If you have ever traveled more than 2 hours to fish in the state of Oklahoma chances are you have crossed through, in, and out of several distinct regions of this great state. Oklahoma has 10 ecological regions that include: The Gypsum Hills, Wichita Mountains, Red Bed Plains, Sandstone Hills, Arbuckle Mountains, Red River Plains, Ouachita Mountains, and the Ozark Plateau. Each one of the ecological regions have different climates, annual rainfalls, soil, and landscapes that can and do effect the way we fish lakes in each region.
Oklahoma has 52 major lakes that are 1,000 acres or more in size. Additionally, there are over 3,000 lakes and ponds that are 10 acres or greater in size, containing a total of 1,049 square miles of water and 10,384 miles of shoreline. Moreover, these waters are separated into Watershed Planning Regions. These regions are as follows: Panhandle, West Central, Southwest, Beaver - Cache, Central, Lower Washita, Blue - Boggy, Eufaula, Lower Arkansas, Grand, Middle Arkansas, and Upper Arkansas. Citation: Vance, Whitley, Mills. Lakes of Oklahoma: Oklahoma Water Resources Board and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
As we dive into the different ecological regions of Oklahoma we first need to talk about the different lake types and what characteristics they might have. Without a doubt knowing the type of lake one is preparing to research, pre-fish, and fish will help turn unproductive days into successful days on the water.There are two main types of lakes as in how they are made, natural lakes and man-made lakes or reservoirs. From there, there are a plethora of reasons how and why a body of water came to be. Virtually every lake in Oklahoma is a man-made lake with exception to several oxbow and playas lakes. Man - made lakes are created for flood control, water supply, cooling water, navigation, hydroelectric power, conservation and recreation. These lakes are all over the state and we have heard their names. Grand, Texoma, Ft. Gibson, Arbuckle, Chimney Rock etc. These man-made lakes will be the focus of this article and how they differ from one another and how they effect the fishing.
The fastest way to decide what type of lake you are preparing to fish is to identify the lake as a highland reservoir, lowland reservoir or a combination of the two known as hill-land reservoirs. As a general rule of thumb most all Oklahoma lakes are unofficially considered hill-land lakes due to the many eco-regions that crisscross the landscape. This may sound contradictory, but defining the specific area that you plan to fish can be easily done by looking at maps geared towards defining the geographical landscape. As the lower half of the lake may be a highland reservoir and the upper half a lowland making it a hill-land reservoir. Most of all Oklahoma highland reservoirs are found in higher elevations relative to the rest of landscape. They have clear deep water, with rock bluffs, rocky points, and many flowing feeder creeks or river inlets. Lowland reservoirs are on lower elevations, with stained to muddy water, with grassy banks and shallow flats and bays. While hill-land reservoirs have highland characteristics down towards the dam in most cases and having lowland characteristics up towards the main inflows.
Oklahoma's highland reservoirs can mainly be found in the Ozark plateau, Ouachita mountains, Witchita mountains and Arbuckle mountain regions. These lakes such as: Tenkiller, Broken Bow, Arbuckle and Lawtonka can be categorized as highland reservoirs. However, these lakes still have some lowland areas. More often than not highland reservoirs have all 3 species of black bass and thrive during the cooler months. Finding a pattern on one of these lakes will be helpful throughout the lake as a pattern on a highland reservoir will be good from the dam up to the main inflow.
Lowland Reservoirs can be huge sprawling lakes that offer many forms of aquatic vegetation, large bays, coves, and standing timber. Good examples of lowland reservoirs would entail lake Konawa, the western half of lake Eufaula, and the western half of Skiatook lake and a lot of smaller lakes in the central region of Oklahoma. Lowland reservoirs can be quite productive in the immediate pre-spawn to hot summer months for several reasons. One reason is the aquatic vegetation and shallow bays allow for good offshore fishing during those hot summer months and deep creek channels adjacent to shallow bays are definite markers for those pre-spawn fish.
As most of you may know, living in the state of Oklahoma for any amount of time that we are little of an odd duck. We can have extreme heat during the summers, with cold, cold winters followed by stormy and warm springs and everything in between. Oklahoma's lakes are no different when most are considered hill-land reservoirs. A quick google search of "hill-land", and nothing is found. To be honest I had never heard the term until a few weeks ago. Former Army Corps Engineer Ranger, Matt Little enlightened me of the phrase while discussing a past fishing trip. "Our lakes fall into a weird hill-land category." Added Little, "The farther away you get from the dam, you transition between highland and lowland." The biggest example of a hill-land reservoir would be Skiatook Lake. Skiatook has all the obvious attributes of a highland reservoir down towards the dam. As one works their way up to mid-lake the transitions start to show. Once an angler travels west of highway 20 the lake is a definite lowland reservoir with a lot of standing timber, muddy water, and long grassy banks.
There is too much water in Oklahoma for a single angler to fish all of it thoroughly and have a good grip on each creek, river, pond, city lake, reservoir, cove, and bluff wall. The key to successfully fishing waters hours away during different times of the year is to be able to break down a body of water before the kayak is even launched. Anglers who are able to catch 5 fish on your home lake in the cove you always fish is a good skill to have. However, branching out to new and diverse waters in a skill that any serious angler should embrace and work to mastering.
