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Pomme de Terre Lake Fishing Report

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

Where Missouri's muskie program began in 1966: a 7,820-acre Corps lake in the western Ozarks with strong crappie and bass numbers.

4/5
Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.
Flow
8 cfs
Air / High
79 / 81 F
Wind
S 8 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 06921070, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
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.

4/5Good. Solid day ahead.Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Pomme de Terre Lake lines up a genuinely fishable day across the board. The main inflow is running 8 cfs, falling. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 8 mph, falling pressure near 1020 hPa and a high of 81. Water sits around 74 F for the season (estimated). With the waxing gibbous, the solunar majors run 9:49 AM-11:49 AM and 10:18 PM-12:18 AM: the windows to build the day around.

The plan, species by species

Largemouth bassExcellent

The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel)Excellent

Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

Smallmouth bassExcellent

Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

WalleyeExcellent

Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

MuskellungeExcellent

Main open-water season: cast or troll large bucktails, spoons and plugs along weed edges and other cover where muskies wait in ambush.

CrappieGood

Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

White bassGood

Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

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 →

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 →

Chasing largemouth bass 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 Pomme de Terre River near Polk (inflow).

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 06921070.

916238 cfs09/2310/0310/1310/23

Today’s flow against 58 years of October 23

At 8 cfs, the flow at USGS gauge 06921070 (Pomme de Terre River near Polk (inflow)) is at the 9th percentile for the date: much below normal. In half of the 58 years of approved record the daily mean on October 23 was below 30 cfs; the highest was 574 cfs and the lowest 2 cfs.

p10 8median 30p90 191

Percentiles of the daily mean flow for this date, from the USGS Water Data Statistics API for gauge 06921070; today’s reading is the latest instantaneous value. Classes follow the ones the USGS used on its WaterWatch maps (retired at the end of 2025): below 10th, much below normal; 10th–24th, below; 25th–75th, normal; 76th–90th, above; over 90th, much above.

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp79 F
High / Low81 / 49 F
WindS 8-11 mph
Pressure1020.2 hPa, falling
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset07:29 / 18:24
MoonWaxing Gibbous, 91%
Water temp (seasonal)~74 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 Pomme de Terre Lake this week

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

Best day this week: Monday, Oct 26 — excellent at 5/5, falling pressure, usually the best window of a week.

Today, Oct 23 — Good

Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Solunar majors
9:49 AM-11:49 AM and 10:18 PM-12:18 AM
Minor period
4:12 AM-5:12 AM
Sun
07:29 to 18:24
Moon
Waxing Gibbous, 91% lit
Sky and wind
Overcast, 9 mph
Rain chance
0%

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

Species guide

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

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. The main feeding season after the spawn: work moving baits along weed edges, points and wood, and follow up with a soft plastic where a fish swirls.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Year-round, best at dusk and after dark

Three big catfish share most of the country's rivers and reservoirs: the channel catfish, the most widespread; the blue catfish, the largest; and the flathead, which hunts live fish. All feed mostly on or near the bottom. Spawning season from late May into summer: Iowa DNR suggests drifting bait under a float along riprap and snags where males guard nests in cavities.

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. Early in this band crappie are spawning in protected coves; afterward they move to docks, brush piles and standing timber near deeper water.

Smallmouth bass illustration

Smallmouth bass

Best: spring and fall, when bigger fish come shallow

A bronze-brown black bass of clear, cool streams and rocky lakes, with dark vertical bars instead of a side stripe. Michigan DNR says its southeastern coast, from Port Huron to Lake Erie, is known nationally for both the size and the number of its smallmouth. Post-spawn and summer feeding: cover rock, wood and current breaks with crankbaits, jigs and tubes, and use live crayfish, minnows or hellgrammites where bait is the plan.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: the spring run up the tributaries, then summer surface schools

A silvery temperate bass of rivers and large reservoirs, also called sand bass, that schools in open water after shad and runs up tributaries to spawn in early spring. Summer and early fall schooling season over open water; follow the shad, and try live bait on the bottom at night.

Walleye illustration

Walleye

Best: spring and late fall, around dawn, dusk and night

A cool-water perch of large lakes, reservoirs and rivers whose reflective eyes are built for low light, so it feeds most at night and in murky water. The Missouri Department of Conservation ranks it among the continent's most important freshwater game fish. Summer pattern: nightcrawlers and leeches on rigs or jigs near bottom, trolled crankbaits to find scattered fish, and the shallows after dark in clear lakes.

