Tried fishing up the river today and managed to catch 3 fish in the 10 - 13 inch range.
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Tried fishing up the river today and managed to catch 3 fish in the 10 - 13 inch range.
The fire was out Slabs 48.6 above 82 bridge lots of green carp and sandbass couldn't get on the crappie
Glad you boys were able to get wind and sunburned..I worked...Hey I need a few small level winds if ya'll have any you need to get rid of..I think they will work better for my riggin poles...Ranger
When I say up the river I mean UP the river, way up the river. Above Carters
I'll be heading back to Tenkiller next weekend. I caught a couple two weeks ago at Caney Creek, but spent most of the time helping my 6 year old with hang-ups! Anyhow, how have they been biting this week? I'm limited to bank and dock fishing for now, until I buy a boat sometime soon.
Also, I thought I heard someone say there is an 11" size limit at Tenkiller. Any truth to that?
The size limit is 10" not 11", plus there is a 15 fish limit per person for Tenkiller.Quote:
Originally Posted by patrickcudd
Ft gibson has the same regulations
Went out today and had to work for them. However it is getting goodAttachment 85179
Rock On!
Beautiful day on Tenkiller...Started out Luanching at ELk Creek. Had some friends sitting on some wood close and talked to to them before heading out. They had 2 at that time and stated they were heading up the river, so We decided to head down the lake from there. They called alil after 1 and had a limit of 30 but had a total of 38 keeper crappie caught. Releasing the 8 over. Well here comes the details of our day. Fishing with a close buddy of years we had a limit of 30 at 11:40am and the live well closed. We continued to fish for pleasure and ended up with a total count of over 70. Talked with a friend from work which pulled up to our boat and wanted to use my scales at 2pm and he had 2 over 2 lbs.. So he climbed in our boat and we weighed a few of our fish. We had 7 over 2lbs as well. Water temps got up to 63 degrees above the bridge and was as cold as 59 as far down as Sizemore. We caught fish today using many techinques, casting and dragging over wood, corking which is a blast, and tight lining deep inside the piles. All worked well. Baits today was down sized, they didnt want anything big, Slab Bandits in blk/chart., pearl/chart.,white silver flake, Yums 1 1/2" beavertails in blk/chart., pumkin/chart, anf limesicle/chart., Bobby Garland in cajun cricket, and white silverflake. It really didnt matter as long as it was small. We found fish staging in the front of coves and on main lake windy points and rock banks as long as there was cover. DOW was anywhere from 6' to 25'.
Nice report Ranger! Good to hear the fishing is picking up somewhere.
Thanks Craig, I was talked into going East instead of South by the reasoning that the rain coming will probably change a few things at Eufaula for the tourney and we would have to prefish there after the rain. Which made alil sense to me and am I glad I went East. That my FRIEND was a day like years past on TENKILLER still vivid in my memeory. We caught crappie of all sizes from 2" to 17 1/2" so maybe just maybe the 15 total and 10" limit is working as it was meant to work. I just wish we as fisherman and stewards of our land and waters would all abide by the laws and limits that have been set for us by the Governing bodys. Like the conversation I had lastnight with a feller when he commented on our day on the water when he said YOU JUST KEPT 30!!!!! (are you insane was the quote and I would of kept em all) and knowing this feller as I do he most certainly would of and he isn't alone out there. So I say to him and all, we live in a Democratic Society with laws that we all must abide with even if we don't like them and we all have a voice to be heard to make changes in those laws. I myself want what we enjoy today to be enjoyed for my Kids, Gr'kids, and their Kids....ok enough rambling......Ranger
Amen Ranger! What's kills me is the people that keep everything no matter what size it is then they wonder why we can't catch any big fish!
Way to go Ranger, and Amen on leaving it that way for our kids and Grandkids! Heck I even have GGkids.
