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FISHING REPORT FOR FEBRUARY 4, 2009

CENTRAL

Hefner: Elevation normal, water 43. Spotted bass good on two-inch white grubs. Channel and blue catfish good on cut shad. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 30 ft. around the dam. Report submitted by Tim Campbell, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.

Thunderbird: Elevation 1/2 ft. below normal and clear. Crappie fair to good on small minnows and jigs at 8-10 ft. on structure. Report submitted by Tony Woodruff, game warden stationed in Cleveland County.

NORTHEAST

Eucha: Elevation slightly below normal, water 40 and murky. Although most fishing slowed from cold weather last week, some largemouths were caught over the weekend on suspended rogues. Report submitted by Dwight Moore, City of Tulsa Fisheries.

Ft. Gibson: Elevation normal and clear. Crappie fair on black and chartreuse tube jigs at 15-25 ft. under the docks and deep structure. Catfish fair on cut bait and shad heads in the main channel early morning. Report submitted by Rick Stafford with 3riverguideservice.com.

Greenleaf: Elevation normal, water clear. Largemouth bass fair on jigs, worms and field baits around rocky points and creek channels. Catfish fair on fresh cut baits on bottom. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs at 16-20 ft. around fishing docks and brush structure. Report submitted by Lark Wilson, game warden stationed in Muskogee County.

Kaw: Crappie good in Washunga Bay area at 18-22 ft. around brush piles on minnows and 1/16-oz. dark-colored jigs. Blue catfish fair on jug lines and trot lines baited with fresh shad. Report submitted by Marshall Reigh, game warden stationed in Grant and Kay counties.

Lower Illinois: Elevation normal, water 47 and clear. Trout excellent on rooster tails at 2-3 ft. around the dam and Watt's and on powerbait on bottom at the river access. Fly-fishing excellent. Report submitted by D. Tracy, Town of Gore.

Oologah: Elevation 1/2 ft. above normal, water upper 40s to lower 50s. Crappie fair on jigs and minnows around brush piles at 15-18 ft. White bass and crappie fair on jigs below the dam. Report submitted by Brek Henry, game warden stationed in Rogers County.

Skiatook: Elevation 1 1/4 ft. below normal, water upper 30s and clear. Crappie fair on medium minnows and jigs at 10-20 ft. in creek channels. Report submitted by Paul Welch, game warden stationed in Osage County.

Webbers Falls: Elevation normal, water murky. Largemouth bass fair on crankbaits and plastic worms in riprap and creek channels. Catfish fair on fresh cut bait and stinkbait on bottom. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs at 16-20 ft. 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 near brush along dam and Canadian River area. Channel catfish fair on shad in river channel. Report submitted by Mark Walker, game warden stationed in Blaine County.

SOUTHEAST

Arbuckle: Elevation 4 1/2 ft. below normal, water 44. Algae bloom present making lake stained in areas. Bass fair on jigs, crankbaits and jerk baits. Crappie fair on jigs and spoons. White bass good using spoons on mid-lake drop-offs. Inclement weather has dampened fishing. Report submitted by Jack Melton.

Blue River: Elevation below normal, water 40 and clear. Trout fair on powerbait, super dupers, mealworms, and in-line spinnerbaits. Fly-fishing good on red midges, egg patterns, soft hackle pheasant tails and woolly buggers. Largemouth bass slow on soft plastics and small crankbaits. Catfish slow on stinkbait and chicken liver. Report submitted by Matt Gamble, biologist at the Blue River Public Fishing and Hunting Area.

Broken Bow: Elevation normal, water clear. Largemouth and smallmouth bass good on jig and pig black #11 around structure. Catfish good on juglines with cut baits. Look for walleye starting to run when water temperature reaches 45 degrees. Report submitted by Dru Polk, game warden stationed in McCurtain County.

Eufaula: Elevation 1/2 ft. below normal, water clear. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs at 12-20 ft. around boat docks baited with brush. Report submitted by Ed Rodebush, game warden stationed in McIntosh County.

Hugo: Elevation normal, water 48. Crappie and bass fair around creek channels. Report submitted by Jay Harvey, game warden stationed in Choctaw and Bryan counties.

Konawa: Elevation normal, water 40 and clear. Largemouth bass fair on crankbaits at 5-8 ft. around points and road beds. Report submitted by Daryl Howser, game warden stationed in Seminole County.

