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Keystone Lake Fishing Report

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

Tulsa's striper factory: sandy Arkansas-and-Cimarron water where the tailrace legend below the dam writes Oklahoma's big-fish stories.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Water temp
~84 F est.
Air / High
99 / 100 F
Wind
SSE 11 mph

Sources: 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.

Keystone Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. Today brings clear skies, wind SSE around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 100. 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

Striped bassFair

Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

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.

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 101 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.

No live gauge on this water

Conditions here are modeled from weather, season and the nearest stations. Water readings appear when a USGS gauge is available.

5060708090JanMarMayJulSepNovSep, ~84 F now

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp99 F
High / Low100 / 75 F
WindSSE 11-13 mph
Pressure1010.1 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain1% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:59 / 19:49
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, 100/75 F, wind 12 mph, rain 0%

Slow. 100 F: be on the water at dawn and off by mid-morning, or fish after dark.

Species guide

The species that matter on Keystone 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.

Striped bass illustration

Striped bass

Best: spring and fall

The reservoir heavyweight. Follows shad and herring schools in open water year-round. Deep and early: live bait on downlines over the river channel at first light, or downriggers along thermocline depth.

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.

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.

When to come: the Keystone 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
Striped bass
Catfish (blue, channel)
Crappie
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 Keystone 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. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 95 F, wind to 13 mph.

Wed, Sep 2

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 101 F, wind to 12 mph.

Tue, Sep 1

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Striped bass led the card at good. High of 99 F, wind to 8 mph.

Where roughly, what depth, what bait. Skip anything you want to keep secret.
Only used to send you this water's report each week. No spam, ever.

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

Oklahoma license. Striper: 15/day with 5-over-20-inch structure: check ODWC. Tailrace safety rules posted.

Access

Keystone SP ramps, Washington Irving, Appalachia Bay; Corps tailrace access below the dam.

About this water

23,600 acres on the Arkansas-Cimarron junction, Pawnee/Creek/Osage counties, OK. Tulsa's striper water.

Fishing Keystone Lake: the full guide

Two rivers, one engine

Keystone pools the Arkansas and Cimarron west of Tulsa: stained, sandy, wind-blown water running Oklahoma's signature striper program. The lake fishes true prairie: sand flats, river channels, timber pockets: but the legend lives below: the Keystone tailrace is the state's big-striper address, period.

Tailrace protocols

When gates open, the tailrace boils: stripers to 40-plus pounds stacking the seams with shad pushed through the turbines. Live shad drifted in the current, big swimbaits and bucktails cast to the boils: and the safety rules of every big tailrace (kill switches, respect the horn, never anchor the main flow). Winter generation makes December-February the giant season.

The lake's own game

Up-lake, stripers and sand bass school the flats under birds (October-December's run-and-gun), flatheads own the timbered channels after dark (juglines and live perch: 50-pounders yearly), crappie stack the brush of the Cimarron arm, and the sandy points hold a workmanlike largemouth bite. Stained-water rules apply: bright baits, shallow expectations.

Wind and sand

Keystone's fetch builds real waves fast (the sailing club chose it for reason): small boats pick mornings and the lee arms. State-park ramps anchor both sides of the dam: the tailrace's bank access (Corps area below) serves the boatless the same giants. Watch the Corps' release schedule like the locals: the dinner bell is literal.

Common questions

How big do Keystone stripers get?

The tailrace produces 30-40-pound fish every winter: the state-record class swims below the dam. Live shad in generation current is the proven giant method.

When is the Keystone tailrace best?

Winter generation (December-February) for giants, spring for numbers: the schedule is everything. No release, no party: check the Corps' daily plan before driving.

Is fishing good at Keystone 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

Skiatook Lake22 miSooner Lake33 miKaw Lake48 miOologah Lake53 miFort Gibson Lake68 miLake Hudson68 mi
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