Guide to Fishing at Lake of the Ozarks

The Lake of the Ozarks isn't just a Missouri favorite—it is consistently ranked as one of the premier fishing destinations in the United States. Known for its world-class bass, crappie, and catfish populations, the Lake hosts massive events like the Big Bass Bash and hundreds of professional and amateur tournaments every year.

At Point Randall Resort, we don't just provide a place to stay; we provide a high-performance "base camp" designed specifically for the needs of anglers and tournament organizers.

With more than 1,300 feet of shoreline, there are plenty of places to cast a line at Point Randall. We have a covered fishing dock for all those crappie lovers, along with several other boat docks that have brush piles and structures sunk below to help lure in the big ones. We also have two fish cleaning stations with electricity, lights and water pumps.

Lake Area Boat Rentals is located on-site and offeres tritoon and fishing boats for rent. Lodging guests receive a discount.

If you are interested in having a local professional take you out, there are several local guides that will make your day on the water a memorable one.

Here are links to some of our favorite local guides:

Jack's Guide Service
Big Ed's Guide Service
Elite Ozark Guide Service – Casey Scanlon

Point Randall Resort welcomes fishing tournaments. From 4 boat "buddy" tournaments to 20+ boat bass clubs, we handle over a dozen groups every year. The resort has a concrete boat launch, trailer parking, and plenty of covered boat slips. With the gentle slope of our property, it is easy to access the boat docks and almost all customers can see their boat from their room.

Point Randall is also one of the five official weigh-in locations for the Lake of the Ozarks Spring & Fall Big Bass Bash Tournaments. The Big Bass Bash is an amateurs only tournament, so no professionals or fishing guides, and offers approximately $250,000 in prizes for each tournament.

Bass Fishing

Anglers engaged in Lake of the Ozarks bass fishing will find the lake teeming with both white and black bass. Bass traditionally tends to be decent-sized, thanks to the Missouri Department of Conservation's minimum length regulation of 12 to 15 inches, depending on the type of bass.

While you'll find luck throughout most of the year when bass fishing at Lake of the Ozarks, March through May is the spawning season for bass. Lunkers are most likely to be caught during this time, and they tend to be found in the shallower sections.

June tends to be an excellent time as well, as the bass here are aggressive after their spawn. If you are looking for white bass, you can try casting a hook up the Niangua, Little Niangua, Gravois and Grand Glaize tributaries.

During the winter, you may want to go to the lower end of the lake, as the water is typically warmer and clearer in the colder months.

Crappie Fishing

If you are looking for panfish, you'll find that crappie tend to be in the same areas around the same time as bass. They share the spawning season with bass and also tend to make their nests in the same area: pea-gravel pockets of coves that are sheltered from both wind and waves.

Using a small jig or minnow with a bobber set to no more than two feet below the surface, you'll find that catching spawning crappie will be a cinch.

During the autumn months, crappie, like bass, tend to spread throughout the lake, so you won't be limited to the shallows.

Catfish Fishing

Catfish tend to be underfished here at the lake, meaning that you can count on some great summertime action. You may want to consider deep fishing if you are trying to catch one of the species of catfish, as most of the big fish at the lake will tend to swim lower during the summer as the temperature is cooler.

There are couple notable areas where catfish tend to gather:

Riprap around bridges crossing the main channel
Major channels feeding into the main river
Cove mouths
Channel side of bluffs