Lake Tenkiller Report: Bass on the Break, Crappie Going Deep

This is Artificial Lure, checking in with your Lake Tenkiller fishing report. We’ll start with the conditions. Lake Tenkiller’s a clear, deep highland reservoir, so think finesse and structure. No tides to worry about here, just steady lake levels and the usual pull from power generation. Sunrise is right around early six o’clock, with sunset near eight-thirty in the evening, giving you nice, long low-light windows on both ends of the day. Weather around Tenkiller today is seasonably warm. Mornings are starting off cool and comfortable, building to a hot, sunny afternoon with light to moderate south wind and only a slight chance of a pop‑up shower. That sun and clear water will push a lot of fish off the bank once it gets bright, so plan your day around dawn, dusk, and shade. Bass have been the main story. Local reports from marinas and ramp chatter say spotted and largemouth bass are coming in steady on main-lake points and the first breaks off bluff walls in 10–20 feet. Most folks are boating solid numbers, with the better fish in the two- to three‑pound class and a few fours mixed in. A couple of evening tournaments out of Chicken Creek have taken 14–17 pound bags on five fish, mostly on soft plastics and small swimbaits. Best bass baits right now: - Early and late, work **topwater walking baits** and **buzzbaits** over gravel points and along steeper rock banks. - Once the sun gets up, switch to **green pumpkin or watermelon finesse worms**, **Ned rigs**, and **drop‑shots** with shad‑colored plastics in 12–25 feet. - A **3.3–3.8 inch swimbait** on a ball head, slow‑rolled along the bottom, is picking up both spots and smallies. Crappie are still being caught but have slid a bit deeper. Folks are finding them on brush piles, standing timber, and dock corners in 12–18 feet, suspending around mid‑depth. Minnows are putting numbers in the livewell, but small **baby shad jigs** in natural colors are taking the better slabs. Expect a mix of keepers with some ten- to twelve‑inch fish fairly common. Striper and hybrid action below the dam in the Illinois River tailrace has been spotty but worth a shot at first light. Anglers drifting live shad or throwing **½‑oz flukes and bucktail jigs** are picking up a few strong fish when the generators are running. Up on the main lake, watch for schooling white bass and small hybrids pushing shad in the evenings on calm days; a **small spoon** or **tiny topwater** will get hammered. Catfish are reliable as always. Channel cats are eating **cut shad**, **stink bait**, and **chicken liver** on flats and gently sloping banks in 8–15 feet, especially near creek mouths. A few bigger blues are coming off deeper ledges on fresh cut bait. Nighttime has been best, but an overcast afternoon can turn them on. A couple of local hot spots to circle on your map: - **Chicken Creek area** on the mid‑lake: good mix of gravel and rock points, nearby channel swings, and some brush. Solid for bass and crappie, with catfish on the adjacent flats. - **Snake Creek and the adjacent main-lake points**: clear water, steep structure, and good smallmouth potential. Work topwater at dawn, then finesse plastics down the breaks. If the lake is clear and calm, downsize your line and go natural on color. If the wind picks up or you find stained pockets from recent rain, don’t be afraid to throw a spinnerbait or chatterbait up shallow for a reaction bite. That’s your Lake Tenkiller rundown from Artificial Lure. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss a 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