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FISHING REPORT FOR
MAY 27, 2009
CENTRAL
Draper: Elevation 1 1/2 ft. above normal and murky. Crappie good on minnows
and jigs off fishing docks. Channel catfish good on cut baits and stinkbait.
Bass fair around shallow structure. Report submitted by Tony Woodruff, game
warden stationed in Cleveland County.
Hefner: Elevation above normal. White bass good on crankbaits around points.
Channel catfish good on cut shad and worms. Crappie good on minnows or jigs
along the dam. Walleye good trolling the flats. Carp good on corn. Report
submitted by Tim Campbell, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.
Overholser: Striped bass hybrids good on minnows and white plastic grubs.
Channel catfish good on worms and chicken livers on the north end of the
lake. Crappie good on minnows. Report submitted by David Clay, game warden
stationed in Oklahoma and Canadian County.
Thunderbird: Elevation 1 ft. above normal and murky. Crappie good on small
minnows and jigs at 6-8 ft. around structure. Catfish good on stinkbait and
cut baits off points and drop-offs. Bass fair on tandem spinnerbaits and
medium-diving crankbaits in coves and around structure. Bass are beginning
to move into shallow water. Report submitted by Tony Woodruff, game warden
stationed in Cleveland County.
NORTHEAST
Bell Cow: Elevation normal and clear. Largemouth bass good on spinnerbaits
and plastic lures. Channel catfish good on doughbaits and punchbait. Crappie
good on minnows and jigs. Report submitted by Gary Emmons, game warden
stationed in Lincoln County.
Birch: Elevation above normal, water 74 and stained. Largemouth bass fair on
spinnerbaits and soft plastic lures at 1-3 ft. Striped bass hybrids good on
crankbaits and spinnerbaits in shallow water early and late, and trolling
mid-lake humps. Channel catfish excellent on chicken liver and worms up the
creeks. Crappie fair to good on minnows and jigs at 4-6 ft. off the docks
and 8-10 ft. around brush. Report submitted by Spencer Grace, game warden
stationed in Osage County.
Carl Blackwell: Elevation normal, water 75 and murky. Largemouth bass fair
on spinnerbaits. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs. Striped bass hybrids fair
on jigs. Saugeye fair on night crawlers. Catfish good on all baits. Report
submitted by Jon Cunningham, game warden stationed in Payne County.
Chandler: Elevation normal and clear. Largemouth bass good on spinnerbaits
and plastics. Channel catfish good on punchbait and doughbaits. Crappie good
on minnows and jigs. Report submitted by Gary Emmons, game warden stationed
in Lincoln County.
Copan: Elevation 13 ft. above normal and murky. Crappie slow on minnows and
jigs at 10-14 ft. Channel catfish fair on stinkbait and cut shad below the
dam. Boaters should take extra precaution due to the increased amount of
floating logs and trees due to high water. Report submitted by Joe
Alexander, game warden stationed in Washington County.
Ft. Gibson: Elevation 18 ft. above normal and falling slowly, water murky.
White bass are still biting in the river area at 20 ft. Largemouth bass fair
on spinnerbaits and plastic worms in the brush. Crappie fair on minnows and
jigs at 5 ft. in the rocky areas. Report submitted by Rick Stafford with
3riverguideservice.com
Greenleaf: Elevation 1 ft. above normal and clear. Largemouth bass good on
jig and pig, spinnerbaits and crankbaits along the shoreline, grassy beds
and creek channels. Catfish good on shad near the spillway. Crappie fair on
minnows and jigs around brush structure and fishing dock. Report submitted
by Lark Wilson, game warden stationed in Muskogee County.
Hudson: Elevation 3 1/2 ft. above normal. White bass good in the upper end
of the lake on small minnows and jigs. Channel and blue catfish good on cut
shad and liver. Paddlefish fair. Report submitted by Steve Loveland, game
warden stationed in Rogers and Mayes counties.
Hulah: Elevation 16 ft. above normal and murky. Crappie slow on minnows and
jigs at 10-14 ft. Channel catfish fair on cut shad below the dam. Boaters
should use caution due to high water. Report submitted by Joe Alexander,
game warden stationed in Washington County.
Oologah: Elevation 12 ft. above normal and falling, water 67-73 and muddy.
Channel catfish good on livers, worms and doughbaits around flooded trees.
White bass fair on minnows and jigs in the creeks where the water is clear.
Blue catfish fair on juglines and drifting with shad on flats at 15 ft. Blue
catfish fair on shad below the dam. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs below
the dam. Report submitted by Brek Henry, game warden stationed in Rogers
County.
Skiatook: Elevation 1 ft. above normal, water upper 70s and clear. White
bass and striped bass hybrids fair on live shad in Dad's Creek and around
islands. Crappie fair on minnows around bridge pilings. Report submitted by
Paul Welch, game warden stationed in Osage County.
