Published: August 26, 2008 02:29 pm      

Oklahoma Lake Report for August 24, 2008

Oklahoma City — (AP) — Here are the conditions at Oklahoma lakes as reported Wednesday, Aug. 20, by the state Department of Wildlife Conservation and lake rangers.

CENTRAL

Arcadia: Elevation 1⁄2 ft. above normal and dropping, water 85 degrees and semi-murky. Blue catfish fair to good on shad at 20 ft. in river channels in morning. Crappie slow on minnows at 5 to 6 ft. around docks in the mornings. Report submitted by Linnie Mason, gate attendant.

Hefner: Crappie good in brush piles along the dam. Report submitted by Blake Pearson, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.

Hefner (second report): Elevation above normal, water murky. White bass good on 2 inch white grubs. Channel catfish good on cut shad. Crappie good on jigs in deep water at the dam. Walleye good. Report submitted by Tim Campbell, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.

Overholser: Channel catfish slow on stinkbaits. Report submitted by Blake Pearson, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.

Thunderbird: Elevation 1⁄2 ft. above normal and clear. White bass good on points and humps trolling with inline spinners, medium-diving crankbaits and sassy shad also look for surfacing activity in the early mornings. Saugeye good off points at 7 to 10 ft. on sassy shad, jigs and medium-diving crankbaits, usually moving into shallower water late evening to feed. Report submitted by Tony Woodruff, game warden stationed in Cleveland County.

Wes Watkins: Elevation 1 to 11⁄2 ft. above normal, water 81 to 84 and murky, with some clearing in the center of the lake. Catfish very good on shad, worms, shrimp and fresh cut bait. Crappie fair on jigs and minnows around the dam tower area, structure and dock areas. White bass good trolling light and white colored jigs and crankbaits especially along the north shoreline east of the boat ramp area. Largemouth bass fair on assorted soft plastics and spinnerbaits, with some being caught on chartreuse/orange/white spinnerbaits in weed beds, also being caught topwater in early morning on overcast days. Report submitted by M. Fowler.

NORTHEAST

Bell Cow: Elevation normal, water 79 degrees and clear. Crappie fair on minnows at the fishing dock early and late. Report submitted by Mike France, game warden stationed in Pottawatomie County.

Chandler: Elevation 1⁄2 ft. below normal, water clear Crappie fair to good around boat ramps and docks in late morning. Report submitted by Mike France, game warden stationed in Pottawatomie County.

Grand: Elevation 1 ft. below normal, water 83 to 89 degrees and above Sailboat Bridge stained, Sailboat Bridge to Horse Creek slightly colored to clear and Horse Creek to the dam clear. Bass good around docks on ten inch power worms, brush hogs, and jig-n-chucks, around deep structure and brush piles on Carolina jig and football jigs and in the main lake and off secondary points on fat free shad and DD22 crankbaits. Crappie slow. Catfish good around Bad Island and in the Horse Creek area, on juglines at 20 to 25 ft. on sunfish, shad, and goldfish. White bass good, starting to surface and stay up Elk River, Horse Creek, Patricia Island, and Drowning Creek. Report submitted by Littlefields Sporting Goods and Greg Lambs Guide Service.

Hudson: Elevation 2 ft. above normal. Largemouth bass good on spinnerbaits and plastic baits. Channel and blue catfish good on cut shad. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs. Report submitted by Steve Loveland, game warden stationed in Rogers and Mayes Counties.

Lower Illinois: Elevation rising, water 56 degrees and clear. Largemouth bass good on topwater lures and spinnerbaits at 2 to 6 ft. in moss beds and rocky points. Striped bass excellent during water generation on live shad and cut shad at 2 to 10 ft. all along river. Channel catfish excellent on live shad and cut bait in deep holes all along river. Walleye good on minnows and jigs on bottom at the mouth of the river. Trout excellent on power bait, spinnerbaits and flies at 2 to 5 ft. all along river. Be sure to check generation times. Report submitted by D. Tracy, Town of Gore.

Sooner: White bass good on topwater lures and fair on live shad and slabs toward the dam. Striped bass hybrids fair on live shad and slabs toward the dam. Report submitted by Doug Gottschalk, game warden stationed in Noble County.

Spavinaw: Elevation slightly above normal, water 79 degrees and murky. Crappie fair on jigs and minnows around the dam area. Largemouth bass fair on topwater lures early morning and late evening. Report submitted by Dwight Moore, City of Tulsa Fisheries.

Tenkiller: Elevation 11⁄2 ft. above normal, water 84 degrees. Largemouth bass fair on soft plastic bass jigs with some action on topwater lures and around ledges. Catfish good on stinkbaits at 17 to 20 ft. Sunfish good on night crawlers in or near docks. Report by Monte Brooks Cookson Village Resort.

NORTHWEST

Canton: Elevation normal. Channel catfish good on shad in the upper end of the lake. White bass, striped bass hybrids and walleye good drifting shad and slabs. Report submitted by Mark Walker, game warden stationed in Blaine County.

Fort Supply: Elevation above normal. White bass fair on jigs and spinnerbaits along the dam. Channel catfish fair on cut bait and stinkbaits all over the lake. Report submitted by Mark Reichenberger, game warden stationed in Harper County.

SOUTHEAST

Arbuckle: Elevation 2 ft. below normal, water 83 degrees and clear. Crappie slow. White bass surfacing around dam area. Bass fair using worm, drop shot and crankbaits. Channel catfish good on baited holes. Sunfish excellent. Report submitted by Jack Melton.

