10-12-14 Report

[Guest]

The lake was about 5ft below pool, clear & rising from the rain.

Its up about a foot from this past rain event.

Water Temp 72

algae on the rocks

lots of 1"-2" threadfin shad in inches of water

Pea Gravel meet boulders + wind = biggie smalls

The smallmouth & shad were hanging out near bluffends with waves crashing them.

I fished a KVD 1.5 really close to the bank, many times banging the trolling motor in shallow water.

There was a foam/bubble trail in certain spots, that seemed to be the path you crankbait needed to cross the mainlake point.

Several times when retrieving a hung up crankbait, shad would dart by the boat.

They would get popped on top by the little bass.

My best spot was a bluffend point that was 4ft on the inside & 80ft on the outside.

The shallow side was a mainlake pocket with pea gravel.

I caught a couple when I rounded a very windy point & found shelter from the wind. These areas needed brushpiles in 10-15ft of water.

Those protected areas were easily fished with a Ned Rig, Drop shot & shaky head. I caught 1 bass on each technique in the same spot.

There are some suspended bass that will snack on drop shots, spoons & topwaters.

Its pretty wide open as to what style of fishing you like.

another thing of note, I couldn't make 2 passes down a bank & catch fish. You had to run & gun, the fish would bite right away.

[Guest]

This is an 18" smallie that I caught cranking today.

[rps]

I loved Tenkiller when I lived in Oklahoma.

[Quillback]

Good deal, nothing beats catching smallies!

[Guest]

Here's a look at the little shad, they're all this size.

[Guest]

I loved Tenkiller when I lived in Oklahoma.

Can you elaborate on your experiences? What years you fished, what species, etc. just general stuff about the area.

I love to hear stories about that lake, bc I'm still learning how to fish it. Growing up in the Mississippi delta, this is all foreign to me.

We sometimes rent a cabin at six shooter, but haven't lately due to obligations at home.

[rps]

I will share three anecdotes, but only because you asked.

First, like many of you, I fish because my father got me interested. He loved to fish even though he really wasn't that skilled. However he was enthusiastic and he was my father, and time with him was precious. I remember a trip to Tenkiller in 1960 or 61. I was 11 or 12 and he was getting me ready to go to Canada with him for the first time. As he put the boat in the water at daybreak, I caught my first ever bass on a plastic worm. It wasn't much - maybe 10 inches - but I caught it right there beside the ramp on a Creme propellor blade rubber worm.

Second, in law school I became friends with a Viet Nam veteran from the Talequah area named Ken Rainbolt. I owned my father's hand me down 18 horse Evinrude Fasttwin. Ken convinced me to fish Tenkiller with him and we drove from Norman to there on more than one occasion. The Spring we were in our last year in law school, we took the bar exam early, before graduation. We both passed which meant we only had to pass our few remaining classes to become licensed lawyers. I needed to pass 7 out of 9 hours I was taking. He had to pass 10 out of 12. We fished a lot that Spring. Over Spring break we went to Tenkiller and stayed at a broken spring motel. We fished for crappie and took our limits on two days running - 37 each. We hand filleted them. We took them back to Norman. When we got home we dug a pit in the courtyard of Ken's apartment complex and used a 55 gallon drum to fry all the crappie for our graduating class and professors to celebrate passing the bar. Interesting night, that one.

Last, after Oklahoma began to actively introduce Stripers, one of the best locations to fish for them was in the Illinois River, just downstream from the Tenkiller dam. The stripers loved the stocked rainbow and the oxygenated water. In the early 80's I was fishing on the Illinois out of the Gore, Oklahoma ramp. I saw a swirl near an island in the river. I cast a Dixie Jet spoon to the swirl and hooked up - with a beaver. He was angry, smacked the water several times with his tail, and took off down stream. I had to cut the line to prevent him from spooling me.

Tenkiller is more than a lake to me.

[Quillback]

Good stories there rps.

[Guest]

RPS, you are the man! Hog tied a beaver and all.

Sounds like you had a blast.

Thanks for sharing!