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Broken Bow Lake Fishing Report

Updated Fri, Sep 4, 2026 from live gauge and weather data

The clear jewel of the Ouachitas: deep, pine-rimmed and full of surprises, with trophy trout below.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Flow
397 cfs
Air / High
96 / 98 F
Wind
S 6 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07339000, Open-Meteo, solunar calculated for these coordinates.

Satellite view
Friday
4
September 2026

Today's Fishing Report

Generated this morning from live readings: gauge, weather model, sun and moon. A fresh report is published here every morning.

1/5Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Broken Bow Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The river is running 397 cfs, on the rise. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 6 mph, rising pressure near 1012 hPa and a high of 98. Water sits around 84 F for the season (estimated). With the last quarter, the solunar majors run 5:39 AM-7:39 AM and 5:39 PM-7:39 PM: plan around them and beat the heat.

The plan, species by species

Catfish (blue, channel)Fair

Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

Largemouth bassSlow

Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

White bassSlow

Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

CrappieSlow

Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Tomorrow: Similar at 100 F. The solunar majors shift about 50 minutes later.Next report: Sat, Sep 5, 6:30 AMHow this report is made →

Water and weather

Live readings from Mountain Fork near Eagletown, OK.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07339000.

7091,7622,814397 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp96 F
High / Low98 / 73 F
WindS 6-8 mph
Pressure1012.3 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain17% cloud, 1%
Sunrise / Sunset06:54 / 19:40
MoonLast Quarter, 50%
Water temp (seasonal)~84 F est.

Bite planner

Hour-by-hour bite forecast for today. Tap a bar to see why.

5 AM8 AM11 AM2 PM5 PM8 PMsunrisesunset

Next 7 days

Tap a day for the detailed outlook.

Fri Sep 4 · Partly cloudy, 98/73 F, wind 7 mph, rain 1%

Fair or better. Calm and stable: plan around the solunar majors at dawn and dusk.

Species guide

The species that matter on Broken Bow Lake: seasons, structure and how to fish each one. Today's ratings live in the report above.

Largemouth bass illustration

Largemouth bass

Best: spring and fall

The headline act on most American reservoirs. Relates to cover: docks, brush, grass edges and points. Topwater at first light on points and seawalls, then slide out to 12-25 ft brush and points with a Carolina rig, deep crank or drop shot. The bite is dawn, dusk or deep.

Crappie illustration

Crappie

Best: Nov-Mar

Brush piles, bridge pilings and standing timber. The fish fry favorite. Straight down on bridge pilings and deep brush at 15-25 ft. Minnows outfish jigs in hot water; move until the graph shows them stacked.

Catfish (blue, channel) illustration

Catfish (blue, channel)

Good year-round

The most reliable bite on most southern waters. Blues run big; channels fill the cooler. Anchor on 20-30 ft baited holes with punch bait or cut shad. They keep biting through the heat when everything else quits.

White bass illustration

White bass

Best: Mar-May run

River-run spawners and open-water schoolers. Fast limits when you find them. Early schooling action over humps; slabs and small spinners under the birds.

When to come: the Broken Bow Lake calendar

Activity by species and month, and how the water warms through the year. Tap any cell.

Species activity by month

1 = slow, 5 = peak. Current month highlighted.

J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Largemouth bass
Crappie
Catfish (blue, channel)
White bass
SlowPeak

Water temperature through the year

Typical surface temperature for this water type; today is around 84 F (estimated, not a reading).

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Angler reports

Real reports from real anglers, reviewed before publishing. The water log below tracks each day automatically.

No angler reports yet this weekBe the first: your report helps every angler who checks Broken Bow Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

3/5 Fair. Fish early or late. Heat pins the bite to the dawn and dusk windows. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 94 F, wind to 9 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 11 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 98 F, wind to 9 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
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Before you go

License

Oklahoma requires a valid fishing license for adults. Buy online from the state agency; one-day options exist for visitors.

Regulations

Bass: 14-inch minimum. Fly-only/C&R zones on the trout water below. Confirm with ODWC.

Access

Beavers Bend SP ramps, Holly Creek, Carson Creek; trout access at Evening Hole and Presbyterian Falls.

About this water

14,220 acres on the Mountain Fork River, McCurtain County, OK. Corps, impounded 1970.

Fishing Broken Bow Lake: the full guide

Mountain water in Oklahoma

Broken Bow drops 180 feet deep into pine hills: clear-water smallmouth and largemouth on bluff ends, a two-story fishery with walleye in the depths: and below the dam, the Lower Mountain Fork trout tailwater, Oklahoma's only year-round trout stream and a genuine fly-fishing destination. The Beavers Bend area makes it a full outdoor weekend.

Two-story clarity

Broken Bow stratifies like an Appalachian lake: bass and crappie above the thermocline, walleye hugging the cool depths. Summer bass fishing goes deep and finesse: drop shots on 25-40 ft timber edges: while spring fills the river arms with spawners under the mountain laurel.

The Lower Mountain Fork

Below the dam runs Oklahoma's genuine year-round trout stream: the Evening Hole and Spillway zones hold browns and rainbows in fly-only water that would not embarrass Arkansas. Cold releases make waders mandatory and every lake trip a two-fishery bargain.

Common questions

Is the Broken Bow trout fishery real?

Genuinely: browns holding over year-round, weekly rainbow stockings, and a wild-feeling river in the Ouachita foothills: Oklahoma's most surprising water.

When do the bass go deep?

Mid-June sets the thermocline at 22-28 ft: fish timber edges at that band until October flips them shallow again.

Beavers Bend and the two-fishery ticket

Broken Bow pairs its canyon-lake bass program (clear-water spots and largemouth on timber edges) with the Lower Mountain Fork trout tailwater in Beavers Bend State Park: year-round rainbows and browns on tiny flies in Oklahoma's prettiest water. The combination books the cabins solid: fish the lake's morning topwater, wade the evening rise below the dam.

Is fishing good at Broken Bow Lake right now?

Check the daily report at the top of this page: it is regenerated every morning from live data. Today's read: Tough. Pick your battles. Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.

Nearby waters

Pine Creek Lake24 miMillwood Lake55 miLake Greeson55 miWright Patman Lake70 miRobert S Kerr Reservoir80 miLake Ouachita81 mi
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