bite, Crappie Staging, and White Bass Chaos

Good morning from Lake of the Ozarks—I'm Artificial Lure, bringing you your local fishing report for Wednesday, October 29th, 2025.

Sunrise hit the water at 7:33 this morning, and we're looking at sunset coming in just after 6:11 this evening. No tidal swings to report here since we’re all freshwater, but the barometer’s steady and the air is crisp. Overnight lows touched the upper 30s, highs today pushing into the low 60s, with patchy fog burning off early. Water temps are down into the mid-60s in most coves—that fall bite is on the move.

Bass have been rolling in strong this week, especially largemouth and spotted bass. Folks are reporting solid morning action up shallow around chunk rock points and secondary coves. A few locals shared that they've boated their limit before noon along the 10-15 mile marker near Osage Beach and in the coves by Shawnee Bend. The hot ticket continues to be an Alabama rig or umbrella rig, paired with shad-colored swimbaits—Major League Fishing recently highlighted that pattern as a winner when chasing schooling bass right now. Don’t overlook the slow, deliberate jerkbait along deeper docks; that slack-pause retrieve is still producing those finicky, transitioning fish as they chase bait balls into shallower pockets.

Anglers working bluff ends and brush piles have picked up hefty crappie as well. The bite is best just after sunrise and again late afternoon, hanging around 10 to 18 feet, especially on standing timber back in Gravois and Niangua arms. Marabou jigs in monkey milk and shiners under slip floats are catching slabs up to a pound and a half, with some boats tallying a couple dozen keepers by lunch. The crappie are thickening up as they stage for the late fall pattern.

Not seeing the same success on catfish this week. A handful of blues and channels are coming off deep flats with cut shad, but the numbers have slowed as the water cools.

White bass have fired up on the windy main lake points. Look for active gulls and surface boils—throw a chrome Rat-L-Trap or a white rooster tail spinner right into the chaos. Those schools are frenzied and you can load the boat in a hurry once you’re on them.

As for trout, remember the emergency regulations in nearby Ozark tailwaters—Arkansas Game & Fish just announced significant cutbacks due to hatchery issues, so plan for stricter daily limits down south. That's not affecting Lake of the Ozarks, but something to keep in mind if you’re traveling.

In terms of safety, boat traffic's finally throttling back, but always keep your head on a swivel, especially with fog and the occasional bass chase in narrow coves. Missouri State Highway Patrol’s incident logs have quieted, but there were still a couple of watercraft collisions and mishaps earlier this month, so stay alert and be courteous out there.

Best bets for today: hit Shawnee Bend for your bass, work the brush piles in the Niangua arm for crappie, and check those main lake points near the mouth of the Gravois for white bass action.

That’s your boots-on-the-dock update for October 29th from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in—be sure to subscribe for your daily fishing fix. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning from Lake of the Ozarks. I'm Artificial war
bringing you your local fishing report for Wednesday, October twenty ninth,
two thousand, twenty five. Sunrise hit the water at seven
thirty three this morning, and we're looking at sunset coming
in just after six eleven this evening. No tidal swings
to report here since we're all fresh water, but the

(00:20):
barometer's steady and the air is crisp. Overnight lows touch
the upper thirties highs today pushing into the low sixties.
With patche fog burning off early water temperatures are down
into the mid sixties in most coves that fall bite
is on the move. Bass have been rolling in strong
this week, especially largemouth and spotted bass. Folks are reporting

(00:41):
solid morning action up shallow around Chunk Rock Points and
secondary coves. A few locals shared that they boded their
limit before noon along the ten fifteen mile marker near
Osage Beach and in the coves by Shawnee Ben. The
hot ticket continues to be an Alabama rig or umbrella
rig paired with shad colored swin bait. Major League Fishing

(01:01):
recently highlighted that pattern as a winner when chasing schooling
bass right now. Don't overlook the slow, deliberate jerkbait along
deeper docks that slack paws retrieve is still producing those
finicky transitioning fish as they chase bait balls into shallower pockets.
Anglers working bluff ends and brush piles have picked up
hefty crappie as well. The bite is best just after

(01:24):
sunrise and again late afternoon, hanging around ten to eighteen feet,
especially on standing timber back in grosvoy and neangua arms.
Marabu jigs and monkey milk and shiners under slip floats
are catching slabs up to a pound and a half,
with some boats toweling a couple dozen keepers by lunch.
The crappie are thickening up as they stage for the

(01:47):
late fall pattern. Not seeing the same success on catfish
this week. A handful of blues and channels are coming
off deep flats with cut shad, but the numbers have
slowed as the water cools. White bass fired up on
the windy main lake points. Look for active gulls in
surface boils. Throw a chrome rat will trap or a

(02:07):
white rooster tail spinner right into the chaos. Those schools
are frenzied and you can load the boat in a
hurry once you're on them. As for trout, remember the
emergency regulations in nearby Ozark Tailwaters Arkansas Game and Fish
just amounts significant cutbacks due to hatcher issues, so plan
for stricter daily limits down south. That's not affecting Lake

(02:30):
of the Ozarks, but something to keep in mind if
you're traveling. In terms of safety, boat traffic's finally throttling back,
but always keep your head on a swivel, especially with
fog and the occasional base chase in narrow coves. Missouri
State Highly Patrol's incident logs have quieted, but there were
still a couple of warcraft collisions and mishaps earlier this month,

(02:54):
so stay alert and be courteous out there. Best bets
for today hitch Shawnee bend for your back, yes, work
the brush piles in the Neagua Arm for crappie, and
check those main lake points near the mouth of the
Grovores for white bass action. That's your boots on the dock.
Update for October twenty ninth from Artificial Lore. Thanks for

(03:14):
tuning in. Be sure to subscribe for your daily fishing fix.
This has been a quiet please production. For more check
out quiet please dot ai