This is Artificial Lure bringing you your October 11th, 2025 fishing report for Lake of the Ozarks, Missouri. Autumn’s got its claws into the Ozarks now—trees starting to pop with color, air brisk just after sunrise, and fishing is picking up everywhere you look.

Weather’s sitting comfortable—expect high temps in the low 60s and partly cloudy skies most of the day, with a light breeze out of the west. Sunrise was at 7:13 AM and sunset will be around 6:40 PM this evening, perfect for squeezing in an after-work cast. No tides here, but keep that moon phase in mind: we’re under a waning gibbous with 82% illumination, which means those early morning and late evening bites are fired up. According to FishingReminder, your best windows today are 4:18–6:18 AM and 10:39 AM–12:39 PM; another big push at 5–7 PM, so plan your stops around those majors and minors.

The fall bite is ON, with bass, crappie, and channel catfish all making appearances in recent catches. Local guides like Expert Angling Guide Service have reported a strong week for largemouth bass—most landed between 2 and 4 pounds, especially around rocky points and shaded docks. Top catches lately include several five-pounders in the mid-lake coves—Osage and Niangua arms have been producing best. Crappie are stacking up on brush piles in 12–18 feet; most anglers are coming off the water with limits before noon.

Bass are keyed in on shad—spinnerbaits, squarebill crankbaits, and topwater walking baits are producing the biggest bites, especially in moving water near the Gravois arm and up around the Grand Glaize Bridge. The squarebill crankbait and lipless in shad patterns are hot right now, echoing what Bass Fishing Daily and Sports Illustrated’s Fishing On SI are saying about fall turnover tactics. If the wind picks up, swap to swim jigs or buzzbaits—the bass like that movement. Early morning, throw a popper along seawalls; evenings, go with a buzzbait around the boat docks. Don’t sleep on soft plastics: Texas-rigged creature baits like green pumpkin and blue flake are the ticket when the sun’s high, worked slow around deeper wood.

Crappie are biting best on small jigs tipped with minnows, pink or chartreuse, fished right off the brush. Cats were active last night—cut shad and nightcrawlers held steady along the channel swings and deeper flats. Most channel cats right now are running 2–6 pounds.

For hotspots, you can’t go wrong with these:

- **Gravois Arm near Coffman Bend:** Rock banks and dock corners are loaded with bass and crappie.
- **Niangua Arm around Larry R. Gale Access:** Early morning and dusk, bass stack up chasing shad—don’t skip the standing timber.
- **Grand Glaize Bridge area:** Consistently good for catfish and late bite bass, with easy access to deep water structure.

Big Cedar Lodge is also getting some fall travel buzz, bringing extra foot traffic and a few more lines in the water, but midweek you can still find pockets to yourself. The Osage Beach Bagnell Dam tailwater sees bustling action for cats after dark this week.

Remember: gear up with shad imitation lures, have a few spinnerbaits and topwaters handy, and pack some live bait for bonus crappie and cats.

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