Kaw Lake in Oklahoma

[rivrbunny]

There has to be some fishermen from Kaw Lake with some great stories to share-reply and let us know where and how many you have caught.
I have done pretty well on crappy but have not done much catfishing on Kaw. I am not as familiar with catfishing on Lakes. Rivers are about the only place I catfish.
Kaw seems to be one of the few lakes with water-I think the corp is holding the water for duck hunters (this is speculation on the part of my friends-not a fact).
Let me know of any good catfishing spots on Kaw and what you used to catch the cats (I recently won the Danny King Punch bait so I am eager to try it out but the Arkansas is about bone dry up here).

[okie catfish hunter]

I've done OK from the bank East of Kildare in the area North of Coon Creek. Caught a 15# blue on DK from that spot last year. I usually fish in the area North of Coon Creek (between Coon Creek and Bear Creek) from a boat. I've also occasionally had very good luck in Bear Creek fishing (boat or bank) in the area of the old bridge piling, South of the bathrooms by the boat ramp. Catch that area at the right time (when the shad are THICK in the creek) and you'll catch more than you'll believe. My best night ever was at that location. Landed 38 over three pounds, most in the 5-10 range, didn't keep track of the smaller ones.

[loop]

What part of the Arkansas River do you fish?
If you follow the old river bed at Kildare to Coon Creek you will do good on the cats.
Loop

[rivrbunny]

Thank you for the tips. I will try some catfishing on Kaw this spring. It seems about like spring now with this great weather:)
I fish by the old (now new) river bridge and where the Salt Fork comes in
to the Arkansas. I have also fished up north on the river before they gated the State Line Road. If you take Silverdale Lane when you finally can drive to the river (being a female I don't get too far from the vehicle)
-I think you are in Kansas. I do not have a Kansas fishing license. I will try some of those spots for catfishing.

[loop]

There are several turnoffs toward the river on the Silverdale road.Just befor you get to the boat ramp on Silverdale there is like a cattle crossing, that is the state line you can fish south of that in Oklahoma.
Saltfork is a excellent river there have been some really nice ones come out of it.
I fish Chiloco,Traders Bend the River bridge east of Newkirk,also Hilltop.
Loop

[osageCo_flathead]

WE catch nice one's every year while crappie fishing the creeks. We set lines on it one weekend and done well. I have done well below the dam also. You can catch some nice cats below the dam.

[rivrbunny]

I have done well at Hilltop too on sandbass and crappie-that is one of my favorite places. It is really pretty up there. Thanks for reminding me to try catfishing up there:)
Below the dam is pretty good, I have heard of some giant fish caught below the dam.
I will look for the spots on Silverdale Lane too-I know where the boat ramp is in Kansas, I thought the spot back from there was in Kansas. Glad to know it is in Oklahoma. It faces where Stateline Road dead ends which is no longer accessible by car. It is one
of my favorite places for scenery and fishing.

[loop]

It's been about 2 yrs since i was up to the Ks line but the road went on into Silverdale then.
At Hilltop when the water is down there is a rock bar.fishing about 10 to 15 ft out from the edge has been good. During the spawn the bass come in there thick.
Loop

[Aquacat]

Coon creek is great area. I have fished kaw several times in the past few years. My wifes parents are school teachers in shilder,ok just of few miles east of kaw lake. I think it's good cat lake. Good luck!

[rivrbunny]

:) :) Coon creek is a great place. I haven't fished it, but I did go kayaking in the creek once. A friend and I decided to go off a steep bank just like on tv. He did great. My kayak got caught on a lawn chair, partially buried in silt. The kayak tipped and down the bank I rolled covered in cockle burrs and mud. Quite an adventure-:rolleyes: I eventually picked all the cockle burrs out of my hair. Sure wish I had a recipe to make cockle burrs into an alternative fuel source-there are trillions of them at the lake.
My cousin works at the bank in Shidler. I have 2 Great aunts and uncles that live in Shidler. I don't get over to see them alot but it is always fun when we get together.
If you see a tall chubby blond girl on the bank or in a yellow kayak that will be me. If you see me with a giant fish you better help cause I will be in a panic about getting pulled around the lake in that kayak by a giant catfish!

[rivrbunny]

Loop,
That is good to know about Hilltop. I have fished off the 3rd drive down to the lake closest to the creek. Being a girl, if guys come out I usually load up and go. I love fishing but I love being safe too. It is awful to have to fret about somebody grabbing you when you just want to be outside and fish or have quiet time. Better to be safe than sorry. I had a golden retriever that was crazy about the water and used to take him up there alot to play but he passed away. I have a lab but she is finicky and doesn't like to retrieve like her dad did. Last time I had the golden up at Hilltop somebody pulled up in a van and wanted me to let his dog and my dog fight. I haven't been back up there since. I loaded up my dog and left. I have a concealed weapon license and a 9mm but I just try to stay out of chancy situations. It is beautiful up in that creek by kayak. On foot the weeds are taller than I am:) but I have hiked it a few times.
Thanks for the information.

[babyhuey]

caught some eaters on westside on shad.was wondering where could catch more?:cool: I too fish river but no water on our side and no airboat to check holes so moved to more water the lake.

