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Oologah Lake Fishing Report

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

Will Rogers’ home lake: Oologah’s wind-swept 29,000 acres feed sandbass runs, blue-cat legends and duck-blind crappie.

1/5
Tough. Pick your battles.Post-front sun and slick water make them sulk.
Flow
31 cfs
Air / High
100 / 101 F
Wind
S 11 mph

Sources: USGS gauge 07171000, 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.

Oologah Lake serves up more heat: the productive hours are the dim ones. The river is running 31 cfs, dropping and clearing. Today brings clear skies, wind S around 11 mph, rising pressure near 1010 hPa and a high of 101. 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 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 from Verdigris River near Lenapah.

Flow, last 30 days

USGS gauge 07171000.

477911131 cfs08/0508/1508/2509/04

Right now

Latest readings

Air temp100 F
High / Low101 / 75 F
WindS 11-13 mph
Pressure1010.4 hPa, rising
Sky / Rain0% cloud, 0%
Sunrise / Sunset06:56 / 19:46
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 · Clear, 101/75 F, wind 12 mph, rain 0%

Slow. 101 F: be on the water at dawn and off by mid-morning, or fish after dark.

Species guide

The species that matter on Oologah 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 Oologah 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 Oologah Lake today, and we feature the best catch of the week.

Water log, last days

Auto-logged from live data
Thu, Sep 3

2/5 Slow. Work for them. Conditions favor short windows and patient fishing. Catfish (blue, channel) led the card at good. High of 99 F, wind to 14 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 100 F, wind to 13 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 100 F, wind to 12 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. Standard statewide limits: blue cats over 30 inches limited: check current ODWC rules.

Access

Hawthorn Bluff, Blue Creek, Spencer Creek and Winganon Corps ramps; bank access at the dam and causeway.

About this water

A 29,500-acre Corps reservoir on the Verdigris River near Oologah, Rogers and Nowata counties, Oklahoma: Will Rogers country.

Fishing Oologah Lake: the full guide

Big prairie water

Oologah floods the Verdigris River valley with 29,500 acres northeast of Tulsa: one of Oklahoma’s biggest and least-glamorous fisheries, which suits its regulars fine. The lake works on shad economics: white bass (sandbass locally) run the river every spring and school the flats all summer, blue catfish reach genuinely huge sizes on the bait-rich mud flats, crappie hold every brush pile and bridge, and the largemouth grind out a living on the riprap and creek mouths.

Sandbass and the river

The spring sandbass run up the Verdigris (and Big Creek) is the signature event: March-April, jigs and small spinners below the Highway 60 area riffles as fast as you can cast. Summer moves the schools to the main-lake humps and windblown points: slabs and topwaters when they push shad up. Hybrids stocked in recent cycles ride along and outpull everything.

Blue cat country

Oologah sits in Oklahoma’s blue-cat belt: drift cut shad across the 10-25-foot flats off Winganon and the river channel edges: fall through spring for numbers, summer nights for the giants. Fish past fifty pounds come every season: heavy leaders, circle hooks, patience. Crappie fill the winter gap: the bridges and marked brush in 12-18 feet, minnows straight down.

Wind-honest logistics

Corps ramps ring the lake: Hawthorn Bluff, Blue Creek, Spencer Creek, Winganon: with campgrounds at the majors. The fetch is serious: south winds build three-footers fast, and the shallow mud shores stain the water for days after a blow. Plan by forecast, launch leeward, and keep the Rogers County mud off your carpet. Claremore and Owasso cover supplies.

Common questions

When is the sandbass run?

March into April up the Verdigris arm: creek mouths and riffles stack fish a cast apart. Bring a hundred jigs and a friend.

How big do the blue cats get?

Fifty-pound fish are annual, seventy-plus possible: drifted cut shad over the flats is the proven program.

Is it too rough for small boats?

On south-wind afternoons, yes: the fetch is miles. Mornings and lee shores keep jon boats honest: watch the forecast like a farmer.

Is fishing good at Oologah 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

Lake Hudson32 miSkiatook Lake32 miGrand Lake41 miGrand Lake o the Cherokees41 miVerdigris River45 miFort Gibson Lake51 mi
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