How much has this weeks rain effective the lake? Wanting to fish mid lake this Saturday for first time in 20 years.
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How much has this weeks rain effective the lake? Wanting to fish mid lake this Saturday for first time in 20 years.
Has only came up 1/2'. Water clarity is perfect. The bite is on. Good luck this weekend.
Attachment 236290 fished this overpopulated lake again. Very unfortunate the limit is only 15 (what a joke) you can catch more fish than you can count numerous different ways. Brought home a 2 man limit. Caught them casting to the bank and dragging to the boat with Todd Huckabee rods. Fought some wind but that didn't bother the bite. Got some really nice fish. All caught with no big motor just trolling around the bank. Most fish came from 4ft of water. The spawn is full swing on tenkiller
The bite is still on at TK. If your catching them then I'm not sure what to tell you. Caught fish everywhere we went. On the water 9 off at 3. pumpkin/chartreuse was to bait of choice today. Forgot about taking pictures till the end of the trip. All fish were catch and release today.
Attachment 236391Attachment 236392Attachment 236393
Nice job Jiggin!
josh I have been fishing this lake for 30+years. Fished it in the glory days and then the last 10 -15years when it wasn't so good too. The 15 fish limit when they came out with it I was against it big time. I now appreciate what our fisheries dept did setting the limit. We have seen this lake come back to life this year finally and kudos to them. I also like the 10" length limit and feel it should be inserted on all our Oklahoma Lakes. We all have our opinions on limits but if you haven't fished this lake when you couldn't catch a limit of 15 in an all day trip I would say it's not a joke. Just Sayin. I'm sure there are many other good ole boys that feel the same way as well.......RangerQuote:
Originally Posted by Josh Jones
X2! I agree.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ranger09
X3! I agree too
You guys must have never fished some of the smaller city lakes...some of which have 10 inch limits. I've fished up north a lot where most lake have 10 inch limits. The crappie on tenkiller will become stunted like every other lake up north along with. Sahoma, Claremore, and Okmulgee just around here to name a few. Crappie is a pan fish that reproduce quickly. There is no need for a lake in oklahoma to have a size limit especially when the lake is loaded with shad. It is not normal to catch 300-500 crappie daily with most of them 9 3/4 inches long. Somehow nature has a way of knowing what's happening. But it's not my home lake so I could care less
I just use my fish finder, if it is small fish there is no reason to stop and hassle them. Just scan til you find the big fish. Catch your limit and go home. Pretty simple really.
Most of us have fished about all the waters available to us in this great state. Smaller waters when white crappie are introduced to this impoundments are prolific spawners and do overpopulate such waters. In our larger impoundments we have many predators that dictates the population as well along with fisherman that tend to keep small fish. It takes 2 to 21/2 years for a crappie to reach mature age and a length of 10". Granted that's the fishery dept biologist statement not mine and I can not disagree. One thing I will say why fish for a fish stick when you can fish for a steak. Again just an opinion......Ranger
i wish they would put the length and limit on a lot more lakes sardis being one. i love the fact you can go catch crappie big enough to eat. sardis has some decent crappie now but a few years ago if you caught one that weighed a pound you were lucky. i have fished tenkiller and gibson that have these rules it works great.
Grenada is the number 1. crappie lake in the nation in fact its known as 'home of the 3lb crappie" they have not a 10 inch limit on there but they have to be 12 inches. If you have a fish right at 12 you better throw it back it will get you a ticket. Now in my opinion, I wish we had a 10 inch length limit on all the lakes with a one man limit of 25 and a boat limit of 75 or so. I've guided for 14 years and if we go out and catch over 50 keepers we've had a great day. If I'm ask if the fishing is good I will always compare it to 8-10 keepers an hour. I call that great fishing. EB
Grenada is a "trophy" crappie lake. Tenkiller is not. It is also shallow, muddy, and deep in the south. It is not a comparable situation. In this instance I believe the size limit and 15 per day on tenkiller is hurting the lake though I am no biologist. It is not normal to catch 400 fish and the big fish only being 1.3 pounds. You all can say what you want but if you'd rather catch numbers than size that's ok. I will continue to fish there regardless maybe even guide there since it's so easy. A 4 year old could catch a fish there which is nice when trying to put people on fish. Eufaula in my opinion with a 12 inch limit would pump out 3 pounders every year. I could go for that. Different lakes though
Ranger 09 had 7 weigh 14.00lbs last week. That's pretty big for Oklahoma. We can safely say that Tenkiiller has had really good spawns back to back years. EB
EB and Ranger09, as guides, would a length limit not hurt your business? I'm assuming here that your clients want to take home eats and not so much trophy's. They want to catch a lot and not just one every hour that's big enough to keep. I may be wrong so that's why I'm asking.
