Weather / shad kill
Cold weather is coming in this weekend on top of a cold, snowy, crummy week. Jeff expects a shad kill to kick in early next week. There's been enough cold wind to churn up the water, and after the first of the year that's when the shad-kill pattern usually starts. Watch the upper end for gulls diving where you haven't seen them before. They'll be out all day picking up shad going into thermal shock. The south end, where a lot of the threadfin shad winter, may kill a little later, but once it's cold enough there the shad kill can get pretty intense.
Crappie
A shad kill won't slow the fishing down, except for the Catfish. It often turns on the schooled-up Crappie, which chase the threadfin shad going into thermal shock. Fish a lure that resembles a threadfin or gizzard shad: silvers, clears and blues on 1/16 or 1/8 oz heads. The Lucky Bug and Swimming Minnow, both American-made soft plastics from Toby Keith and Jeff's new company, are great choices at LuckEStrike.com. If Jeff were Crappie fishing this week, he'd start up in the Twin Bridges area looking for Crappie on brush piles or suspended fish.
Catfish / Paddlefish
Winter Blue Cats are the exception. Once they've gorged on shad in thermal shock, they can get pretty lethargic. The shad kill affects Crappie and Bass a little, but nothing like the Catfish, and it won't slow down the Paddlefish snaggers.
White Bass / rivers
White Bass fishing ought to start getting fantastic. This week's rain and snow probably isn't enough for a significant rise, so expect a little murky water. Every time the river comes up, the staging fish move a little farther up the rivers.
Hunting
Deer archery season closes for the year on January 15, capping a great season. With liberal limits (six deer per person counting the antlerless season), Oklahoma hunters can take a nice buck and still put up venison for summer sausage and tenderloins. The boys have done really well duck hunting north of Fairland the last few days, and quail hunters in western Oklahoma found birds in some spotty places.
Have the lake to yourself
Hardly anybody is fishing Grand Lake right now. If you need some motivation, there won't be many people on the docks or in boats. Thanks to GRDA for continuing to support the show and to everybody at KGVE and the Grand Fishing Report Facebook group.