Sometimes Bennett hangs one or two jigs straight beneath the float on a dropper line. Bennett from Okmulgee (91), whom I consider probably the best tailrace striper angler in the state, uses big topwater lures on occasion, but he fishes much of the time with jigs suspended beneath casting floats.
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My friend and professional striper guide J.B. Many expert tailrace striper anglers rarely if ever use live bait.
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Most sinkers quickly get hung up in the rocky bottoms of the spillway areas, and using a lighter pound-test line on the sinker will allow the angler to break the rest of the tackle free without losing the entire rig should the sinker get hopelessly jammed beneath or between rocks. Tie the weight onto the bottom of the swivel, using a line that is weaker than your main line. If you plan to tight-line with a weight on the bottom, it might pay off to use a swivel, or even a three-way swivel. Some anglers prefer to fish tight-line, usually with the baited hook on a dropper line of some sort. Weighted casting floats that provide enough density to make them castable are popular. Small sunfish also work, and even cut shad has been known to take a few stripers, although they make a better bait for catfish.įishing the bait beneath a float of some sort can be effective. Big shiners or live shad are probably the most consistently effective baits.
Some anglers prefer to fish the tailraces with live bait. There are times when smaller rods and lighter tackle can be used effectively, but the rule of thumb for tailrace fishing is to be able to make very long casts when necessary. But learning to use the big tackle can be worthwhile. The long rods are heavy, and slinging a big lure or bait repeatedly for a few hours can be fairly strenuous labor, especially for those who aren't used to it. Wading is prohibited in some areas and cables stretched across the spillways mark the boundaries of the no-entry areas.īoth anglers casting from the shorelines and those casting from boats tied to the buoyed cables usually rely on long rods - 9 to 15 feet or sometimes even longer - to make their long casts. TACKLE & TECHNIQUES FOR TAILRACE STRIPERS Tailrace fishing can be hard work, but it's not always that way.īecause there are designated no-entry areas below the dams - areas where treacherous and violent currents make wading and boating hazardous - anglers must sometimes make very long casts to reach the areas where stripers are feeding. Some hybrids are also caught below the Markham Ferry Dam, which forms Lake Hudson, and below the low-water dam that lies a few miles downstream in the upper end of Fort Gibson Reservoir, just northwest of Locust Grove. Those are the Pensacola Dam, which forms Grand Lake, and the Lake Oologah Dam on the Verdigris River. I'll mention two other dams where an occasional striper is caught but where many big hybrid bass are caught on a regular basis. Mayo tailrace area is somewhat off the beaten path, though, compared to the larger upstream dams, and it gets considerably less fishing pressure. Mayo is the last navigation dam on the Arkansas before the river leaves the state and enters the state of Arkansas at Fort Smith. Mayo Lock and Dam a few miles below Kerr. Kerr Reservoir Dam tailrace area, about 10 miles south of Sallisaw, is another good tailrace striper fishery. It is definitely among the top four or five tailrace striper fisheries in the region. Many stripers move up that river to spawn and to feed below the Eufaula Dam. The Canadian River coming from the Lake Eufaula Dam flows into the Arkansas a short distance below I-40. Although not as prolific a fishery as some of the other tailrace areas, Tenkiller does yield some very large stripers at times. Stripers move up into that stream, traveling the 11 miles or so up to the Tenkiller Ferry Dam, which forms Lake Tenkiller.
A few miles farther downstream, the Lower Illinois River flows into the Arkansas. The Webbers Falls Dam spillway area is a good tailrace fishery at times. The three major rivers come together at Muskogee and flow into Webbers Falls Reservoir.
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