Weather / pop-up storms
Warm, toasty, muggy weather, definitely July in Oklahoma. Jeff warned about this over Memorial Day: any summer weekend a thunderstorm can pop up right on top of the lake out of nowhere. Yesterday a small one popped up between Shangri-La and Woodard Hollow, and most boaters ran into the storm instead of heading toward Sailboat Bridge, where there was no storm. Check the weather app on your phone to get out of the wind, rain and lightning. The same could happen today and the next couple of days. Then a nice stretch of cooler, less humid weather is coming in, which will make fishing really enjoyable and still leave it plenty warm for tubing, surfing and swimming.
Crappie with the Keith family
Haydn (Williams Guide Service) is taking Jeff and Krystal Keith Crappie fishing this morning with minnows on main-lake brush piles. Krystal's girls and a few friends make four little ones in the boat, aiming to sling some slabs over the side before the holiday boat traffic hits. Since Toby's passing, Krystal is the family's representative at Luck E Strike, and she and Jeff will be doing a lot of fishing together. She and Toby spent a lot of daddy-daughter time fishing when she was growing up.
Bass
Jeff caught three really nice black Bass on some of the Luck E Strike lures he hadn't fished much. The brand is 50 years old, and he's getting out to talk more about the American-made hard baits, crankbaits, chatterbaits and the Scrounger, all at fishlucke.com.
Catfish
Catfish are biting. This is the time of year to start catching a lot of Catfish drifting.
Holiday boat traffic tip
Evenings will bring heavy boat traffic on the main lake. To avoid it over the holiday, fish from the mouth of Elk River up to Twin Bridges. There's plenty of territory with smaller fishing boats, a few pleasure boats and Wave Runners, and not many big boats running.
Sign-off
Happy Fourth of July. Stay safe out there, and remember, freedom don't come free.