Muskellunge illustration

Muskellunge

Fished from late spring into late fall where seasons allow

Muskellunge are solitary, fish-eating ambush predators of the pike family, holding in weed beds and other cover in lakes and rivers of the Great Lakes, upper Mississippi and Ohio basins. Main open-water season: cast or troll large bucktails, spoons and plugs along weed edges and other cover where muskies wait in ambush.

When to come: the Pomme de Terre Lake 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
Largemouth bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
Smallmouth bass
White bass
Walleye
Muskellunge
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 74 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovOct, ~74 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 Pomme de Terre Lake 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. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 80 F, wind to 4 mph.

Wed, Oct 21

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 77 F, wind to 5 mph.

Tue, Oct 20

3/5 Fair. Fish the windows. A steady pattern: dawn and dusk carry the day. Muskellunge led the card at excellent. High of 73 F, wind to 5 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 required. MDC special regulations for Pomme de Terre Lake: black bass 13-inch minimum length; crappie 9-inch minimum length with a daily limit of 15. For muskie, walleye and other species, see the current Summary of Missouri Fishing Regulations.

Access

Pomme de Terre State Park (Hermitage and Pittsburg sides): boat ramps, marina, camping. Corps of Engineers project office, Hermitage: 417-745-6411.

About this water

A Corps of Engineers flood-control lake on the Pomme de Terre River in west-central Missouri, completed in 1961: 7,820 acres at multipurpose pool.

Fishing Pomme de Terre Lake: the full guide

Missouri's first muskie lake

The Missouri Department of Conservation started its muskellunge program at Pomme de Terre Lake in 1966, and its muskie management plan calls the lake the first and largest Missouri water managed for the species. The Corps of Engineers completed the lake in 1961 on the Pomme de Terre River; at multipurpose pool it covers 7,820 acres and can spread to 16,100 acres when floodwater is held back.

Muskie: what MDC's survey shows

MDC's 2026 prospect report says spring sampling produced slightly higher muskie catch rates than in recent years, with many fish of 32 to 38 inches and several over 40. It also sets expectations: on average an angler spends about 30 hours to catch a muskie of any size and about 90 hours for one over 36 inches. June, September and October, with water at 60 to 70 degrees, are the months MDC names as best.

Crappie, bass and walleye

The same report expects excellent crappie fishing for the next two to three years, with most black and white crappie now over the lake's 9-inch minimum and many over 10 inches. MDC describes a high-density black bass population (largemouth, spotted and smallmouth) with more than half of the largemouth over the 13-inch minimum. More than 30% of walleye exceed 15 inches, with good numbers from 18 to 22 inches. Channel and flathead catfish are rated fair to good and white bass relatively abundant.

Brush piles and access

MDC marks more than 30 brush piles with green Fish Attractor signs, mostly in 10 to 30 feet of water, and about 400 unmarked brush piles appear on its Interactive Fishing Map. Pomme de Terre State Park has areas on both the Hermitage and Pittsburg sides of the lake, with boat ramps, a marina and about 240 campsites.

Common questions

How long does it take to catch a muskie here?

MDC's 2026 prospect report estimates about 30 hours of fishing for a muskie of any size and about 90 hours for one longer than 36 inches.

When is muskie fishing best?

MDC names June, September and October, when water temperatures run between 60 and 70 degrees.

What are the crappie rules?

MDC sets a 9-inch minimum length and a daily limit of 15 crappie on Pomme de Terre Lake.

Is fishing good at Pomme de Terre Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Good. Solid day ahead. Stable-to-falling pressure and workable wind line things up.

Nearby waters

Niangua River22 miTruman Lake23 miLake of the Ozarks27 miStockton Lake29 miBennett Spring29 miGasconade River84 mi

Where this page's numbers come from

River and reservoir readings
USGS 06921070 — Pomme de Terre River near Polk (inflow)
Read from the USGS Water Data API (api.waterdata.usgs.gov). Latest value timestamped 2026-10-23 at 17:30 UTC.
Weather and pressure
Open-Meteo forecast model
Queried at 37.9000, -93.3200 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 5, 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 5, 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.