Weather
The dog days of summer: light winds and hot, humid weather, with a few pop-up showers around the lake this Wednesday evening. Safety reminder: every thunderstorm has to start somewhere, and one can grow right on top of you. Watch whether clouds are darkening and moving at you. The storm that catches people off guard is usually the one that formed overhead, not the one coming from far away.
Crappie
Being caught on main-lake brush piles. Haydn is doing really well. Clients are catching White Bass and Crappie; he uses artificial swimming minnows and Lucky Bugs, but most Crappie this time of year come on live minnows.
White Bass
Coming off underwater islands and windy points when there's a breeze, especially early morning or late evening when they move shallower. Swimming minnows and Dinner Spinners are great choices. Later in the day they move out to underwater islands in 12 to 25 feet, with lots of good spots around the islands at Sailboat Bridge.
Bridges
One of the best ways to find active fish and beat the sun is fishing the bridges: Black River, Bernice Bridge, Honey Creek Bridge and Sailboat Bridge. When the water's clear, Crappie and White Bass use the shade and the dark-water transition line under them as structure.
More spots
Submerged islands all the way down the lake to and past Goat Island, gravel bars, historic fish-holding spots and Governor's Island. On a nice Friday or Saturday evening, take a grandkid or a novice out for a couple of hours as the sun sets and troll a Dinner Spinner and a swimming minnow. People tend to group up in the good areas and enjoy each other's company.
Paddlefish
Paddlefishing has been great.
Bighead carp
A lot of big bighead carp are being snagged in the Honey Creek arm above Honey Creek Bridge using forward-facing sonar, and the wildlife department is paying attention. They're invasive and compete with Paddlefish for zooplankton. If you catch one, report it to the Oklahoma wildlife department with where you caught it and how big it was.
Dealers
Littlefield's Bait & Tackle for Fish Lucke products, Grove Walmart, or Amazon / fishlucke.com if you're not around Grove or Grand Lake.