Month: March 2016

Oologah Lake Blue Catfish

This morning we had a blue catfish teaching trip on Oologah Lake in Oklahoma with Matthew.  We started out catching fresh gizzard shad just before sunrise and headed out to a mid-depth channel.  We went over some graphing and found a decent school.

It was steady action as we began filling the box for about an hour and then the wind completely shut down.  We had slick water the rest of the morning!  Slick water equals a tough bite almost 100 percent of the time.

I’m glad it was a teaching trip instead of needing to fill the box today.  Matthew went home with a good mess, but nothing like we would have with a good steady breeze.

Most of our fish were caught in the 8-12ft range around a channel.

Spoonbill Paddlefish Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma

Snagging spoonbill paddlefish on Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma with three generations of Ingram guys.

We had the pleasure of having Dean Ingram, his son, and grandson on board to snag prehistoric spoonbill paddlefish this afternoon.  We flat wore these boys out and they called it quits after a couple of hours reeling in big males and one nice female.

The fish were hugging the channel edges with all the boat traffic.  It made snagging a little more difficult dodging the trees and underwater obstacles, but the reward for all the hang ups was well worth it.

These guys were a blast and true pleasure to fish with today on Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma.  Thanks again guys for the great time!!!

Oologah Blue Catfish

Today, we tried everything we could to get the kids on a good blue catfish bite on Oologah Lake in Oklahoma.  We tried shallow, mid-depth, deep river ledges and everything in between.  The fish were extremely scattered and biting very light.  It was a one fish each stop type of day with little to no wind to concentrate the fish.  We had a great time and big fish for the day was 15 pounds.

The biggest surprise for the day was wen I was cleaning fish.  I felt something hard like a mussel shell in the belly of a blue catfish.  I thought the kids would find it fascinating, so I had them come up to watch as I cut the stomach open.  Much to my surprise as I made the cut a head popped out of a turtle shell.  It made every muscle in my body jump and the kids got a really good laugh.  The turtle was not alive, but the pressure made the head shoot out of the shell.  I thought I was going to lose a finger, lol.

Good times with this group, I just wish the bite would have been better today.

 

Keystone Lake Blue Catfish

Today, we had the Nelson crew from Nebraska on Keystone Lake catching blue catfish and a couple of bonus stripers.  We started the day out with a quick fish, but then the bite was stone cold as a big front approached.  We made a last move to a different area and found feeding fish catching a couple quickly, but had to get out of there to avoid the lightning and high winds.

After our forced extended lunch break, we went back to the area we found fish just before the storm and they were there!  We anchored up and it was good steady action the rest of the afternoon.  We only moved one time about a 100 yards.  We had one pole lay out with the drag screaming!!!  Unfortunately, he didn’t get the hook in him good and came off…it can be as big as we want it to be now 😉 lol.

Later in the afternoon, we got a few bonus stripers hitting out rods as well.  The fish really became active with the cloud cover after the big storm passed.  These guys were a blast!!!

 

Blue Catfish Keystone Lake in Oklahoma

It was a windy day on Keystone Lake in Oklahoma catching blue catfish.  A massive front was coming in and we had gusts to almost 40mph today as we had Rex, Kevin, Bill and Phillip on board.  We were going to fish Oologah Lake, but that wasn’t going to happen in this wind.

Our day started out searching shallow, but we only managed a couple decent fish and the gar wouldn’t leave us alone.  After searching and searching as the wind kept getting stronger, we decided to open up the playbook and look at some new water.  What we found were some good fish in a very windy cove at mid-depth.

We got set up and landed several in the teans and a 22 pounder.  The larger fish got hung on some brush and took some crafty work to get it free.  I believe we had 6 in the teans and the 22 pounder plus some eaters.  Not a great day, but not too shabby for the conditions and scattered fish.  After these fronts roll through we should be on a solid shallow water bite.

Spoonbill Paddlefish Fort Gibson

A great group of guys and gals from Texas came to Fort Gibson Lake in Oklahoma to smack spoonbill paddlefish for the first time.  We had a blast with this group, who normally fish for trophy blue catfish.

Between the two boat loads, we landed 35 spoonbill.  Unfortunately, my boat didn’t catch as many as the other boat.  We did manage to land gar, blue catfish, carp, and spoonbill paddlefish…with a bonus tree several time (joking).

The fish were grouped up well for the first hour and then a scattered out until early afternoon.  We stuck it out and I believe we landed 8 spoonbill.  We fought the good find and scratched it out and had a blast doing so!

I can’t say enough about how fun a group they were.

Chase Boat on Grand Lake Bass Master Classic 2016 with KVOO

I had the pleasure of having Kelley Cash from 98.5 KVOO onboard along with some listeners to be a chase boat for the first day of the Bass Master Classic 2016 on Grand Lake.

We started the morning out at the launch site listening to interviews, taking pictures, and enjoying the excitement.  What an amazing even?!?!?!?!

We got to watch Randy Howell, Edwin Evers, and many other elite anglers doing their best work catch Grand Lake bass.  Jerk baits seemed to be a favorite along rocky shorelines in clearer water.  Alton Jones did do some very impressive flipping to put up a nice bag also.