Artificial Lure here, bringing you the Lake of the Ozarks fishing report for October 15, 2025. Starting off, we’ve got a crisp fall morning on the water. Expect sunrise right around 7:19 AM and sunset coming in at 6:34 PM—enjoy those classic autumn short days. Weatherwise, we’re looking at partly cloudy skies, high reaching the low 70s by the afternoon, and a gentle breeze from the northwest keeping those heavy jackets handy at daybreak.

Lake of the Ozarks, being a major inland reservoir, doesn’t experience tides like coastal fisheries do, so no tidal swings to plan around—just steady reservoir levels and that classic autumn drawdown.

Recent tournament news has kept excitement high—Phil Meyer landed a 7.37-pound largemouth during the early October Big Bass Bash, targeting 10-foot dock flats at the mouth of the Niangua River with a green-pumpkin soft craw bait. His catch, the finest of the two-day championship, underscores what’s working this month: pitching craw-imitating plastics deep under shady docks when the sun’s bright and the bass are holding tight to cover, seeking shade and easy ambush points, according to Wired2Fish. Another notable catch was a 6.51-pounder for second; bass over 3 pounds showed up in big numbers in weigh-ins, especially mid-morning.

Across the lake, the Solo Pro Series wrapped their championship just days ago and reports from participants consistently mention bass staging in main lake transition zones, particularly where chunk rock meets pea gravel. Anglers using squarebill crankbaits and spinnerbaits in shad patterns found success working wind-blown points early, then flipping finesse jigs and creature baits in deeper brush piles as sun climbed higher. Big topwater moments are still happening in the low-light hours, so don’t stow the poppers and walking baits just yet—some explosive action has been reported on main lake flats just after sunrise, especially near docks or shallow humps.

While bass remain the dominant target, crappie anglers are getting into the fall bite too. Trolling small jigs tipped with minnows around submerged brush has put keepers in livewells on both the Gravois and Niangua arms. If you’re after numbers, crappie are holding 12-18 feet deep as water temps slowly drop.

Best hot spots this week:
- The mouth of the Niangua River, especially docks with 8-12 feet of water below them—try skipping a green pumpkin soft plastic or craw right into the shaded pockets for a reaction bite.
- The Gravois Arm, above Indian Creek: focus on wind-blown secondary points early, with spinnerbaits or shallow-running cranks in shad hues, then slow down with jigs as the day wears on.

Other baits worth having rigged include white or chartreuse spinnerbaits for stained water, finesse worms in watermelon or pumpkin for pressured areas, and lipless crankbaits when bass push shallow baitfish up on flats. Don’t forget, the old-school black buzzbait produced some of the biggest topwater bites in the last week, particularly at daybreak.

Be mindful on the water, as boating traffic is down but hazards remain—Missouri Highway Patrol’s recent incident reports note several non-injury boating collisions, so be safe on those points and busy docks.

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