Oologah Archives

I have fished Oologah since the 80's in a boat and never hit anything however i hardly ever fish north of the Winganon Bridge. Mostly because of distance So i dont know that end of the lake at all but it is the shallower end lots of old fence rows and stuff as a matter of fact the old town of Alluwe,Ok is submerged there in the Lightinig Creek area i think. The South end of the lake (Hawthorn,Blue,Spencer,Talala)No Problems. Common sense is the key. As for electronics I personally have always used Lowrance Products. Started out because they are a Tulsa based Company. Its a Sound Product and they stand behind it. I have bought 3 new ones with no problems. GPS is great espically if you are unfamiliar with the waters your in. Shows Creek Channels and depths in real time. BG Baby shad is very popular now. I personally use mostly Minnows. But i will dangle a Jig if they will hit it. If there hittin Jigs You can sack up alot of Crappie(There Faster). But im not the guy to ask. Minnows Rigged in the Drop Shot method(Sinker on the bottom,hook tied about 12" above) works well. Right now with the water Temp in the low to mid 40's Small minnows. Early and late. I try and be on my spot at daybreak. they seem to lock up at about 10-11 AM depending on the weather Conditions. But they dont leave the lake. the bank keeps em there. lol. So i suspect if you can find where they go at 10-11 you can still catch em . they gotta eat . Crappie are Moody Very sensative to changing weather and light but its been my experiance that if you can find them any one can catch em. On Minnows lately the bite has been very light they bump it once then just hang on . I usually hold a ploe in my hand so i can feel em better. Usually if your not gettin hung up some your not in the right spot lol

Anything north of Spencer Creek can be tricky with underwater obstacles. Just getting around to Talala from Spencer can be difficult if you don't know where you're going. There are areas out there that get REALLY shallow REALLY fast! Even in the middle of the lake. I personally don't even fish Talala much because I get tired of riding up on stumps as I troll around. Plus the ramp there sucks. Other guys who fish it alot seem to know where every stump is and have no issues. They catch alot of fish up in there as well. I catch plenty elswhere so there just is no need for me to hassle with all of the obstacles in there. Between the dam and Spencer there is more structure than you could ever possibly fish. If you want to really catch fish you will need a GPS locator. I use 2 Lowrance locators on my boat, they're both LMS-520c with internal GPS units and they're great. They aren't made anymore but you could find used and refurbished ones online for cheap or go with the current models but they're more expensive. Other guys like Hummingbird units. I don't think it really matters, just personal preference. Minnows almost always seem to out-produce jigs on Oologah. I don't know why but they just do. If you go to Eufaula it's the opposite, it's weird but that's just how it is. On Ooologah, jigs seem to work better in the winter. When I use jigs, which is not very often, I use Yum baits so I can't speak to the BG rigging question but lots of guys on here use them so they'll help with that. Good luck and if you see me on the lake come on over and say hi. I'll be the guy catching Crappie!;)

Collinsville'
The Bobby Garland Baby Shad baits are a soft fulll bodied bait. You would rig it just as you would a tube or a curly tail. Just start at the head of the bait and run your hook thru it as you would a worm. Its simple and with a few trys you will be a pro if not from the first time. Good Luck and let us know how you fair on Oologah....Ranger

Collinsville,

I can't speak to Oologah, but as far as rigging jigs, I always rig mine on loops rather than tight knots. To me, they hang with a better attitude in the water and have more action that way. Perhaps Odie will chime in, as he fishes BG's and is a very good Oologah fisherman.

There have been some good response already but here goes my 2 cents. On running the lake, from Spencer Creek to the dam there is not that much underwater hazards. From Spencer Creek north you better know where you are at. The east side is extremely shallow and there are several humps in the middle between Spencer and Talala Creek. Going north of the Winganon bridge is even more dangerous. The biggest hazard on Oologah is the WIND, very treacherous with anything over 15 mph.

As for jig fishing, that is all I use EXCEPT for the dead summer then I use minnows. I do like the BG baby shad, but now Bass Pro and YUM are making them also. Since none of the 3 are sponsoring me I use whichever one I get the best deal on. I do as Winger said, I use a loop knot on my top jig if I am using 2 jigs. It seems to give the jig more action.

Odie

Vertical jiggin and both hands full of rods and slow trolling it works well as Odie and Winger states, but I am a 1 rod man and 1 jig due to fishing woodpiles mostly..2 jigs get hung so much easier on wood..Its just who I am and how I fish...
I wasn't and never think that I was talking about the way others fish...I tie my jigs knotted to the eye of the hook..we are all different and have methods that work for us and thats whats so cool about this forum and fishing with eachother due to we all learn new tricks and methods....Ranger

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Originally Posted by meatdragger

Other guys who fish it alot seem to know where every stump is and have no issues. They catch alot of fish up in there as well.

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I resemble that statement.

Well at least Bobby Garland is willing and does give back to us such at the fall event at Gibson so I will use their stuff as much as I can and you guys should to I fully expect them to help us with our tournament events so buy oklahoma made if at all possible

Big George that's a good point (Bobby Garland) to keep in mind!

Ranger I need to show the "riggs that will fish through the wood". All this winter I have benn fishing minnow rigs and jigs right through the log jams and laydowns. I tell my clients when we first start fishing dont worry about getting hung up. I can get it out! There are a few that have been with me that are on here! EB