Lower Mountain Fork River: Reports sketchy due to the fact that there have been very few anglers on the river. What I have heard is that the fishing has been good on wooly buggers. Best flies have been wooly buggers and midge patterns. Most insect activity occurs during the warmest part of the day, otherwise a Wooly Bugger should work; also try a soft hackle fly. Report submitted by Beavers Bend Fly Shop.

McGee Creek: Elevation 1 ft. below normal, water 48 and clear. Largemouth bass fair on soft plastic lures and jig and pigs fished slowly at 20-30 ft. over underwater structure. Report submitted by Larry Luman, game warden stationed in Atoka County.

Pine Creek: Elevation below normal, water clear. Bass excellent on shad-colored deep running crankbaits off rocky points as well as jig and pork combos. Crappie fair to good on blue jigs and spoons around timber. Catfish good on liver and fair on catfish Charlie. Report submitted by Mark Hannah, game warden stationed in McCurtain County.

Sardis Lake: Bass good to fair on crankbaits around points and creek channels and around cover on spinnerbaits; warmer afternoons best. Crappie good on minnows off Jack Fork Bridge, on live minnows off tower and on pink grubs or green and black brush piles; activity is better on sunny days. Flathead catfish slow on juglines or trotlines with live bait. Blue and channel catfish fair on juglines and trotlines with cut bait or shrimp. White bass good trolling around islands and on plugs. Walleye fair trolling around islands and on deep diving plugs around riprap. Report submitted by Allen Couch, game warden stationed in Pushmataha County.

Texoma: Elevation 1 ft. below normal, water 48 and clear. Largemouth and smallmouth bass fair to good around the riprap. Striped and white bass fair to good on live bait in the creek channels. Channel and blue catfish fair to good above the Hwy 70 Bridge. Crappie fair to good on small minnows in Little Glasses Creek. Report submitted by Danny Clubb, game warden stationed in Bryan County.

Wister: Elevation 1 1/2 ft. above normal and murky. Largemouth bass slow to fair on dark plastic baits at points and drop-offs. Crappie slow to fair on small spinnerbaits and jigs at brush piles and on minnows below the dam area. Channel catfish slow to fair on juglines with cut shad and liver. Report submitted by Randy Fennell, game warden stationed in LeFlore County.

SOUTHWEST

Altus-Lugert: Elevation 9 ft. below normal and rising very slowly. Crappie fair. Trout fair in the river. Report submitted by Sue Hokanson, Quartz Mountain State Park.

Ellsworth: Elevation 3 ft. below normal. Crappie good at Ralph's Resort on minnows and jigs around boathouses. Report submitted by Mike Carroll, game warden stationed in Comanche County.

Foss: Elevation normal, water 40 and clear. Gates closed. Striped bass hybrids fair on slabs in deep water. Crappie fair around fishing dock. Report submitted by Eric Puyear, B & K Bait House.

Ft. Cobb: Elevation 1/3 ft above normal. Crappie slow to fair on jigs around marina. Saugeye slow along east end of dam. Report submitted by James L. Edwards Jr., game warden stationed in Caddo County.

Lawtonka: Elevation 2 ft. below normal. Crappie good on jigs in deep water at the dam. Report submitted by Mike Carroll, game warden stationed in Comanche County.

Waterfowl Report for February 4, 2009

NORTHWEST

Canton: Lake level is 0.51 ft. above normal. Habitat condition is fair on the lake. Winter wheat plantings are in fair to poor condition due to lack of rain. Row crops in the area have been harvested and are in fair to good condition. Goose numbers are low to moderate. Hunting activity is low, with low success. The boat ramp west of the WMA headquarters is usable as are all boat ramps on the south side of the lake. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers drawdown is nearly complete.

Ft. Supply: Lake level is 0.55 ft above normal.  Habitat conditions are fair, with fair wheat conditions in the area. Goose numbers are low, with mostly Canada's. Hunting activity is low, with no reports of success. Bird movement in the area has been slow.

SOUTHWEST

Ft. Cobb: Lake level is normal. Habitat condition is fair. Winter wheat, corn and milo residue is in good condition. Goose numbers are good. Hunting activity in the area is slow, with good success. Birds are currently using fields on both sides of the lake 5 to 10 miles away.

