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Lake Taneycomo Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Oct 23, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

Lake Taneycomo: the cold White River reservoir below Table Rock Dam at Branson, a trout lake that MDC stocks every month.

3/5
Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.
Lake level
700.83 ft
Air / High
79 / 80 F
Wind
SE 7 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07053600, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Tap a marker for today's tip
Friday
23
October 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

3/5Fair. Fish the windows.A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Lake Taneycomo is in its winter mode: slow, deep and deliberate. The gauge reads 700.83 ft, up 0.09 over the week. Today brings clear skies, wind SE around 7 mph, steady pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 80. Water sits around 47 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:49 AM-11:49 AM and 10:17 PM-12:17 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Rainbow troutExcellent

In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown troutExcellent

Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Largemouth bassGood

Below about 50Β°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

CrappieFair

Bites slow; a minnow or small jig fished slowly near deeper cover is the usual approach, and through the ice where lakes freeze.

Tomorrow: Similar at 83 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Oct 24, 6:30 AMHow this report is made β†’

Before you go

Missouri requires a fishing licence from age 16, from $14.00 for residents. What a Missouri licence costs and where to buy it β†’

Chasing rainbow trout here? Check the size and bag limits with MDC before you keep anything. The season dates for Missouri, read off the agency, are on the Missouri seasons page.

Water and weather

Live readings from Lake Taneycomo at School of the Ozarks, MO.

Water level, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07053600.

700.70701.00701.31700.83 ft09/2310/0310/1310/23

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp79 F
High / Low80 / 49 F
WindSE 7-8 mph
Pressure1020.0 hPa, steady
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:27 / 18:25
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (gauge)58 F USGS
Water temp (seasonal)~47 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunsetPRIMEPRIME

Which day to fish Lake Taneycomo this week

The best day on Lake Taneycomo this week looks like Monday Oct 26, at 4 out of 5, against 3 today.

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 β€” good at 4/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 β€” Fair

A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Solunar majors
9:49 AM-11:49 AM and 10:17 PM-12:17 AM
Minor period
4:11 AM-5:11 AM
Sun
07:27 to 18:25
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Clear, 8 mph
Rain chance
0%

Forecast-based scores, less reliable further out: how the score is built.

Species guide

The species that matter on Lake Taneycomo: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Rainbow trout illustration

Rainbow trout

Spring and fall in most lakes; rivers fish year-round while the water stays cool

A cold-water trout native to Pacific drainages from Alaska to Baja California, now stocked in most states and fished in rivers, tailwaters and lakes. In cold water rainbows use the deepest pools in rivers (Vermont), so slow, deep drifts there are the usual approach; Michigan DNR notes lake rainbows are also taken with bait or by jigging through the ice.

Brown trout illustration

Brown trout

Spring along Great Lakes shorelines; low light and overcast days in rivers; fall spawning runs

A European trout first stocked in the US in 1883 and now fished in rivers and lakes nationwide; it tolerates warmer water than other trout, and mature stream fish feed mostly at night. Below 50Β°F, fish slowly through the deeper pools; in early spring on the Great Lakes, Michigan DNR notes browns are often caught inshore before other species start biting.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: the spring pre-spawn and the fall feed

A warm-water sunfish of lakes, reservoirs, ponds and slow river backwaters that holds tight to cover: weeds, logs, rock ledges and docks. In Texas, TPWD surveys rank it "by far" the freshwater fish anglers most want to catch. Below about 50Β°F feeding slows sharply, Iowa DNR notes; use small, slow baits near deep cover and fish the warmest part of the day.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: the spring spawn; summer around docks, brush and the thermocline

Two slab-sided panfish, the white crappie and the black crappie, that gather around submerged timber, brush piles, docks and bridge pilings in lakes, reservoirs and slow river backwaters. Texas Parks and Wildlife counts crappie as the state's most popular panfish. Bites slow; a minnow or small jig fished slowly near deeper cover is the usual approach, and through the ice where lakes freeze.

When to come: the Lake Taneycomo calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Rainbow trout
Brown trout
Largemouth bass
Crappie
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 47 F (estimated, not a reading).