Sooner: Largemouth bass good along riprap. White bass and striped bass good
on live shad. Channel catfish good on worms in shallow water. Report
submitted by Doug Gottschalk, game warden stationed in Noble County.
Webbers Falls: Elevation 4 ft. above normal and murky. Largemouth bass good
on crankbaits, spinnerbaits and jig and pig along creek channels. Catfish
good on herring and shad in oxbow. Crappie fair on minnows and purple jigs
around brush structure and bridges. Report submitted by Lark Wilson, game
warden stationed in Muskogee County.
NORTHWEST
Canton: Elevation normal. Crappie good on minnows and jigs in shallow water.
White bass and striped bass hybrids good drifting slabs and trolling
crankbaits near submerged islands. Walleye good drifting night crawlers in
upper end of lake. Channel catfish good on stinkbait and crawdads near
riprap. Report submitted by Mark Walker, game warden stationed in Blaine
County.
SOUTHEAST
Arbuckle: Elevation 4 ft. above normal and dropping, water 68-70 and
stained. White bass being caught on curly tailed grubs and roadrunners along
dam and points. Crappie being caught around brush piles and baited docks.
Bass hitting spinnerbaits and flukes in shallows, crankbaits and
Texas-rigged blue fleck power worms. Report submitted by Jack Melton.
Blue River: Elevation normal, water 69 and murky. Bass fair on soft plastics
and small spinnerbaits. Channel catfish good to excellent on stinkbait,
chicken livers and minnows. Report submitted by Matt Gamble, biologist at
the Blue River Public Fishing and Hunting Area.
Eufaula: Elevation 5 1/2 ft. above normal, clear to the east and murky to
the west. Largemouth bass fair on plastic baits flipping flooded brush.
White bass good on jigs below the dam. Blue catfish good on shad in the
mouth of creek channels. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs at 8-12 ft. around
brush and riprap. Report submitted by Ed Rodebush, game warden stationed in
McIntosh County.
Hugo: Elevation 23 ft. above normal, water 62. Crappie good on minnows
around Highway 93 riprap and in flooded timber. Catfish fair to good on
trotlines with sunfish and cut bait. Blue catfish good below the dam on
shad. Boating access still very limited. Report submitted by Jay Harvey,
game warden stationed in Choctaw and Bryan counties.
Konawa: Elevation normal, water 80 and clear. Largemouth bass good on
plastic worms and topwater lures at 5-8 ft. in moss beds. White bass and
striped bass hybrids fair on minnows and jigs at 15-20 ft. at the mouth of
the discharge canal. Channel catfish good on chicken liver and stinkbaits at
4-6 ft. along points and the dam. Report submitted by Daryl Howser, game
warden stationed in Seminole County.
McGee Creek: Elevation 11 ft. above normal, water 65 and murky in upper end
of lake and clear in lower end. Largemouth bass fair on black and blue jigs,
green colored whoodaddys and flukes fished in flooded timber. Crappie fair
on minnows around cedar brush. Channel catfish fair to good on stinkbaits in
upper end of lake where fresh water is coming in. Report submitted by Larry
Luman, game warden stationed in Atoka County.
Sardis Lake: Elevation above normal and murky. Bass good in grass beds or
shallows at 1-5 ft. on chatter bait, spinnerbaits and plugs also good on
watermelon lizards. Crappie excellent shallow on pink grubs or green and
black around cover and off of Jack Fork Bridge, half bridge and on live
minnows at the tower. Flathead catfish fair on juglines or trotlines with
shad, sunfish or goldfish. Blue and channel catfish excellent on juglines
and trotlines with cut bait, shrimp or shad. White bass fair trolling and
excellent when found surfacing on lake. Walleye fair trolling around islands
on rattletraps. Report submitted by Allen Couch, game warden stationed in
Pushmataha County.
Texoma: Elevation 10 ft. above normal and falling, water 65 and clear south
and murky to muddy north. Largemouth and smallmouth bass fair to good in the
south half of the lake. Striped and white bass fair to good in the south
part of the lake. Channel and blue catfish fair to good in the north part of
the lake and Washita River. Crappie fair to good in the oxbows that have
cleared up. Sunfish good around the shorelines. Paddlefish fair below the
dam. Report submitted by Danny Clubb, game warden stationed in Bryan County.
Wister: Elevation 19 1/2 ft. above normal and murky. Largemouth bass good on
chartreuse spinnerbaits. Crappie good on small chartreuse spinnerbaits and
pink jigs and on minnows and grubs below the dam area. Channel catfish good
on doughbaits, cut shad and liver; best on cut shad below dam area. Flathead
catfish good on live sunfish. Report submitted by Randy Fennell, game warden
stationed in LeFlore County.
SOUTHWEST
Altus-Lugert: Elevation 4 ft. below normal. Crappie good. Walleye and
striped bass hybrids good. Catfish fair. Report submitted by Sue Hokanson,
Quartz Mountain State Park.
