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In 2013 we got some reports from the SW Oklahoma lakes. I know most are very low but would like to see any forum activity from down there. I know Okiebob will be fishing the Ardmore city lakes and I'm thinking of hitting the Duncan city lakes. I know Mikie had some reports from SW Okla back then. Let's see if we can get some activity on the forum for waters S of I40 and W of I35.
:fish
Well, maybe I spoke to soon on a SW thread. Just spoke with the Superintendent of Lakes for Duncan and he said you cannot unload a boat on any of the lake ramps due to water level. We need rain!
About the farthest Southwest I will be fishing is Wiley Post Lake and it is just barely West of I-35! Heard a rumor of monster crappie in this little lake and have to see it for myself. :)
There's water S of I-40 and W of I-35?? Thought it was just a bunch of tumbleweeds out that direction. Need to come to Green Country for beautiful lakes (although Eufaula is a bit low right now -- but still accessible).
I have to admit Green Country is nice. I lived on 'Big Muddy' for a few years, and had a cabin on 10Killer for longer than that. They are both great fishing lakes. Oklahoma is a very diverse state. To me the beauty of Green Country falls right below Kiamichi Country where I grew up. I didn't appreciate the beauty of western Oklahoma till I became an avid bird hunter. And when there is no drought there are lots of nice places to fish out west. Oklahoma is just a pretty good state to live in.
Yes it is Floyd! But I got to agree with Toon on this one! Now for the bird hunting, SW and pan handle can't be beat!
I love me some eastern Oklahoma/western Arkansas. Pretty country side.
I grew up just north of Woodward. It's a beautiful area to me but a lot of people can't see it like I do! But I did NOT grow up fishing ever. I think that why I suck as a fisherman!
I spent a spring/summer doing some work down SW of Lawton and I must tell you it was quite amazing seeing the thunderstorms form out of the Texas panhandle.
I'll tell you this much. Don't ever get caught out there in a snow storm. Looks like your a knat wrapped up in a bed sheet! We got caught going to NM for an Elk hunt during that big snow on Xmas eve a couple years ago. Couldn't see diddly. turned around in Amarillo as they closed I-40 and spent the night under a closed gas station awning! Not fun
Ah yes, I'll never forget this. Went to work and it wasn't snowing and by 5 pm it was a blizzard. Our normal 20 minute drive home took almost 3 hours and had my pregnant wife in the car with me. Somehow I made it home though I passed dozens and dozens of stuck and stranded vehicles.
Here's what I know today Lake Altus/Lugert 9%; Tom Steed lake 23% went to Steed about a week ago before the cold spell, very muddy, boat ramp shallow but usable if big boats launch with big motor up and ease out with trolling motor, small lighter boats can launch easier. Lake Lawtonka 90%; Ellsworth 40%; Waurika 31%; Fort Cobb 68%; Lake Foss ?. I'm going to try and do some drive around recon Sunday or Monday and will try to update. Lake Lawtonka is nice this time of year due to lack of Jet skies it's a very rocky lake with ledges and drop offs also check Wildlife Dept website for location of brush piles and the crappie should be biting at the dam. Don't forget you will need a city boat and fishing permit contact lake office. Another thing Medicine Park has trout fishing no permit required and good food and unique shops. One gem of a lake I like is Lake Elmer Thomas in the wildlife refuge again ramp is usable but use care. Tell you what load up the wife and kids; grand kids or just just your sometimes fishing partner come on down look around and you might even see me:yikes
Mikie, if you see a white Chevy diesel with a black Lund in the vicinity of Lawtonka, yell at me. Crappie is my favorite of course but I am not one dimensional and learned to love 'eyes and smallmouth when living in Kansas. I do have the boat permit and my free geezer lifetime Lawton fishing and hunting permit.
Floyd
Friday after Thanksgiving, Foss was 18' low. The have some metal plates at the boat ramp by the marina, and are pouring concrete as the lake drops, so that ramp is usable. Others are out of water.
We need rain!
Bob
Just now saw this thread and glad to have found it. As Floyd said, I'm very interested in SW lakes, living near Ardmore.
Not sure Ardmore City Lake qualifies as it is on the east side of I-35, not much but, it is. Course we have Lake Jean Neustat, Scott King and Mountain Lake on the
west side of I35 that are considered Ardmore City Lakes too and all four lakes require an Ardmore permit if you are under 65. It's only about $12 a year or all four lakes.
