Tenkiller Fishing Report Nov 5 2025: Sunny Skies, Steady Waters, and Active Fish Bites

Mornin’ folks, it’s Artificial Lure here with your Lake Tenkiller fishing report for today, November 5th, 2025. We’re lookin’ at a mostly sunny day with highs near 85, and a calm breeze outta the east. Sunrise was at 7:04 AM, and sunset’ll be around 5:50 PM, so you’ve got a good stretch of daylight to get out there. Now, the water’s been steady, no big releases or gate changes reported from the dam lately, so conditions are pretty stable. The lake’s clear, and the water temps are just right for fall fishing. The Illinois River, which feeds into Tenkiller, is runnin’ a little higher than normal—USGS reports show flow near Gore at about 572 cubic feet per second, which means there’s some good current and oxygen in the system. That’s always a plus for active fish. Fish activity’s been solid. Anglers are bringin’ in a mix of smallmouth bass, spotted bass, and channel catfish. There’s been some talk around the docks about good numbers of smallmouth near the rocky points and drop-offs, especially in the upper end of the lake. Spotted bass are hangin’ around the deeper structure, and the catfish are bitin’ best near the river channels and around the main lake flats. For lures, you can’t go wrong with a brown or green flippin’ jig for smallmouth, especially around the rocky ledges. If you’re after spotted bass, try a white or chartreuse crankbait near the deeper humps. For catfish, a good chunk of cut bait or stink bait near the bottom works best, especially in the evening. Best bait? Live shad’s always a winner, but if you’re not into netting your own, a good piece of nightcrawler or chicken liver’ll do the trick for catfish. For bass, a soft plastic swimbait or a jerkbait’s been gettin’ bites lately. Hot spots? Try the area around the mouth of the Illinois River, where it flows into the lake. That’s a classic spot for smallmouth and catfish. Also, the rocky points near the upper end of the lake, especially near the cliffs, are producin’ some nice spotted bass. Thanks for tuning in, and don’t forget to subscribe for more local fishing reports. 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.