Chouteau Bend

I've been in and out of Chouteau and Brushy Creek off and on the last few days and while I normally catch fish in those places I'm getting skunked on every trip. Yesterday the wind was pure hell. Anyone got a good report or alternative advice?

I Would like to know what has happened to Ft Gibson FISHING? Have fished Gibson since 1978 and now find it tough for Crappie and Sand bass. Maybe the one or Two hundred fishermen on the water yesterday? I left Mazie Landing at 2:00 PM and 31 boat trailers still there.

That's what happens when you keep every single fish you catch

I'm more prone to say the flooding the last 2-3 years jacked up the fishing and the spawn.

I'm kinda thinking you may be right, DrNip, our weather for the last couple of years has been horrible and it probably did contribute to poor spawns. God sure made a beautiful day yesterday but He likes the wind a lot more than anyone I know. I was out yesterday and the wind was so strong that I couldn't keep my boat in one spot and I couldn't feel my jig in 3-4' of water. I saw a few bass fisherman up in Chouteau Creek and one elderly couple in Brushy Creek. No one was catching anything but a few sun rays. Of course there were plenty of spoonbill snaggers out in the river but IMHO that doesn't count as fishing.

In the years that I've fished those places the best fishing seems to occur when the water levels remain consistent but the good old Corps was apparently running water yesterday because the water levels in those creeks was down around 16" when I was there. When they adjust water levels too dramatically it seems that everything stops.

Sorry boys the floods and Corp of Eng. have been around for the past 40 years I can vouch for that. Also most of our Dams were built in 1940's and 50's "How many of you can remember those years?" Our problem is the number of fish taken from our Lakes and Streams. #1 More fishermen. #2 Better fishing equipment. #3 better electronics. #4 Better and faster boats. All the above means less fish to spawn each year. I started fishing in 1964 with a small boat, oar, cane pole and minnows. Catching fish then and now is still a lot of fun.

I have a 8 and 12 year old Great Grandsons starting to fish and it is harder to put them on fish. Yesterday we fished from Mazie Landing to low water dam and had 1 @ 7" Sand bass to show for it. Hard to teach with no more fish than that.

I agree with the electronics. . . They sure are amazing but take a little of the fun out finding them.

What I was saying is the last 3 years we had major flood waters causing lakes to flood majorly. What was before that? Years of drought and minimal rain. Droughts and flood seasons come and go. I just remember that for like a 5 year stretch before 2013 we had better crappie fishing especially during spawn due to less crazy and more stable weather. Don't know about before that as I wasn't crappie fishing. Not trying to get into a war over this as everyone's opinion is speculation.

All fish and wild life are affected by weather and by hunting and fishing pressures and I have never understood why the game and fish people don't place a limit on sand bass and then get out and enforce those limits. I catch and release all of the time but I have friends who will keep everything they catch and come back day after day after day and repeat that process.

A few years ago I took a kayak into the upper reach of Spencer Creek on Oolagah and I caught 15 or so pretty nice fish, then I wrapped it up. I decided to drive around the place a little to take a look and in doing so I drove down a road along the southern arm of that little creek. I got out and walked down to the creek and I found a pile of crappie heads, tails and skins that was probably 2.5' high and 3' around. You could hear the flies buzzing over that pile of offal from 25'. Apparently some "sportsmen" caught a few hundred crappie and filleted them on the spot, leaving that mess as their evidence.

I hate people like that.

You mentioned taking your grandsons' out yesterday. I think that high wind may have been part of the problem. Snaggers in big boats with someone constantly at the helm don't seem to mind it but it makes tough fishing conditions for a guy like me in a small boat. I don't know about how others feel, but wind is a major distraction for me. Another problem with yesterday may have been the intense sunlight. Couple of friends of mine think the amount of sunlight may have a great deal to do with fish activity. I did happen to see a lot of fish on my graph yesterday but I was by myself and the wind would just blow me off of them.

Oh, I think you're right. The last good trips I had for Spring fishing occurred 4-5 years ago before the recent years' flooding. Spring roars into Oklahoma like a lion sometimes.

2 things I miss about the drought years.

1. Grass didn't grow therfore I didn't have to cut it.
2. Fishing was fabulous.

Went out to Chouteau Creek and some females had white milky compacted eggs and some had yellow loose eggs. It was hot in the sun, but fun! Sporadic. But most averaged 11" to 13" and threw back at least a dozen 6" to 7".
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Just wanted to move this back up the page, to see if anything is happening up there yet?