Cooling water
It's a whole lot more of the same, but the water temperature is falling. Some mornings Haydn sees the high 70s. His afternoon Crappie bite has been better, and he's picking some off on the Desert Hero Lucky Bug, which mimics a small Bluegill. Most clients still catch theirs on minnows, but he's limiting everybody every day he goes.
Crappie on the bottom
The fish are moving around in transition: shallow brush and on top of structure, high spots and humps, relating straight to the bottom. That's a strange pattern for Crappie, more like White Bass, but it's deadly when you find them. Drop straight down or cast into them.
Dock Crappie: fish shallower
Good dock reports are coming in, and this is when people fish too deep under their docks. In late summer and early fall, Crappie often move right up under the Styrofoam or black encapsulated foam, and you'll get bit while reeling up, unbelievably shallow. When that happens, raise up and fish 2 to 3 feet deep. On the clear south end you can watch them shoot out from under the foam to hit a Swimming Minnow or Lucky Bug. It's a short window in spring and fall, and many anglers miss it because they're stuck in a depth rut.
White Bass / Paddlefish
White Bass fishing is really good. Tony Coatney has been posting White Bass and Black Bass from his guide trips, though never what he caught them on. The Bernice Bridge area has been good for Paddlefish, and the mouth of the Elk River is always great from now through winter as the fish stage there.
Hunting
Folks around Kansas, including youngsters and muzzleloader hunters, have taken some really nice deer already. Trail cameras, corn and salt are out. Dove season (September 1) starts everything, but nothing puts hunters in the woods like the October 1 archery opener for bow and crossbow hunters. Oklahoma's early muzzleloader season, usually around the last week of October, is one of the best seasons in the country to Jeff, and many hunters travel in for it. Last year Jeff and Patricia hunted together, waiting on one particular deer that never showed. "It's not always about what you're taking. It's about having fun and enjoying friends and family out there and making memories."
Below the dam
During intermittent generation you can do well on White Bass and Catfish below the dam. Get out fast if they shut the water off, or there won't be enough water to load your boat at the State Park ramp.
Fish Lucke
Visit FishLucke.com and the Luck E Strike selection at the Grove Walmart. Don't forget the Scrounger, Lucky Bug and Swimming Minnow, "one tremendous Crappie bait here on this lake."