Ozarks Fishing Report: Spawning Bass, Crappie Brush Piles, and Hot Catfish Action

Good morning, anglers! Artificial Lure here with your Lake of the Ozarks fishing report for Friday, May 23rd, 2025.

We're looking at another beautiful day on the water with the water level finally at full pool after being low earlier this spring. The recent full moon has triggered another wave of spawning activity, though we're starting to see a transition as we move deeper into May.

Bass fishing has been heating up nicely across the lake! Many fish are still up on the banks, but we're seeing the beginning of their movement toward deeper water and boat docks. There are multiple patterns in play right now, which means you've got options. Keeper bass are plentiful, though the big females have been somewhat elusive. If you're trophy hunting, focus on areas with bluegill beds, as the biggest bass seem to be hanging around there rather than chasing shad.

For lures, try topwaters early in the morning along steep banks where shad are present. As the sun gets higher, switch to swimbaits, jigs, or big worms around docks and tree cover. One hot tip: if you can find any pockets of stained water in our currently clear lake, that's absolute gold right now!

Crappie fishing remains a bit slower than typical for May, likely due to those drought conditions we experienced back in 2022-2023 that hurt recruitment. Your best shot at slabs is targeting brush piles near points in the Glaize Arm, where they're holding in 8-15 feet of water. Small jigs (1/32 to 1/8 ounce) in chartreuse colors have been effective, and minnows remain reliable for consistent action.

Catfish action is prime time right now! They've been particularly active following the recent full moon.

Hot spots this week include the lower end of the lake for bass, which has produced solid tournament weigh-ins recently. For crappie, focus on the Glaize Arm brush piles. If you're after numbers of fish rather than size, the numerous docks with overhead shade have been holding good concentrations of keeper bass during the heat of the day.

Water clarity is good throughout the lake, and we've got perfect temperatures for late May fishing. Remember that in the coming weeks, we'll see more fish transitioning to their summer patterns and moving to slightly deeper water.

Tight lines, everyone! This is Artificial Lure, signing off until next time. Y'all get out there and catch 'em up!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good morning, anglers, artificial lure. Here with your Lake of
the Ozarks fishing report for Friday, May twenty third, twenty
twenty five. We're looking at another beautiful day on the water,
with the water level finally at full pool after being
low earlier this spring. The recent full moon has triggered
another wave of spawning activity, though we're starting to see

(00:22):
a transition as we move deeper into May. Bass fishing
has been heating up nicely across the lake. Many fish
are still up on the banks, but we're seeing the
beginning of their movement toward deeper water and boat docks.
There are multiple patterns in play right now, which means
you've got options. Keeper bass are plentiful, though the big

(00:43):
females have been somewhat elusive. If your trophy hunting, focus
on areas with bluegill beds, as the biggest bass seem
to be hanging around there. Rather than chasing shad for lures,
try top waters early in the morning along steep banks
where shad are present. As the sun gets higher, switch
to swim baits, jigs or big worms around docks and

(01:04):
tree cover. One hot tip if you can find any
pockets of stained water in our currently clear lake. That's
absolute gold right now. Crappy fishing remains a bit slower
than typical for May, likely due to those drought conditions
we experienced back in twenty twenty two to twenty twenty
three that hurt recruitment. Your best shot at slabs is

(01:25):
targeting brush piles near points in the glaze arm where
they're holding in eight to fifteen feet of water. Small
jigs one thirty half to one eighth ounce in chartruse
colors have been effective, and minnows remain reliable for consistent action.
Catfish action is primetime right now. They've been particularly active
following the recent full moon. Hot spots this week include

(01:49):
the lower end of the lake for bass, which has
produced solid tournament weigh ins recently. For crappie, focus on
the glaze arm brush piles if you're after numbers of
fish rather than size. The numerous docks with overhead shade
have been holding good concentrations of keeper bass during the
heat of the day. Water clarity is good throughout the lake,

(02:11):
and we've got perfect temperatures for late May fishing. Remember
that in the coming weeks we'll see more fish transitioning
to their summer patterns and moving to slightly deeper, water
tight lines. Everyone, this is artificial lure, signing off until
next time. Y'all get out there and catch them up.
And that is it for today. Hit the subscribe button

(02:33):
and never miss out. Keep those tips up and lines wet.
This has been a quite please production with the help
of AI. Thanks for listening.