Thanks to the GRDA
Check the GRDA Facebook page and website now and then to see what's new. GRDA officers patrol just about every weekend to make sure everybody treats the lake right, and Jeff appreciates them serving everyone on the water.
Late-summer pattern
It's the same old same old. The late-summer pattern will hold through August, September and early October, until temperatures really change. Only a big inflow would change things. Those sometimes happen in fall, but historically the big inflows come earlier in the year or in late fall and winter, from the end of October through December. Whatever is catching fish for you now should keep working for the next month or so.
Why the fish get finicky
As Haydn said last week, you won't pull up somewhere and just catch limits. Keep moving, because the active fish aren't stacked on structure. Jeff thinks he's put two and two together: falling water turns fish off, and Grand Lake is usually on a fall in August as it's pulled down toward 742 by the end of the month. It really affects Crappie and Catfish (he's less sure about White Bass and Black Bass). It's a mystery how fish sense a slow fall of an inch or two a week in so much water. A fast fall of half to three-quarters of a foot a day is obviously a shock, but even slow falls make them finicky.
Below the dam
Good reports come from below the dam. When the lake is falling they're generating, so check the generation schedule. With consistent generation you can catch a lot of fish. Guys have been catching Blue Catfish tied up to the cable (seen on the Grand Fishing Report Facebook group). Cautions: when they shut the water off and Lake Hudson is low, the state park boat ramp can be hard to use. The water is swift, so make sure your boat runs reliably or you could get swept down into the first bridge. You can fish from the bank there too.
Hunting ahead
A few doves are landing in the yard to eat the neighbors' birdseed, and Jeff's dog watches them pack around on the ground. It's a reminder that dove season opens September 1 to kick off Oklahoma hunting, and archery opens October 1. By late August many hunters are hanging trail cameras with salt and corn to inventory their deer herds and find that monster buck.
Fish Lucke / OnGrandTime / VIP
Visit FishLucke.com and OnGrandTime.com. For a facial or massage, see Patricia at VIP Day Spa on Monkey Island.