Ellsworth: Elevation full with 1 floodgate open. Crappie good in shallow
water on minnows and jigs. Catfish fair to good on cut bait. Report
submitted by Mike Carroll, game warden stationed in Comanche County.
Foss: Elevation above normal, water 66 and clear. Gates closed. Walleye good
drifting with minnows or small jigs in reserve. White bass good along dam
with dark curly tail jigs. Catfish good in the creeks. Striped bass hybrid
good. Report submitted by Eric Puyear, B & K Bait House.
Ft. Cobb: Elevation 1/2 ft. above normal and falling. Crappie slow on jigs
in shallow water. Saugeye slow on jigs and crankbaits. Catfish slow on cut
baits and stinkbaits. Striped bass hybrids slow on jigs and crankbaits.
Report submitted by James L. Edwards Jr., game warden stationed in Caddo
County.
Lawtonka: Elevation full with all floodgates closed. Walleye fair to good on
spinnerbaits. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs. Report submitted by Mike
Carroll, game warden stationed in Comanche County.
Tom Steed: Elevation 4 ft. below normal. White bass and striped bass hybrids
fair off points on minnows and trolling with crankbaits. Crappie good on
minnows and jigs in Glen and Otter creeks. Report submitted by David Smith,
game warden stationed in Kiowa County.
Waurika: Elevation 3 ft. above normal and clear. Striped bass hybrids good
on slabs, cut bait or jigging. Blue catfish good on juglines with shad.
Crappie fair. Report submitted by Phillip Cottrill, game warden stationed in
Cotton County.
Huge striped bass hybrid takes lake
record spot at Canton
Lifelong Oklahoma angler James Wesley Jones, Jr. of Canton said
he loves fishing because it is a relaxing activity, but there was likely no
relaxing going on April 19 when he landed a 23.2-lb. (23 lbs., 3 oz.)
striped bass hybrid from Canton Lake. The huge fish qualifies as a lake
record for Canton
and falls only about an ounce shy of taking the state record spot as well,
which is held by Paul Hollister and his 23-lb., 4 oz. fish caught April 1,
1997, from Altus-Lugert
Lake.
Jones caught his fish in the evening using a 1-oz. rattletrap.
Though the hybrid fell short of the state record, it reminds anglers that if
they catch a potential state record fish, they should contact an employee of
the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation for procedures on
certifying state records. Lake
record fish are weighed on scales through lake record keepers registered
with the Wildlife Department, but the weighing of state records must be done
on certified scales with a witness from the Wildlife Department present.
Jones said the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s
new Lake Record Fish Program does more than just recognize fish, but that it
also encourages the sport of fishing. Before the program was in place, his
near state record fish could have gone overlooked by anglers across the
state, but the recognition his fish received through the Lake Record Fish
Program reminds anglers of the potential that Oklahoma’s lakes hold for
producing monster-sized fish.
“It gets people motivated to fish knowing that there are larger
fish in the lake,” Jones said.
He said it is common in discussions among anglers to wonder
about the sizes of the largest fish caught in lakes across the state.
“You don’t have to wonder anymore,” he said. “You can just go on
and find out.”
Jones is referring to the Wildlife Department’s Web site,
wildlifedepartment.com, which includes an easily-operated search feature
that allows those interested to view a wealth of lake record fish
information, ranging from the size of record fish caught to what kind of
bait or rod and reel was used to catch them. And right now, lake records are
being set and broken on a regular basis, which means the wealth of
information on the Web site is updating and growing regularly as well.
Other recent lake records include a 4.8-lb. smallmouth bass
caught by Derek Thurman of
Collinsville. His fish went down as a record
smallmouth for Skiatook Lake, but that record was broken just days later, on
April 5, when angler Jim Horn of Cleveland landed a 6.6-lb. smallmouth bass
from Skiatook using a bait casting rod and reel set up with a jig.
Lakes included in the program include Arbuckle, Broken Bow,
Canton, Eufaula, Ft.
Cobb, Grand, Kaw, Keystone,
Sardis, Skiatook, Tenkiller, Texoma and Thunderbird.
Species eligible for spots in the lake records book include
blue, channel and flathead catfish and largemouth, smallmouth and spotted
bass in addition to crappie, paddlefish, striped bass, striped bass hybrids,
sunfish (combined) walleye/saugeye and white bass. Minimum weights are set
for each species are detailed on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at
wildlifedepartment.com.
Anglers who catch a potential record from a participating lake
should contact designated business locations around the lake that are
enrolled as lake record keepers. A listing of official lake record keepers
is available on wildlifedepartment.com.
Once it has been determined that an angler has landed a record
fish, the media is notified and the public will be able to view information
about the catch on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at
wildlifedepartment.com.
All past and current state record fish are registered in the
Lake Record Fish Program as records for their respective lakes.
To see the complete database of all lake record fish caught, or
to learn more about the Lake Record Fish program, log on to the Wildlife
Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
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