Lake of the Ozarks Bass Fishing – 22 Apr 2026 | Fishing report

Things are really starting to happen on Lake of the Ozarks right now. Water temps are sitting around 68 degrees, and we’re officially seeing fish move up and get on beds in the backs of coves.

We spent about 7 hours on the water and caught 32 bass, with 6 keepers going 29.0 pounds total. Best 5 came in at 9.5 pounds. Good numbers day with some solid quality mixed in.

Conditions were partly cloudy with light south wind around 6 mph, and the water was stained. That combination set up a really good shallow bite, especially early.

The big story today was the topwater bite. A blue chrome popper produced 13 fish and 3 of the 6 keepers. A lot of those fish were shallow on the bank and willing to come up, especially early in the day. That bite alone tells you how far along things are progressing.

We also found bedding fish in the backs of coves, which confirms the spawn is starting to kick in. Some of those fish were catchable, but most were still a little tricky and not fully locked in yet.

A 5-inch PBJ worm continued to produce, especially around the bank, and picked up additional bites when things slowed down. It’s still a key bait when you need to slow down and pick apart an area.

We mixed in a white swimbait, crankbait, chatterbait, and jerkbait, and all of them produced at least a few fish. The swimbait did well both on the bank and around offshore targets, and we even picked up a few fish on forward-facing sonar.

We started at Pa He Tsi, then made a move over to Watson Hallow Cove, and most of our better activity came once we got into those areas with the right mix of stained water and protected coves.

Big takeaway right now is the lake is transitioning fast into the spawn. You’ve got fish still willing to chase moving baits, fish coming up on beds, and a solid topwater bite starting to develop. It’s one of the best times of year to be on the water.

Get more info at Lake of the Ozarks Fish Intel here: https://lakeoftheozarksfishintel.com/

Get an excellent guide, Captain Jack Uxa, here: https://www.lakeoftheozarksfishingguide.com/
573-434-2570.

Appreciate you watching and supporting Mid Missouri Angling.

My Lake of the Ozarks Fishing Reports Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZubefBIucWLmw6xh0nUWv1_tBs0K6YKM

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🔥 NEFFEX – How’s It Supposed to Feel (Clean)
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⏰ Timecodes ⏰
0:00 – Intro
2:05 – The Highlights
10:22 – Fishing Summary
10:27 – Bait(s)
10:32 – Locations
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