- Avery Metcalf
Oklahoma has 52 major lakes that are 1,000 acres or more in size. Additionally, there are over 3,000 lakes and ponds that are 10 acres or greater in size, containing a total of 1,049 square miles of water and 10,384 miles of shoreline. Moreover, these waters are separated into Watershed Planning Regions. These regions are as follows: Panhandle, West Central, Southwest, Beaver - Cache, Central, Lower Washita, Blue - Boggy, Eufaula, Lower Arkansas, Grand, Middle Arkansas, and Upper Arkansas. Citation: Vance, Whitley, Mills. Lakes of Oklahoma: Oklahoma Water Resources Board and Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
As we dive into the different ecological regions of Oklahoma we first need to talk about the different lake types and what characteristics they might have. Without a doubt knowing the type of lake one is preparing to research, pre-fish, and fish will help turn unproductive days into successful days on the water.There are two main types of lakes as in how they are made, natural lakes and man-made lakes or reservoirs. From there, there are a plethora of reasons how and why a body of water came to be. Virtually every lake in Oklahoma is a man-made lake with exception to several oxbow and playas lakes. Man - made lakes are created for flood control, water supply, cooling water, navigation, hydroelectric power, conservation and recreation. These lakes are all over the state and we have heard their names. Grand, Texoma, Ft. Gibson, Arbuckle, Chimney Rock etc. These man-made lakes will be the focus of this article and how they differ from one another and how they effect the fishing.
The fastest way to decide what type of lake you are preparing to fish is to identify the lake as a highland reservoir, lowland reservoir or a combination of the two known as hill-land reservoirs. As a general rule of thumb most all Oklahoma lakes are unofficially considered hill-land lakes due to the many eco-regions that crisscross the landscape. This may sound contradictory, but defining the specific area that you plan to fish can be easily done by looking at maps geared towards defining the geographical landscape. As the lower half of the lake may be a highland reservoir and the upper half a lowland making it a hill-land reservoir. Most of all Oklahoma highland reservoirs are found in higher elevations relative to the rest of landscape. They have clear deep water, with rock bluffs, rocky points, and many flowing feeder creeks or river inlets. Lowland reservoirs are on lower elevations, with stained to muddy water, with grassy banks and shallow flats and bays. While hill-land reservoirs have highland characteristics down towards the dam in most cases and having lowland characteristics up towards the main inflows.
Oklahoma's highland reservoirs can mainly be found in the Ozark plateau, Ouachita mountains, Witchita mountains and Arbuckle mountain regions. These lakes such as: Tenkiller, Broken Bow, Arbuckle and Lawtonka can be categorized as highland reservoirs. However, these lakes still have some lowland areas. More often than not highland reservoirs have all 3 species of black bass and thrive during the cooler months. Finding a pattern on one of these lakes will be helpful throughout the lake as a pattern on a highland reservoir will be good from the dam up to the main inflow.
Lowland Reservoirs can be huge sprawling lakes that offer many forms of aquatic vegetation, large bays, coves, and standing timber. Good examples of lowland reservoirs would entail lake Konawa, the western half of lake Eufaula, and the western half of Skiatook lake and a lot of smaller lakes in the central region of Oklahoma. Lowland reservoirs can be quite productive in the immediate pre-spawn to hot summer months for several reasons. One reason is the aquatic vegetation and shallow bays allow for good offshore fishing during those hot summer months and deep creek channels adjacent to shallow bays are definite markers for those pre-spawn fish.
As most of you may know, living in the state of Oklahoma for any amount of time that we are little of an odd duck. We can have extreme heat during the summers, with cold, cold winters followed by stormy and warm springs and everything in between. Oklahoma's lakes are no different when most are considered hill-land reservoirs. A quick google search of "hill-land", and nothing is found. To be honest I had never heard the term until a few weeks ago. Former Army Corps Engineer Ranger, Matt Little enlightened me of the phrase while discussing a past fishing trip. "Our lakes fall into a weird hill-land category." Added Little, "The farther away you get from the dam, you transition between highland and lowland." The biggest example of a hill-land reservoir would be Skiatook Lake. Skiatook has all the obvious attributes of a highland reservoir down towards the dam. As one works their way up to mid-lake the transitions start to show. Once an angler travels west of highway 20 the lake is a definite lowland reservoir with a lot of standing timber, muddy water, and long grassy banks.
There is too much water in Oklahoma for a single angler to fish all of it thoroughly and have a good grip on each creek, river, pond, city lake, reservoir, cove, and bluff wall. The key to successfully fishing waters hours away during different times of the year is to be able to break down a body of water before the kayak is even launched. Anglers who are able to catch 5 fish on your home lake in the cove you always fish is a good skill to have. However, branching out to new and diverse waters in a skill that any serious angler should embrace and work to mastering.
- Avery Metcalf
Ecological Regions of Oklahoma
Watershed Planning Regions
Regions of Oklahoma
Highland Reservoir bank at Tenkiller
Lowland Reservoir bank at Wetumka
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