Tenkiller Fishing Report: Warm Temps, Rising Levels, Topwater Bass and Slab Crappie

Good morning fellow anglers, Artificial Lure here with your Lake Tenkiller fishing report for Friday, August 22, 2025. Let’s get right into what’s happening on and around our favorite deep, clear waters up in Cherokee County. Weather’s warm and humid this week—expect daytime highs in the upper 80s pushing 90, and those August mornings are sticky with light south winds. The sunrise came up at 6:44 AM and sunset will settle in at 8:06 PM, giving plenty of daylight for making the most of it on the water. We saw some patchy fog at dawn, so boaters, keep those eyes peeled early. Lake level today sits just under a foot above normal, at 632.97 feet elevation, according to the Tulsa District Water Control’s latest update. That extra water has the shallows a tad fuller than usual for late August. They’re releasing about 585 cubic feet per second down at the dam, so lake current isn’t strong but you’ll find a bit more flow than dead summer slack. Surface temps are in that bathwater zone—high 70s at sunrise, warming to low 80s by mid-afternoon. There’s no tidal flow on inland lakes like Tenkiller, but the moon phase is waxing, rolling toward full, and that’s got a few night fishermen chasing cats and sand bass with some success. Bass fishing’s still the main ticket. Reports from last weekend’s events say most folks went “old school”—meaning don’t overlook Texas-rigged worms, creature baits, and soft plastics on deep brush piles and standing timber. Some bigger largemouth and smallmouth have been caught on football jigs and Carolina-rigged Senkos around main lake points and humps. In fact, Kristine Fischer just previewed the Elite bite noting that downsizing finesse baits is paying off when the sun gets high and fish tuck tighter to cover. Even with summer slowdown, anglers are bagging some fat spots and an occasional kicker smallmouth in the lower lake on rocky banks. The north end by Blackgum Landing and the coves east of Snake Creek are both producing in the early a.m.—topwaters like Spooks and walking baits are working in low light, then shift to shad-colored crankbaits and shaky heads as that sun climbs. Crappie remain hit or miss. If you’re after slabs, focus on brush piles in 12–18 feet with live minnows or Bobby Garland jigs in monkey milk or blue ice. Heard several limits came out just south of Burnt Cabin Marina at first light. Catfish are biting fair to good right now, mostly blues and channels on cut shad, chicken livers, or stinkbait. Drift just off main channel ledges in 20–30 feet—especially at the mouth of Petit Bay or up near Vian Creek for steady action. Stripers and sand bass are making sporadic runs early and late. Keep an eye out for surface chasers in the mid-lake basin, and have a white rooster tail or Lil’ George ready for surfacing schools. Now for those hotspot suggestions: If you’ve only got a few hours, hit Chicken Creek’s outer points at dawn for bass action. For crappie or cats, try trolling around the standing timber j This content was created in partnership and with the help of Artificial Intelligence AI.