Hackberry: Refuge reservoir is approximately 5 foot below conservation pool. Habitat conditions are poor. Winter wheat in the area is in poor condition. Duck numbers are fair. Goose numbers are good, with Canada's, white-front, and some light geese present. Due to lack of rainfall water is limited at Hackberry Flat WMA.

Little River NWR: Food conditions in the area are good. Duck numbers: mallard 175; gadwall 100; wood duck 100; green-winged teal 4; merganser 10; wigeon 20. No geese observed in the area.

Mountain Park: Lake level is 3.75 ft. below normal. Habitat condition is poor. Winter wheat is poor to fair. Goose numbers are fair. Hunting activity has been slow in the area, with no reports of success.

Waurika: Lake level is 0.25 ft. below normal. Habitat condition is poor around the lake. Wheat condition in the area is fair, and wetland units are good to fair depending on the unit. Duck numbers are low. Goose numbers are low. No hunting activity observed in the area.            

NORTHEAST

Copan: Lake level is normal. Habitat condition is fair. Flooded native plants on wetland units are in fair condition, with corn fields and soybean fields harvested and in good condition. Plenty of flooded vegetation present to hold birds, when it thaws out. Duck numbers are high. Goose numbers are about 1,000 on the area. No hunting activity has been reported in the area.

Eufaula: Lake level is 0.43 ft. below normal. Current habitat condition is poor, with very little farming in the area. Duck numbers are low. No geese observed. No significant bird movement was noticed in the area.

Ft. Gibson: Lake level is 0.43 ft. above normal. Current habitat condition is good, with smartweed, barnyard grass, and some agricultural crops in the area. Goose numbers are low. Hunting activity is low, with low success.

Hulah: Lake level is 0.25 ft. above normal. Flooded native plants on wetland units are in fair condition. Wheat fields on the Wildlife Management Area are in good condition. Duck numbers are low. Goose numbers are low. Hunting activity is low, with low success. Most birds seen were on ponds and wetland units.

Kaw: Lake level is 0.19 ft. above normal. Habitat condition is poor. Duck numbers are low. Goose numbers are low. Hunting activity is low, with low success. Bird movement has been minimal.

Keystone: Lake level is 3.15 ft. below normal. Habitat conditions are poor, with no flooded vegetation due to summer and fall lake flooding. Both duck and goose numbers are low. Hunting activity is low, with low success. All duck movement has been going out of the area. Hunters using the area this year should be prepared for very deep mud. Caution should be taken, especially if hunting alone.

Oologah: Lake level is 0.36 ft. above normal. Current habitat conditions are poor, with no flooded millet. Ag fields around lake are in poor condition due to flood conditions this past summer. Duck numbers are fair. Goose numbers are low, with mainly resident Canada's. No hunting activity observed in the area.

Sooner: Lake level is 1.5 ft. below normal. Habitat conditions are poor. Winter wheat in the area is in poor condition. Duck numbers are good with mostly mallards. Goose numbers are good with mostly Canada's. Hunter activity is low, with poor success.

Webbers Falls: Lake level is 2.75 ft. above normal. Current habitat condition is good, with smartweed, barnyard grass, bidens, cut soybeans, corn, milo and wheat in the area. Goose numbers are low. Hunting activity is low, with low success.

SOUTHEAST

Grassy Slough: Large wetland unit is dry, with other units around 10% full. Habitat condition is poor. Duck numbers are low, with no geese observed in the area. No hunting activity observed in the area.

Hugo: Lake level is normal. Habitat condition is poor, with native plants and a little wheat in the area. Duck numbers are low. Goose numbers are low, with mainly residents. No hunting activity observed in the area. Bird movement in the area is slow. Due to lack of rainfall most WDU areas are several feet below normal, with most birds leaving these areas in the day to feed in farm ponds and creeks.

Red Slough: A few units are mostly full, with other units very low. Habitat conditions are fair. Duck numbers are fair, with no geese observed in the area. No hunting activity observed in the area.

Texoma: Lake level is 0.22 ft. above normal. No food sources flooded at current lake levels. All Japanese Millet plantings were lost to flooding in the summer. Duck numbers are low. Goose numbers are low. Hunting activity is low, with low success. With current food conditions hunting efforts should coincide with weather fronts.

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.