Stellar Early Summer Fishing on the Lake of the Ozarks

Artificial Lure here with your Lake of the Ozarks fishing report for Friday, June 6th, 2025. Folks, it’s shaping up to be a stellar early summer day on the water! Sunrise hit the lake at 5:45 AM and we’ll see sunset tonight at 8:29 PM, giving you plenty of time to get in on the action. The weather’s been classic Ozarks—warm, mostly clear, with gentle breezes pushing bait up shallow and keeping the fish active.

There’s no tide on our reservoir, but water levels are at full pool, which means all your favorite shoreline and dock patterns are wide open—just be mindful of the boat traffic picking up with the summer crowd rolling in.

Bass are still in post-spawn mode, with a lot of largemouths hanging in two feet of water or less. Recent reports from anglers have tallied up plenty of 15 to 18-inch fish, especially around secondary points and the backs of coves, with some solid keepers mixed in. BassingBob.com and Omnia Fishing both note that hard jerkbaits, medium-diving crankbaits, shakey heads, and wacky-rigged worms are all producing. Don’t sleep on umbrella rigs either. Look for bass to start transitioning just a bit deeper as the water continues to warm, but for now, there’s still a lot of shallow action.

Crappie are in excellent condition after a strong spawn, and with the shad population booming from the spring kill and cicada hatch, these slabs are fat and feisty. The Missouri Department of Conservation recommends targeting brush piles near points—many of which are marked on their online map—and sticking with small jigs, 1/32 to 1/8 ounce, or classic minnows. Most crappie are hitting the nine-inch minimum and up on the Glaize Arm, so head that way if you’re chasing a fry-up.

If you’re looking to change it up, catfish are just getting hot, especially blues and channels. June kicks off peak catfishing. Try drifting fresh shad or cut bait along channel edges or tossing chicken livers around bridge pilings after dark, and you’re almost sure to put a few in the cooler. White bass will be picking up on the windy points—throw small swimbaits or spoons where you see baitfish flickering.

Hot spots? Hit the Shawnee Bend Area for quality bass and brush pile crappie action, or head up the Niangua Arm for numbers of both bass and panfish. For catfish, the deep holes near the main lake channel around the 20-30 mile marker are favorites right now.

No serious worries about the fish kill this spring—it was mostly shad and it’s actually fertilized the bite, with lots of shad fry fueling the food chain, according to the Missouri Department of Conservation.

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