Redge you was on tenkiller yesterday..what time did you leave and what type boat was you in I might have seen you or atleast passed you..But I will not again if I can find you......Ranger
Yep we probably did pass each other. Red skeeter w Yamaha 150
Didn't make it above the bridge until around 2 or so and didn't stay long we left around 4..most of our fishing was below Cherokee to Sizemore
We left about 7 stayed above 82 til then
Nice fish Ranger, bet you had a blast.
All I can say is I am glad I am not fishing a tournament on Tenkiller this Saturday against Ranger09. We went down yesterday on the spur of the moment hoping to catch just a couple of those 2 pounders. I had to fish with a bass rod and only my bass fishing buddies limited crappie tackle. I learned on my first bite that you can't set the hook with a medium action bass rod and 4 lb test mono like you do with 20 pound braid and an ultra light rod. It snaps quickly, probably would have been a great photo op of the expression on my face. Ranger graciously had given us some places to check, the wind was howling and it was very hard to hold on most of them. We missed several bites that I attribute to slack in line and moving around to much due to the wind. We were never able to find a place out of the wind, only places with less wind. We searched around in 10-16 fow and found a few brush piles that we could fish. We would catch 2-4 fish off about every pile immediately then it would be over. We ended the day with 14 keepers, the biggest was probalby 1 1/4 pounds. We probably caught that many throwbacks. The fish were about half black and half white crappie. I sure like to catch those Tenkiller black crappie. The best color was bright pink head with electric chicken body and chartruese head with blk/char body. I hope to go with Ranger sometime and let him show me how to catch them on Tenkiller. I will also have come crappie tackle with me next time. LOL!!!!
Odie
LOL.....I know that feelin Doug...I got a bad taste of it last year on Eufaula. We fished also in the wind Friday and its very tough to say the least. When it got mid day Friday it was cork and jig time letting the wave action do the work for you. A BLAST FOR SURE. Nothing like seeing your cork being baptised by a big ole crappie. And wanted to point something out as you said after 3 or 4 it was over, well its over for the fish on top of the brush. I have learned that the crappie holding over the brush will dig in to the thickest wood and hold tight. And if you get hung up and move the brush around some they will also spook and dig inif not totally leave for better grounds. Thats when you get over and find the thickest brush and tight line the wood. Hit a limb and hang on with very little movement. Let that jig all the way to the bottom and as soon as you move it get ready. Fishing the clear water lakes is a new ballgame for some and on a weekend you were fishing behind alot of Crappie Fisherman that had already depleated the numbers in the woodpiles. I think you have seen now that the techniques that work on Eufaula will work on Tenkiller somewhat but not nearly as effective. But again you were at a disadvantge with using Bass Gear.....You have a trip on my lake in your near future and I will be callin....got to get Brain in there too....Ranger
While not a crappie thought I would post a pic of the big fish of the day! Ranger I need to come watch you work a brushpile!Attachment 85385
Nice Guppy Kirk...Ranger
37" not bad, that is a 12" crappie beside him and will easily fit in his mouth with room to spare!
Yep I caught 1 over there a few years back on a 1/16oz jig w/4lb trilene and it whooped me for about 45 minutes. Weighted in at 26lbs 5oz. Not even close to a line record class fish. But it was fun and very tiring. Glad I had a good rod (Falcon) and reel (shimano with a gr8 drag system) or it would of been for naught. Make for some good eatin but doesn't come close to tastin like a crappy.....
Now if I showed you how to work a woodpile before the tourney I might be in trouble......loolll.....Ranger
I don't think you have anything to worry about from me! I still have a lot of learning to do, but it sure is fun learning!
Hey Redge is that a hay hook or a fire poker? Lol
It's a hay hook, easier for my uncle to hold him (the catfish) up for a picture with the hay hook. I sure do like using hay hooks for holding up a cat for fish pictures, rather than buckin bales!! Slabs you don't have much experience with them hay hooks do ya!! haha
Lake level is 10' above and steady..Slabs reported to me yesterday that a log jam extends from Cherokee to Standing Rock and is big enough you could probably walk across it..got to remember Slabs said that..yeah the same Slabs that said the river was on fire..lol..Well the corps are holding back Tenkiller as they always do so it might be 2 or 3 weeks before we see them start lowering the levels. Wish they could hear the thoughts going thru my mind not that it would make a bit of difference to the "CORPS"..got to get the water off the green grass lawns of Grand first as usual......just my frustration coming out.......Ranger
Yup the last lake to let water out. Might make for a good spawn? And just think about all those big fish just waiting on us.
