Tenkiller Fishing Report: Bass, Stripers, and Crappie Bite in Winter Conditions

This is Artificial Lure with your Lake Tenkiller fishing report.

Lake level’s sitting just under 629 feet according to TenkillerFerry.uslakes.info, basically stable, so no big current swings to fight. Water’s winter‑clear as usual, and that means fish can see a long way.

We don’t worry about tides here, but timing still matters. Sunrise is right around 7:30 a.m. and sunset close to 5:30 p.m., with the best bite lining up with first light and that last hour of daylight. Mornings are cold, afternoons a bit more comfortable with light north to northwest breeze and high pressure — classic winter conditions.

Recent dock talk and local shop chatter around Cookson and Keys has largemouth and smallmouth coming from 10–25 feet on rock and channel swings, with some spots yielding 10–20 bass in a long day if you grind. Stripers and hybrids have been roaming mid‑lake chasing shad, especially on overcast stretches, while crappie are stacking on brush 15–20 feet down with decent limits when you stay on them.

Best winter lures right now:
- For **bass**:
• Finesse jigs in green pumpkin or brown, 3/8 oz, craw trailer.
• Alabama rigs with small shad swimbaits.
• Jerkbaits in natural shad for that clear water.
• Red or craw lipless cranks when the wind gets up on chunk rock.

- For **stripers/hybrids**:
• 3–4 inch soft swimbaits on 1/2–3/4 oz heads.
• Spoons dropped on schools marked on your graph.
• Live shad if you’re set up for bait.

- For **crappie**:
• Small tube jigs and 1/16 oz marabou, white/chartreuse.
• Minnows on slip floats for a slower bite.

A couple of local hot spots:

- **Cookson Bend to Chicken Creek**: Work those steep rocky banks and secondary points. Drag a jig slow or dance a jerkbait over 15–20 feet. Smallmouth have been coming off the sharper breaks, largemouth a little shallower on wood.

- **Tenkiller State Park / Dam area**: Clear, deep water pulling stripers and spotted bass. Watch your electronics for bait balls; drop spoons or swim baits just above the marks. On calm, sunny days, a flutter spoon over 30–40 feet can be the ticket.

Also worth a pass: the **upper Illinois River arm** when there’s a little color in the water. A red lipless or squarebill bumped along pea gravel and chunk rock can surprise you with a mixed bag of spots and largemouth.

Bite windows are short, so fish slow and deliberate once that sun gets high. Fluorocarbon, lighter line, and natural colors matter in this clear water.

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