Steve Branson recently caught this 25 inch rainbow trout on his fly-rod on the Lower Mountain Fork River located in Beaver’s Bend State Park.
Check out the latest fishing action at Mountain Fork River, Lake Broken Bow and other lakes throughout Southeast Oklahoma here.
Image courtesy of the Oklahoma Wildlife Department
Trout stockings that had been temporarily suspended in the Lower Illinois River due to warm water temperatures will resume November 19th.
According to Jim Burroughs, east central region fisheries supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife, it was heavy spring rains and a period of extreme heating that combined to create the unusually warm water in Lake Tenkiller. Wildlife Department officials had hoped to resume stockings by the end of October, but water temperatures remained at critical levels for trout, temporarily preventing further stocking at that time.
“This has been a very unusual year,” Burroughs said. “Temperatures needed to be 65 degrees or lower in the tailrace during power generation before regular stockings could resume. Temperatures have now reached this threshold level.”
Anglers won’t miss out on any of the fish that did not get stocked during the suspension, however, as officials with the Department say the same number of fish will eventually be stocked through additional or larger stockings.
The Lower Illinois River is one of the only two year-round trout fisheries in the state and is managed by the Wildlife Department. The other is the Lower Mountain Fork River below Lake Broken Bow in Beaver’s Bend State Park.
Fishing guide Bryce Archey of Lake Broken Bow (Beaver’s Bend) sends us this fishing report:
The fishing is really good right now with numbers of spotted bass, smallmouth, and largemouth being caught. November is the best month for catching a better quality of fish. We are averaging about 30 t0 35 fish a day. I have a few dates open from now to Thanksgiving week. That week is a great time to be on the water.
Here are a couple of pictures showing what not only fishing can be like, but what other scenery you can see on Broken Bow lake. Jim Jacobs caught this 4 lb smallie with me a week ago. Then on another guide trip my client John Schmitz and his wife were fortunate to get this picture of a buck and doe swimming across the river channel just south of Bull creek. The buck was a true 10 point.
Editor’s Note: Thanks for the report Bryce! If you want to experience fishing on Lake Broken Bow contact Bryce at 580-494-6447 or 870-582-4561. You can also visit his website at www.brokenbowlakeguide.com.
Extreme spring and summer weather conditions have prompted the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation to postpone regular trout stockings until water quality conditions improve. The area affected is the
“Heavy spring rains and a period of extreme heating have combined to create unusually warm water in Tenkiller Reservoir,” said Jim Burroughs, east central region fisheries supervisor for the Wildlife Department. These waters are released through turbines used for hydropower generation and flow directly in to the
“Water temperatures are approaching potentially lethal limits for trout. Regular stockings, as well as those temporarily postponed will begin as soon as conditions improve that will allow survival of the stocked trout,” Burroughs said.
According to biologists with the Wildlife Department, trout that were in the water before temperatures warmed to near lethal limits have a better chance of adapting to the temperatures and may find springs and other refuges where colder temperatures may exist.
Anglers are still having good success catching largemouth bass on topwater lures, and striped bass fishing is currently excellent on shad all along the river. Anglers are also catching channel catfish, walleye and saugeye.
The
Lake Broken Bow fishing guide Bryce Archey sends us this report:
Starting today, all boat ramps will be closed on Lake Broken Bow. Due to all the recent heavy rains, the lake’s water level is 18 feet above normal and still rising and all ramps are now under water.
The dam will begin releasing water next week and start getting the lake level back down to fishing levels in the next 7 to 10 days.
Editor’s Note: Thanks for the report Bryce. You be careful out there. To book a Lake Broken Bow fishing trip with Bryce, call him at 580-494-6447 or 870-582-4561 or visit his website at www.BrokenBowLakeGuide.com
Fishing Guide Bryce Archey of Lake Broken Bow would like to announce the birth of Zane Landon Archey, born on Feb. 23rd at 8:22 a.m. At his weigh-in, Zane tipped the scales at 5lb 13 oz and was 19 1/2 inches long.
In addition, Bryce has already started introducing Zane to the world of fishing. He watched his first Bassmaster Classic weigh-in with his daddy last weekend!
Editor’s Note: Congratulations Bryce and welcome Zane! I’m looking forward to meeting the little guy in May. To all of you thinking about hiring Bryce at Lake Broken Bow, now is the time to do it. He has another mouth to feed! Call him at 580-494-6447, 870-582-4561 or email him at brycearchey@hotmail.com.
Guide Bryce Archey sends us this report from Lake Broken Bow:
Fishing is really beginning to pick up as you can see by the photo the quality of fish are getting better.
Number wise we are catching between 15 to 20 fish a morning on my trips. As the weather begins to cool off the fishing should heat up even more.
Editor’s Note: Thanks for the report and picture Bryce! If you would like to go fishing at Lake Broken Bow with Bryce Archey, visit his web site at: www.brokenbowlakeguide.com or call him at: 580-494-6447 or 870-582-4561.
Guide Bryce Archey at Lake Broken Bow reports that the lake is back down close to normal pool elevation and that his is booking trips from August 10th through the fall.
He is expecting and has a lot of bookings, so for anyone interested in booking a fall trip, they need to get in contact with him as soon as possible.
October through early December are the best months not only for largemouth and smallmouth fishing but also for the scenery.
Contact Bryce at 580-494-6447, 870-582-4561 or visit his site at: www.brokenbowlakeguide.com