With the amount of crappie in Eufaula, I personally don't see a reason to change. I am no biologist but it seems to have worked for decades. I catch as big of a fish in Eufaula as I did 30 years ago and when I hit it right, I'll catch as many.
As for enforcing a crappie length limit, I've fished that lake many years with a lot of people. I've been checked for a license only once. I just don't see how a length limit can be enforced and taking home 37 is a lot to clean at one time but people exceed it.
CHEcrappie I myself which I can't speak for others very seldom keep crappie under 10". Now take into account I do have a few clients that will keep a 9" fish on lakes that doesn't have a length limit size. That's what they want and I'm not the one to argu the point. It's just how I feel about it. I feel when you take out that size fish that hasn't reached maturity at 21/2 to 3 years which are the spawning age crappie you are limiting that impoundment to reach its full potential. Again that's just my opinion and no scientific research to uphold it. And the answer is no it wouldn't hurt my business as a guide in the least.......Ranger
Somthing I plucked off the internet, its good reading. Considerations for Crappie in area lakes Fisheries Management Work and Information: Minnesota DNR
Research and observations show that crappies do not spawn successfully each year. That is good because populations usually won't become abundant and stunted as do sunfish. It is bad in that population numbers sometimes become low and fishing success is diminished.
Crappies thrive in lakes with poor water clarity. Local examples are French, Constance, and Dog Lakes. Whereas, crappies generally are not abundant in lakes with good water quality. In clear water lakes, crappie populations tend to be low but the average size can be quite good. Examples include Sylvia, Pulaski, and Sugar.
Because crappie have variable recruitment, stocking probably will not help the population. Most lakes contain a sufficient number of brood fish (only one pair per ten acres is needed) for natural reproduction. The average number of eggs per 7.5-9" female is 38,000.
Recent studies have shown that crappies select nesting sites on undeveloped lake shorelines where emergent vegetation, especially bulrush is present. Restorative actions and naturalizing shorelines will help provide habitat for crappies and thus increase their spawning success.
Angling can affect crappie populations. At Lake Pulaski anglers harvested 33% of the years harvest in May and June of 2003. At the Horseshoe Chain, about 33% of the open water harvest occurred in May and June (1999).
Anglers generally do not release large crappies. At Mink and Somers Lakes (Winter 2002) anglers harvested nearly every crappie caught with harvested fish averaging 10 inches in length.
Posting spawning areas so as to restrict fishing will not improve crappie populations. In the above examples approximately 33% of the population might be saved if the season were closed during May-June. To post a smaller area of a lake would result in less of a savings, and then only for a time. The survivors might be harvested during a later season.
At Buffalo Lake, Wright County, only 3% of the annual harvest took place during May-June (2003). Sixty one percent of the harvest took place during the winter.
Special fishing regulations might help improve the size structure of crappie populations. A five fish daily bag will decrease harvest; while a 10-inch minimum size limit will improve the overall size structure. Alternatively, we have the option of closing the harvest season from March 1 - July 1. All of these regulation options would need considerable public support.
In many lakes, crappie suspend over deeper water in mid-summer and can be hard to catch. Spring and winter are times when anglers can enjoy good fishing. We do not want to limit good angling opportunities for crappies if there were no good biological reason to do so.
Illegal harvest of crappies is frequent and harms the resource. In a recent incident (2005) at Long Lake in Stearns County 10 tickets were issued in a short time for over-limits and double tripping. Call the conservation officer if you observe illegal activity.
Kentucky is doing a study now that supplements certain lakes with crappie stocking when they know they have had a poor spawn in those lakes in an attempt to even out the populations and age structures. If the results pan out, I would support that in Oklahoma even if it costs more for licensing. Another option is you could change the limits and lengths as needed by lake and year, but I imagine that would be a enforcement nightmare, and too much for the average Joe to keep track of... Or you could do what most of are already doing, just follow the good fishing.
There will always be a limit to be caught somewhere. I will just keep moving. Tenkiller is just too far to drive to keep 15, 11 inch crappie. I can catch that most days in 20 minutes at keystone
Ok. Thanks. As for numbers there may be something to those that get to fish daily. I'm a Saturday fisherman and usually the crappie know when it's Saturday. So no, I don't catch and keep as many as some fishermen I know. One week ago on Saturday I cleaned 30 all over 10 inches. That's the most I've caught this year.Quote:
Originally Posted by Ranger09
I know when and area gets hot or a lake you better catch them while you can, none of us know why a lake turns on or off, all of us talk about this daily. We live in Oklahoma and the weather changes drastically moving fish. Especially the rainfalls. So enjoy catching them while your lake or area is good. EB
Good advice Brian. Every time I think I have figured out the winter, fall or summer pattern on a lake it changes the next year and I slowly give up on my old methods and adapt just in time to catch the tail end of the hot bite! Gotta enjoy it while you can for sure.
