Lake Tenkiller Bass Bite Heats Up: Points, Topwater, and Long Summer Evenings

Artificial Lure here, checking in with your Lake Tenkiller fishing report out of the Cookson hills of eastern Oklahoma. We don’t worry about tides here on Tenkiller since she’s a deep-water Arkansas River reservoir, but the water level is sitting near normal pool and clear to slightly stained on the lower end, with a little more color up the river arms. Surface temps are running in the upper 70s to low 80s after these warm days and mild nights. Sunrise is hitting right around six in the morning, with sunset close to eight forty-five in the evening, giving you a long window of low-light action. Overnight we’ve had light south winds and a mostly clear sky, and today you can expect warm, humid conditions, highs in the upper 80s to low 90s, and a steady south breeze around 5–15 miles an hour. That wind will stack bait on the wind-blown points and make for a solid reaction bite. Bass have been the headliners lately. Local reports from around Chicken Creek and Carter’s Landing say largemouth and spots are set up on main-lake and secondary points in 8–18 feet, with some smallmouth roaming the bluffs and gravel banks closer to the dam. Anglers have been boating decent numbers of keeper spots and smallmouth, with a mix of short fish and a few 3–4 pounders each trip. Night fishermen are picking off some better quality fish on the steeper banks. Best lures right now: - Early and late, throw **topwater** – walking baits and poppers over points, pockets, and along bluff walls. - Once the sun’s up, switch to **medium-diving crankbaits**, **3.8–4.3" swimbaits** on 1/4–3/8 oz heads, and **Carolina rigs** with creature baits or French fry–style worms. - For numbers, a **drop shot** or **Ned rig** with a natural shad or green pumpkin plastic will clean up on those deeper points and brush piles. Crappie have slid a bit deeper but are still very catchable. Folks around Cookson Bend and Standing Rock are finding them on brush in 15–25 feet, suspending just above the cover. Limits are still doable if you stay mobile, with a lot of 10–12 inch fish and a few slabs mixed in. Best baits are **small tube jigs**, **hair jigs**, and **1/16 oz marabou** in white, chartreuse, or monkey milk, or a **minnow on a slip cork** set right over the tops of the brush. Stripers and white bass activity has picked up in the lower lake and near the river channel bends at first and last light. Look for surface schooling when the wind slicks off. **Half-ounce chrome spoons**, **small topwaters**, and **flukes on jig heads** are taking fish when they push shad to the top. Expect a mix of whites, a few hybrids where they’re present, and the occasional big striper cruising the breaks. Catfish action is steady on channel swings and main-river humps. Local jugliners and rod-and-reel anglers are catching a mix of channels and blues using **cut shad**, **chicken liver**, and **prepared stink baits** in 10–25 feet. Set up on the upwind side of the structure and let that scent trail work. A couple of hot spots for you: - **Cookson Bend to Standing Rock**: great for bass on points and nearby brush, plus solid crappie piles off the main creek channel. - **Lower lake near the dam and party cove points**: clearer water, strong smallmouth bite on bluffs, and good shot at schooling whites and the odd striper. That’ll do it from Lake Tenkiller today. Thanks for tuning in, and be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss the next report. This has been a quiet please production, for more check out quiet please dot ai. Great deals on fishing gear https://amzn.to/44gt1Pn