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Tenkiller Fishing Report: Robust Bass, Crappie, Stripers Biting on Topwaters, Jigs, and Live Bait
Published 6 months, 1 week ago
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Artificial Lure here, bringing you the Lake Tenkiller, Oklahoma fishing report for Friday, October 24, 2025.
Lake Tenkiller's water level is sitting a hair above normal at about 0.72 feet over pool, with a pool elevation of 632.7 feet as of yesterday evening, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Release rates are moderate with 578 cfs going out, so water clarity is pretty typical for fall. No tidal influence here in Oklahoma, but wind will play a role today—a light breeze out of the south will be picking up as the day moves along.
Weather’s looking seasonally crisp with sunrise at around 7:31 a.m. and sunset at 6:35 p.m. Expect clear skies and morning temps starting in the high 40s, warming into the mid-70s by late afternoon—pretty classic October pattern for our part of the world.
Fish activity is heating up as we move deeper into fall transition. Recent catches have been solid with some standout bags coming in from the Wednesday night bass tournament. Locals are reporting good numbers of largemouth bass—3 to 5 pounders pretty common—with smallmouth making a guest appearance around the rocky points and bluffs. Stripers are chasing shad on the main lake, and white bass are busting on top out mid-morning near Snake Creek and Cookson Bend.
Crappie action is picking up around the submerged timber and brush piles in 12–18 feet of water. Folks running slip bobbers tipped with minnows are finding slabs around Sizemore Landing. A group out earlier this week reported a limit of chunky fish in under three hours—mostly over 10 inches. Catfish have been steady along the river arms, with blues and channels biting cut bait and stink bait in 20 feet near the mouth of the Illinois River.
Top lures this week for bass have been shad-pattern topwaters early, switching over to green pumpkin or watermelon finesse jigs and shaky heads up the creeks as the sun climbs. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits in white or chartreuse are getting smashed on wind-blown banks.
Crappie anglers should stick to live minnows or chartreuse/white soft plastics. For catfish, skipjack and cut shad are producing the best bites. Don’t forget some good old punch bait for channels.
Hot spots right now:
- Snake Creek is firing for white bass and stripers—watch for surface busts near mid-morning.
- Cookson Bend is producing on both bass and crappie, especially near the brush piles and rocky drop-offs.
Remember, Cookson Wildlife Management Area has extra check-in rules for non-residents as of this year, but access is still wide open for locals—just log your trips as required. Primitive camping is available at designated spots if you want to make a weekend of it.
If you’re fishing Buzzard Lake or the smaller area ponds, go light—bass and sunfish are present, and finesse tactics work best there. The state reports ongoing management with robust food plots, so the forage base is healthy and game fish have been active.
That wraps our update from Lake Tenkiller. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for daily reports and more insider info. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.
Lake Tenkiller's water level is sitting a hair above normal at about 0.72 feet over pool, with a pool elevation of 632.7 feet as of yesterday evening, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. Release rates are moderate with 578 cfs going out, so water clarity is pretty typical for fall. No tidal influence here in Oklahoma, but wind will play a role today—a light breeze out of the south will be picking up as the day moves along.
Weather’s looking seasonally crisp with sunrise at around 7:31 a.m. and sunset at 6:35 p.m. Expect clear skies and morning temps starting in the high 40s, warming into the mid-70s by late afternoon—pretty classic October pattern for our part of the world.
Fish activity is heating up as we move deeper into fall transition. Recent catches have been solid with some standout bags coming in from the Wednesday night bass tournament. Locals are reporting good numbers of largemouth bass—3 to 5 pounders pretty common—with smallmouth making a guest appearance around the rocky points and bluffs. Stripers are chasing shad on the main lake, and white bass are busting on top out mid-morning near Snake Creek and Cookson Bend.
Crappie action is picking up around the submerged timber and brush piles in 12–18 feet of water. Folks running slip bobbers tipped with minnows are finding slabs around Sizemore Landing. A group out earlier this week reported a limit of chunky fish in under three hours—mostly over 10 inches. Catfish have been steady along the river arms, with blues and channels biting cut bait and stink bait in 20 feet near the mouth of the Illinois River.
Top lures this week for bass have been shad-pattern topwaters early, switching over to green pumpkin or watermelon finesse jigs and shaky heads up the creeks as the sun climbs. Spinnerbaits and chatterbaits in white or chartreuse are getting smashed on wind-blown banks.
Crappie anglers should stick to live minnows or chartreuse/white soft plastics. For catfish, skipjack and cut shad are producing the best bites. Don’t forget some good old punch bait for channels.
Hot spots right now:
- Snake Creek is firing for white bass and stripers—watch for surface busts near mid-morning.
- Cookson Bend is producing on both bass and crappie, especially near the brush piles and rocky drop-offs.
Remember, Cookson Wildlife Management Area has extra check-in rules for non-residents as of this year, but access is still wide open for locals—just log your trips as required. Primitive camping is available at designated spots if you want to make a weekend of it.
If you’re fishing Buzzard Lake or the smaller area ponds, go light—bass and sunfish are present, and finesse tactics work best there. The state reports ongoing management with robust food plots, so the forage base is healthy and game fish have been active.
That wraps our update from Lake Tenkiller. Thanks for tuning in—don’t forget to subscribe for daily reports and more insider info. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai.
Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn
This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI
This episode includes AI-generated content.