The biggest problem with the Corps holding the lake levels high is there isn't a strong lake association that complains enough to the Corps office. The folks at Eufaula lit them up a few years back about the lake being to low and it got the Corps attention. Plus the Corp has to play a balancing act due to the Arkansas River. Van Buren, Ark starts flooding at 100000 cfs and they try and keep that as close to that as they can. You have Ft Gibson who is spilling 66000 + turbine release, Eufaula is at 23000 + turbine release. Now with that said the Corps did start generating at midnight on 27th of March, so the lake will slowing be coming down now. Let's just hope we don't get another big rain before the next tournament at Tenkiller.
I am going this weekend! Better put in my chain saw, since Slabs is talking about all of that wood! Just funnin ya Slabs!! You reckon I need the 24" or 36" bar on my saw?
If the report was correct and I have no reason to not believe it Kirk I would call McCoys tree surgery and have them cut you a path across that log jam...lol...let us know how you prevail........Ranger
I was wondering if anyone could help get me started on Tenkiller. I am going to be at my grandparents house over Easter and was wondering where a few places to start looking for Crappies were on the lake? Want to take my grandpa out at least once over the weekend. I have been on Tenkiller for tubing and cliff jumping, can't beat the water at Tenkiller for swimming and boating with the kids. My grandparents live just up the road from Burnt Cabin. I have a boat, so going anywhere on the lake is not a problem. Any help would be great. For you Tenkiller experts, will the spawn be possibly going over Easter weekend? How is the water level at the ramps, can you get a boat in?
tenkiller is a little over 10 feet above right now. hopefully by easter it will be down some.the crappie was starting to bite before all the rain.i havent talked to anyone that has been since the rain but the bite usually slows for awhile till the lake stablizes.if you are going around burnt cabin try back in the cove west of the marina around the standing timber.you might also run up to sizemore and try some brush piles back in the back.across from sizemore on the east side of the lake cant remember the name of the camp site but they put a bunch of spiders out a few years ago when the lake got so low.you should be able to unload at burnt cabin if not cherokee landing should be open. let us know how you do.
Thanks for the help. I will post and let you guys know how it goes.
Went Saturday had to really work for the fish, all females mostly 12-15' in 50 fow. If your going out watch out for large floating trees, I saw some up to 30' long. Went from snake creek up to above 82 bridge without a problem, water pretty clear all in all for a 10' rise. Water 68-73 degrees. Marked lots of fish but they werent to eager to bite. Pick up a couple, move and pick up a few more. You can launch at 6 shooter or snake creek currently. Maybe others but I know those for sure. Went out today and it was about the same, but a little windy. All said the best weekend weather I can remember in a long time. Had a blast!
i will be glad when it is back to normal. the boat is ready i'm ready.
It won't be long hopefully!
Looked around the lake today for a ramp for the TOURNAMENT..Elk Creek, Cherokee, Petit Bay are all under water. Water clarity is CLEAR all the way up the river. Water temp was 71 degrees from Sizemore to Carters. Unloaded today on the south ramp in Petit and was kinda like unloading off a road but do able. Caught all my fish down the lake and had 22 keepers. Weighed my biggest 7 and had 12lb 11ozs.. 2.04, 1.15, 1.14, 1.12, 1.11, 1.10, 1.09..and 3 big 1's pulled off and had my line broke once. Finding the right pile is a must and most of spawning brush is in 22' to 30' of water which is way to deep. I did catch a female that was spewing eggs when I lifted her in the boat. Hope they get the lake down just alil before the tourney....Ranger
Attachment 87235