Birch

 

April 12. Elevation above normal, water 50 and murky. White bass and striped bass hybrids fair on in-line spinnerbaits, jigs, small lures, spinnerbaits and spoons along dam, docks, main lake, points and shorelines. Crappie slow on minnows, jigs and small lures below the dam, around brush structure, in coves, along dam, docks and shorelines. Twin Coves is open but the fishing dock and campground for Birch Cove is closed due to some electrical issues. The Birch Cove boat dock and ramp is still open to access the lake. Most of the crappie have been caught from a boat along the dam at the tower. Report submitted by Ryan Walker, game warden stationed in Osage County

UPPER OSAGE

Water clarity: Murky. Black bass: Good on red craw square bill and Wiggle Wart crankbaits along main and secondary points. Crappie: Good on jigs 5 to 6 feet deep along docks. Catfish: Good on cut shad fishing off of docks. White bass: Fair trolling crankbaits along main points.

El Vado Lake

The fishing for smallmouth bass, mostly small, has been good at El Vado Lake. Anglers should also hook some brown trout and rainbow trout here. El Vado Lake was stocked with a total of 64,305 small rainbow trout last week.

LAKE ANNA:

Carlos Wood reports the lake is a week or two behind in temperature (mid to upper 50s) and spawning patterns, but things will change fast as the weather warms. Bass are fairly deep (10-15 feet) but active and moving into shallower water. Mid lake seems to be the best right now. Fish creeks and coves with suspending crankbaits from one end to the other, concentrating on stumps and past spawning areas. The most active striper are up lake from the bridges on up, 8-15 feet deep.  Crappie are still deep, but will be moving shallow any day. Many fish being caught on Minnows and 2-inch grubs in 12-18 feet, around brush or bridge pilings. 

Texoma: fishing

Texoma:  Elevation below average, water 58 and stained. Blue and channel catfish fair on cut bait, live shad and shad below the dam and around channels, creek channels, river channel and river mouth. Catfish are staging in the mouth of the rivers and beginning to go up rivers use whole shad and cut bait for cats. Crappie fair on jigs, minnows and tube jigs around brush structure, creek channels and docks. Crappie and be found in 6-15 ft. of water depending on the day, white bass and crappie are starting to come in and out small creeks. Using minnows and jig/bobber combo in creeks are the most productive methods to get fish. Striped bass good on Alabama rig, cut bait, flukes, live shad and shad below the dam and around creek channels, main lake, river channel and river mouth. Lake fishing is picking up with the nice weather, striper in the main lake are biting live shad and cut shad. Bank fishing for striped bass in the mouths of the Washita and red river rivers using small ghost minnows is the most productive method. Report submitted by Trey Hale, game warden stationed in Bryan County. 

Rio Grande Gorge

The Rio Grande Gorge in the Questa area was stocked March 29 with 10,286 small Rio Grande cutthroat trout. The State Game and Fish Department has been making heavy stockings of small Rio Grande cutthroats for several years with the goal of establishing a good population of cutthroat trout in this section of the Rio Grande. Volunteers help transport the small cutthroats from the rim of the Gorge down to the river.

Greer Lakes: (Bunch, Tunnel, River).

 Rated hot. Tunnel and Bunch Reservoirs both are about 10 feet deep on average. River Reservoir is the largest and deepest of the Greer Lakes, with an average depth of 20 feet. All the Greer Lakes are currently full and accessible, though March and April storms could still drop snow and freeze portions of these lakes. Stocking will begin in April, though holdover fish likely exist in all three lakes. Early in the season, cast spinners and small spoons such as Panther Martins, small Kastmasters and Z-rays. Fly-fishing with Prince Nymphs, Hare’s Ear nymphs and Peacock Ladies works well either by wading or in a float tube. You could also try fishing off the bottom with nightcrawlers or PowerBait. Trolling flies, such as brown or black wooly buggers, or spinners, is likely to work well.

Clear Lake

 The lake is covered with several inches of snow. Local anglers have plowed a few paths on the lake for access. Please be courteous and don’t park in the middle of the path blocking traffic. Yellow Bass – Fair: Start shallow with a small jig or jigging spoon tipped with several spikes or a waxworm near the Baptist camp. You have to keep moving to stay on fish. Yellow Perch – Good: Lots of small fish are being caught. If you’re not going to use the fish you catch, please release them. Black Crappie – Slow: Use a jigging spoon tipped with a minnow head in the early morning. Walleye – Slow: Dead stick a minnow early morning or evening near the island.