All of these lakes are pretty much full right now. All four are really beautiful lakes. I fished Neustat a couple of months ago and City Lake last Thursday....skunked on both but have heard some real good reports. I'll be hitting them all as the weather improves.
Yep, I gotta agree with you on this state being very diverse -- and beautiful areas all over the state. Growing up, my parents were part of a camper club and then later, my years in Boy Scouts (Eagle Scout) has allowed me to see and camp in some of the most beautiful areas of the state. I'm proud to be from Oklahoma!Quote:
Originally Posted by IkenI
I had a few hours between chores yesterday and got out to explore some new water for me. It's gonna be my new close to me lake. Lawtonka. I got to be on the water about 2.5 hours so didn't cover much ground. I did find quite a bit of structure and some brushpiles. Some even had fish on the piles. It remains to be seen how decent the crappie fishing is. They have a length limit - I think it's 8". The lake looks nice, with some beautiful scenery in the background. Lots of great rock structure. I'll be targeting crappie, of course, but it's a great saugeye, walleye and smallmouth lake and i basically fish the same for all species - jigs. The current state record smallmouth comes from here, caught in 2012 - weighed 8-7. Since I was exploring I didn't even wet a line. Water temp was 44° and visibility was about 4'. I'll be back. Here's a photo of the smallie.
Attachment 187038
Floyd, how long timewise is it for you to Lawtoka? Just wondering.
Merle, Lawtonka is 75 miles from me, all interstate, takes me an hour 15 minutes at my speed. I had been to Ellsworth before - it's about 10 minutes closer. Ellsworth is a decent crappie lake (not great) but a super catfish lake. I usually don't fish for catfish but enjoy an occasional one on a crappie jig. It's murky and more shallow. Right now it's way down but you can still launch a boat on it. Lawtonka is a little low but not bad. Prettier water.
I do remember when this was caught. Made me want to small mouth fish, lol.Quote:
Originally Posted by IkenI
That may be the chunkiest smallie I've seen.
I like this thread and wanted to add some information on Texoma but, guess it's not considered SW so I'lll add it to the Texoma thread I started last year.
I've been following this thread also, used to fish Chickasha, Ft. Cobb, and Lawtonka alot. They are all great lakes.
Thousands of cormorants have negatively affected the fishing at Ft. Cobb, not only the crappie, but the cats. It's still pretty good, but nothing like it was before the cormorants descended. Thomas, over at Cobb, says that the shad now stay below 35 feet, trying to avoid those fish-eaters.
I don't understand why the comorants are still an endangered species. When I lived on Cedar Creek Lake they could come in by the thousands...no exaggeration...and God only knows how many tons of shad they'd eat. Heard about a little town in Wisconsin that became a ghost town due to the comorants depleting the shad population which wiped out the walleye population and that was the only thing the little town depended on. That is just not right!
Cormorants have never been endangered, Bob, but Peta gets whatever they want from Congress, etc. I have researched cormorants, and the "experts" say they eat from 1 to 5 pounds of fish per day. Five pounds is a little hard to believe, but even one pound is a killer when when it comes to fish populations. Several years after the ban on killing them was implemented, the Oklahoman headline read: "9,000 CORMORANTS TAKE UP RESIDENCE ON LAKE HEFNER". They were there for seven weeks. Do the math: 9,000 x 1 lb. x 49 days = 441,000 pounds = 220.5 tons.
They have totally cleaned out the fish farms in Mississippi and Louisiana.
I know a couple of guys, whom shall remain anonymous, that if not having a good fishing day do their part to ease the cormorant population one one NEO lake with a 12 gauge. Keeps their eyes sharp for duck season
ATTA BOY!!!!!! Gotta keep them sharp
While I applaud their effort, I'd sure hate their fines if they got caught!Quote:
Originally Posted by crappiepappa
Some much needed rain/snow happened out West last night/this morning. Hope it hit the places that needed it.
"While I applaud their effort, I'd sure hate their fines if they got caught!"
I have also researched this aspect. While the fine is up to $15,000 per bird, most judges have made it more like a normal fish and game violation. I think the highest fine was $10,000 for a couple of guys who really slaughtered them, and the next highest was $5,000. Most of the time, it's like $100-$500. Like most cases, it also depends on the mood of the judge at the time.
Nip, I've been hearing of rumors of monster crappie in WP lake for years, but so far, no one that I personally know has ever caught a crappie in the lake.