Blue River: Elevation normal, water 74 degrees and clear. Smallmouth and spotted bass good on soft plastic grubs and spinnerbaits. Channel catfish good on stinkbait, crawfish and chicken livers. Sunfish good on red worms. Report submitted by Matt Gamble, biologist at Blue River Public Fishing and Hunting area.

Broken Bow: Elevation normal, water clear. Bass being caught while schooling topwater early and late in mouths of creeks and back water. Crappie good on minnows and jigs around structure and baited holes. Walleye fair on deep-running crawdad colored crankbaits around islands, points and rocky outcroppings following the moon phase. Report submitted by Dru Polk, game warden stationed in McCurtain County.

Eufaula: Elevation 1⁄2 ft. above normal, water clear. Largemouth bass fair on plastic baits off deeper points. White bass fair on minnows at night under bridges. Blue catfish fair on fresh shad drifting the deep flats. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs at 10 to 18 ft. under bridges and brush piles during the day. Report submitted by Ed Rodebush, game warden stationed in McIntosh County.

Hugo: Elevation normal, water 86 degrees. Largemouth bass fair on minnows around brush piles. Catfish fair on trotlines with sunfish. Blue catfish good on shad below the dam. Crappie fair on minnows around brush piles. Report submitted by Jay Harvey, game warden stationed in Choctaw and Bryan Counties.

Konawa: Elevation 1⁄2 ft. above normal, water 86 degrees and clear. Largemouth bass good on topwater lures and crankbaits in schooling bass at 5 to 10 ft. in the coves early and late. Report submitted by Daryl Howser, game warden stationed in Seminole County.

Lower Mountain Fork River: Power house has not been releasing much water lately. I think the releases have not been adequate to keep the trout healthy and active in zone 2. Folks are catching some trout in zone 2, but zone 1 continues to be the best producing area. Find some swift water in a shady location and you will probably be successful. Good flies have been small Adams dry flies, small soft hackle flies, elk hair caddis, Y2K bug, caddis pupae, and as always, the wooly bugger continues to be a great fly. Report submitted by Beavers Bend Fly Shop.

McGee Creek: Elevation 13⁄4 ft. above normal, water 84 degrees and clear. Largemouth bass fair on plastic craws and crawfish colored crankbaits at 6 to 18 ft. along rocky points and on topwater lures early and late. Report submitted by Larry Luman, game warden stationed in Atoka County.

Pine Creek: Elevation above normal and clear. Crappie fair on minnows at the old bridge at night. Bass good on soft plastics off of points and great on topwater lures in the late evening and early morning. Catfish fair on punchbait. Report Submitted by Mark Hannah, game warden stationed in McCurtain County.

Robert S. Kerr: Elevation normal, water 82 degrees and murky. Largemouth bass fair on plastic baits at 5 to 6 ft. in the weeds and crankbaits on the riprap jetties. Crappie fair on minnows at 8 to 10ft. in the old creek channels of Dirty Creek, Sallisaw and Big Sans Bois. White bass fair on jigs at 10 ft. below Webbers Falls dam. Blue and flathead catfish good on live bait at 10 to 20 ft. in the upper end of the lake from Webbers Falls to Tamaha. Report submitted by Rick Olzawski, game warden stationed in Haskell County.

Sardis Lake: Bass good to fair on plastics around points and creek channels and around cover on spinnerbaits. Crappie good on minnows off of Jack Fork Bridge and off of tower. Flathead catfish slow on juglines and trotlines with live bait. Blue and channel catfish good on juglines and trotlines with cut bait or shrimp. White bass good trolling around islands and on plugs and when found surfacing. Report submitted by Alan Couch, game warden stationed in Pushmataha County.

Texoma: Elevation 3 ft. below normal, water 84 degrees and clear. Largemouth and smallmouth bass fair to good on plastic baits and surface lures in the creek channels. Striped bass and white bass fair to good on live bait, slabs and surface lures from Platter Flats south. Channel and blue catfish fair to good on worms, stinkbait and live bait from the Hwy. 70 bridge north. Crappie fair on minnows in Widow Moore Creek. Sunfish good on worms around the shoreline. Report submitted by Danny Clubb, game warden stationed in Bryan County.

Wister: Elevation 41⁄2 ft. below normal and murky. Largemouth bass fair on topwater lures, buzzbaits early and late. Crappie slow with some action on small spinners and jigs. Channel catfish fair to slow on cut shad and liver with jugs. Report submitted by Randy Fennell, game warden stationed in LeFlore County.

SOUTHWEST

Altus-Lugert: Elevation 16 ft. below normal and dropping. Most fishing is improving from the banks. Fishing is best in the deeper waters. Walleye good on minnows. Striped bass hybrids and white bass good on minnows. Crappie fair to good. Report submitted by Sue Hokanson, Quartz Mountain State Park.

Ellsworth: Elevation below normal and murky. Catfish fair on juglines. Report submitted by Mike Carroll, game warden stationed in Comanche County.

Foss: Elevation normal, water 82 degrees and clear. Striped bass hybrids good on live bait in the evening. Walleye fair. Catfish good on juglines with cut shad. White bass surfacing in evening. Report submitted by Eric Puyear, B & K Bait House.

Waurika: Water 81 degrees and murky. Channel and blue catfish fair on shad, punchbaits and worms. Report submitted by Phillip Cottrill, game warden stationed in Jefferson County.