30405060JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~47 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Lake Taneycomo today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Oct 22

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 81 F, wind to 5 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 76 F, wind to 4 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Rainbow trout led the card at excellent. High of 75 F, wind to 6 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Missouri requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Missouri fishing permit; a trout permit is needed to keep trout anywhere on the lake and to fish for any species above the U.S. 65 bridge. 4 trout a day (8 in possession), only 1 brown (2 in possession), browns 20-in. minimum. Dam to Fall Creek: 12-20 in. protected slot for rainbows, flies and artificial lures only, no soft plastics or scented baits. Porous-soled waders prohibited (MDC).

Access

Cooper Creek Access, Rockaway Beach Access and Empire Electric Park have covered, accessible public fishing docks (MDC); more public docks at Branson Landing and Branson Lakeside RV Park.

About this water

White River lake formed by Powersite Dam after World War I, below Table Rock Dam (Corps, 1958), Taney County, MO. Lake level from the USGS gauge on Lake Taneycomo at School of the Ozarks (elevation, NAVD 88).

Fishing Lake Taneycomo: the full guide

Lake and dam

Lake Taneycomo was created after World War I by the privately built Powersite Dam on the White River; Table Rock Dam, which the Corps completed upstream in August 1958, now releases into it. MDC calls it primarily a trout fishery: rainbow trout make up about 90 percent of the catch and brown trout 6 to 7 percent.

Stocking

MDC stocks Taneycomo monthly with rainbow trout and yearly with brown trout, about 560,000 rainbows and 15,000 browns a year. No trout are stocked in the upper three miles between Table Rock Dam and Fall Creek; MDC says densities stay high there because of low harvest and fish moving in.

Dam to Fall Creek

No fishing is allowed within 760 feet below Table Rock Dam. From there to the mouth of Fall Creek, rainbows from 12 to 20 inches must be released, only pole-and-line fishing with flies and artificial lures is allowed, and soft plastics and natural or scented baits are banned for every species. In MDC's September 2024 survey, 77 percent of the rainbows in this reach were longer than 13 inches and 31 percent longer than 16.

Browns, generation and the lower lake

Brown trout must be 20 inches to keep anywhere on the lake, and only one of the four trout in a daily limit may be a brown; in MDC's September 2024 sample, 20 percent of browns topped 20 inches. Hydropower releases dominate the first 1.5 miles: during heavy generation, wade only near shore or drift in a boat, and with the turbines off the reach turns into shallow pools and riffles. The Southwestern Power Administration posts the day's generation schedule online and at 866-494-1993. Below Fall Creek natural and scented baits are allowed and rainbows have no length limit. MDC finds largemouth bass and crappie mainly in the warmer lower lake below Rockaway Beach.

Common questions

Do I need a trout permit for Lake Taneycomo?

Yes, to keep trout anywhere on the lake, and to fish for any species upstream of the U.S. Highway 65 bridge at Branson (MDC).

What is the slot limit on Taneycomo?

From the closed zone below Table Rock Dam to the mouth of Fall Creek, rainbow trout from 12 to 20 inches must be released immediately.

How big do Taneycomo brown trout get?

MDC confirmed a 40-pound, 6-ounce brown caught at Taneycomo on Sept. 4, 2019, as the state pole-and-line record.

Is fishing good at Lake Taneycomo right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day.

Nearby waters

Table Rock Lake15 miBull Shoals Lake18 miBeaver Lake50 miNorfork Lake54 miBuffalo River54 miWhite River59 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 07053600 β€” Lake Taneycomo at School of the Ozarks, MO
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 18:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 36.6600, -93.2132 in this water's own timezone. A model, not an observation.
Moon and solunar windows
Calculated on this site
Astronomical calculation from these coordinates and the date, not a third-party feed. How much weight it deserves.
Pages checked
The facts in the written guide were checked against these pages, from the agencies and operators that manage the water, on October 8, 2026. Anything we could not verify was taken out.
The written guide on this page
Pablo Ruiz Quintero
How this page was made. The daily report is computed by our scoring engine from live readings; nobody types it. The written text was drafted with AI assistance from the official pages listed above, and its facts were checked against those pages by automated verification on October 8, 2026; anything that could not be verified was taken out. Pablo Ruiz Quintero sets every guideline, the data-verification system and the minimum standards a page must meet to be published, reviews page structure and approves what goes live; the responsibility is his, and the AI carries out the work. We work this way because it is how one person can keep every page current with named sources. Errors are published in the verification log; the full policy is in the editorial policy.

Readings refresh on a 30-minute window. The full method, with every figure and its source, is on how our reports are made. Something wrong here? Tell us and it goes in the log with the date.