From being in the tackle business in the past , the people that buy their license and permits could give a damn about huge fish , they want to catch fish , 1 3 pounder,no, they want a basket full of 10 and 11 inch fish, that makes their day or their kids day . The wildlife dept. does a great job at determining what lakes need limits or lengths based not on fishing pressure alone but all factors like a lake with stripers or big blues or flathead birds and animals all eat fish and a lot more than any fishing pressure that the public put on them . lakes like Granada may have 3+ lb. fish but may not have big cats or stripers or even pelicans , this argument has been going on for 40 plus years that I am aware of just in this state . 40 years ago I was saying the same thing as others about small crappie in lake thunderbird until I fished with a man named Bob Brown , inventor of fishmaster fishing tubes that had no problem catching 2 and 3 lb. crappie, I was humbled , OETA even did a show on him back than , like Bob told me ,the fish are there , learn to catch them ! I was sold, I still have one of his original tubes .
Im jealous!Quote:
Originally Posted by goterdone1;32078u05
I need Bob to show me where the 2 -3 lb crappie in tbird are now a days. I've told several over the last couple months about the size of crappie that used to come out of tbird. It's not like it use to be.
I got one of those fishmaster tubes and used it for years, including the 80's and early 90's when there were a lot of 2.5 pound crappie in Hefner. One day, my fuel pump went out as I exited Hefner parkway. I came back 20 minutes later to find that someone had broken into the back of my truck and stole the tube, my cat and crappie rods, waders, kickers, tackle boxes, and everything but one item; they had opened my bucket of dough bait and apparently did not like the smell (wife says it smells like dirty baby diapers), so they left it behind.Quote:
Originally Posted by goterdone1
Zeke Anderson and I had a pretty good pre-fish yesterday on Tenkiller. We didn't catch many, but we found some nice fish. This was our first time ever to fish Tenkiller. Looking forward to one more pre fish and thenAttachment 237198Attachment 237199 the tourney next week.
Any advice on where to fish on tenkiller tomorrow? I was supposed to go to wister but the flood to care of that. I have a boat just never fished Tenkiller. Thank you in advance and if you ever come to Thunderbird I can return the favor.
last Saturday Wife ad I fished Chicken Creek and Six Shooter area saw few fish or fishermen. If I were you I would fish upper end maybe the river. Good luck
Been cathing 100's around Caney ridge marina.
Othay!Quote:
Originally Posted by Josh Jones
Took dad yesterday. We caught over 100 yesterday, a lot of 9 and 10 inch fish. Had a great time.
I'm hearing from many different fisherman that they are catching lots of fish but very few "Tournament fish". EB
I would agree with that 100%
Catching tournament fish, but you have to weed through all the short fish to get to them. Someone will bag 10 lbs for the tournament, but I can guarantee it won't be me since I'll be working.Quote:
Originally Posted by Eufaula boy
Hey guys!!! I used to do some guiding for crappie in Arkansas and have been a member on crappie .com since 2006... Just thought to log in I've got a very special guest coming to fish all next week with me on Tenkiller and I have NEVER fished it for crappie. Would anybody be willing to share some inside information with me or even accept a little cash for some Intel on how to catch some fish next week on Tenkiler. We are staying at Tenkiller state park Sunday night thru Thursday due to tornado at Greenleaf. We NEED SOME CRAPPIE MEAT! I am normally good at finding my own fish but don't have time to do this and find them. I know one dock that holds a few but I need some help. I am a good guy to know but please help me. Caleb Turner aka Minnowman (918) 616-1689
Heck... Maybe even come fish on the boat with us????
Lots of short fish being caught. EB and Frank made a visit to the lake today and I hear they ripped the big ones while pre-fishing for the tournament. I didn't get to go today due to a spouse emergency, but my son did fish and didn't do to well. Said the bite has fallin off a bunch. I think he said he only caught around 100 by himself. All caught and released. Best color was, yeah that's it, it's been a killing this year on TK.
Hey everyone don't tell Redge that we have gone to the upper end of the lake and caught all the big ones and released all of them on the lower end of the lake in preparation for the tournament.