Back on the lake
As hunting season winds down, Jeff is spending less time in southeast Oklahoma and more around Grand Lake, and the reports are good. Visit the Grand Fishing Report Facebook group for guide reports, videos and members' catches.
Crappie / Williams Guide Service
Haydn caught a lot of really nice Crappie this weekend, some in deep brush and some roaming. He finds them on LiveScope and drops a small soft-plastic jig on them. His two best colors this week imitate a baby Bluegill or Sunfish, and a clear bait with red, white and blue flakes for clear water.
He's using a 2-inch soft plastic on a 1/16 oz head, sometimes with a split shot ahead of it. He caught very few short fish. He's gotten so good at roaming Crappie that, in the right wind, he has clients toss the jig out on top of the fish, and if it's presented just right, the Crappie strike. It's hard for two people to fish that way at once, but you can take turns.
Paddlefish
Haydn also had kids out on some of their first fishing trips. He has pictures of young men holding really nice Paddlefish from the upper end of Grand Lake. He's guiding two to four days a week now and really goes after it past the middle of January. It felt good to be back on Grand Lake.
Catfish
Guys are catching Blue Cats deep on the south end, anchoring on deep ledges and edges. They throw Shad up on the flats in about 30 feet and down as deep as 60 to 80 feet. In winter you never know if it's a 2-pounder or a 50-pounder that's going to hit. Those 3 to 7 pound fish out of cold water are as good eating as you could ask for.
White Bass / Spring River
People are trolling for White Bass on Spring River between the old Seneca piers and the Spring River Bridge. The fish are staging there for their spring runs. It's part of the cycle at Grand Lake that Jeff, Lee Jeffery and everyone else who has done the report have talked about for years. Until there's a rise on the water, conditions are normal and stable and the fish are predictable. On 45 to 50 degree days with light winds and sunshine, you can have a great time on the Spring and Neosho rivers.
Below the dam
Not much news. It usually needs running water. If they start running water and leave it running a while, January and February can be tremendous for White Bass and Hybrids there.
Deer season / deer salami
Archery season runs until January 15, and there's a holiday antlerless season. Check the statewide regulations for open days and how many deer each unit allows. Jeff plans to take one more antlerless deer for burger. He and Patricia started making their own deer salami this year, vacuum sealed in little packages. It's a great snack, and they enjoy making it together.