[rivrbunny]

Steve,
I love the picture of you and the kids! They sure are cuties:) Where is the wife? You are gonna be in trouble:mad:

rivrbunny

[rivrbunny]

Babyhuey,
Let me know at work tomorrow how you did fishing below the dam, hope you caught the limit :006:

rivrbunny

[catfishcentral]

I fish below the Kaw three or four times a year but I've never taken my boat below there. I know there's the boat ramp on the east side of the dam but it's sure shallow at least it seems in most places. I was wondering how much water do they need to be letting out in order to take your boat up to the bouy line. Also how far can you make it below the boat ramp before your in water less than two feet. I know all those Stripers, Spoonbills and Catfish will make it up from Keystone if there's enough current running downstream to get them far up to the dam area.

Thanks

[rivrbunny]

Chris,
I have kayaked and airboated from the boat ramp down river. Kayaks or Canoes are great - you might have to tote them sometimes but not real often. Airboats are great most of the time because the polymer on the bottom lets you fly over alot of stuff. There is a rock ledge downstream-
I am not very good at distance but it isn't real far maybe a couple of miles. If the Corp drops the water it is impossible to get back over the ledge until the water comes back up. I would be very leery of taking any boat over that ledge unless you know the water is going to stay up.
1600-2000 cfs will float most flat bottom boats without problem. Any water flow will float the airboats, kayaks & canoes with caution and navigation ability.
My friend Mitch ties up to the cable below the dam to fish in his kayak and he does great. He is really brave - but he gets alot of stripers.
We did good on the spoon bills below the new river bridge and the new old river bridge last year. The kids had the best time reeling them in! It was pretty exciting for them. I get the biggest kick out of watching them get those big fish reeled in. One little girl got a 70 lb spoon bill-it was bigger than she was:)
Wish I could be more helpful about regular boats but I do not see that many go below that 1st creek downstream from the dam unless the water is 1600 cfs or more.

Misty

[catfishcentral]

I'm mainly want to hook up with that bouy line and fish but would like to explore downstream a little farther. I haven't walked more than a 1/4 mile or so downstream but that first creek when looking at a map doesn't look much more than a 1/2 mile downstream at most. Now this rock ledge sounds a little interesting and wonder if the fish get stack up below there at all when there's not enough water running downstream. Also when you are talking about the new river bridge and old river bridge are you talking about the bridge on Highway 60? And also is this rock ledge below the bridge or above it. Looking at a arial map I think I saw your rock ledge and it looks like it's about 1.5 miles downstream of the dam if I'm looking correctly. Sorry for all the questions just trying to get a better feel of the area. Kaw Dam is about 50 miles from my house and the closest for any good striper action and want to try it out this year. The spoonbill fishing is pretty decent there also. I've snagged quite a few over the years down there. My catfishing though is only so so because I think Kaw Dam is the GAR capital of the world. I catch so many dang gar and big gar it's unbelievable.

[tufffish]

:cool: we fish kaw every june and catch a lot of blues on jugs. have not figured out enough areas to fish on rod and reel. we fish washunga bay area and it is fairly deep. drove to coon creek last year but was during a flood and did not try to fish there. will definitely try that area this year.

[rivrbunny]

Chris,
If you take a kayak or boat and hook up to the cable-if there is a guy there in a camo kayak hooked up to the cable there is a 90% chance his name is Mitch. He would be a great resource for fishing around that cable. He has shown off some giants caught below the dam while hooked up to that cable. Mainly stripers but also a variety of other fish. He kayaks all over kaw Lake. Really nice guy and full of information. That 1st creek could be a half mile - it is heck getting around that 1st bend paddling by kayak-seems like it is always windy and an undercurrent that makes it rough. Once you get around the bend it is not bad paddling. So it may just seem like an eternity while I am paddling to get around that bend. The rock ledge is way upstream from the bridge off of South Avenue/Pecan. That is the bridge I refer to as the new old river bridge because for years it was a 1 lane rickety bridge that everyone called the old river bridge-they just redid the bridge last year so now I refer to it as the new old river bridge. The new river bridge is the bridge off highway 60. You are probably correct that the ledge is about 1.5 miles from the dam. The river is wide thru there so it is pretty shallow so I do not think they could stack up. I think your best bet for spoon billing would be off of either bridge hwy 60 or the new old river bridge. You might have to walk a little but there are some deep holes that cats and spoonies get into. If those airboaters don't beat you to them:) I am friends with them but they get alot of places alot quicker than I can in that kayak.
Mitch says there is excellent striper fishing at Sooner at the warm water discharge. That is where he gets alot of stripers from. I don't fish below the dam alot- I prefer off the bridges just because of less people. I may try it this year but I have heard there are a multitude of gar and you confirmed it.

[catfishcentral]

Thanks for all the info there Misty. Now if we just can get some rain and current going we will be set.

[rivrbunny]

Chris,
That was a pretty long reply but wanted to make sure you had the topography down. They had kept the lake up for a long time for duck hunting but now they are dumping it out again so you can catch the river with alot of current off & on. I haven't checked the corp of engineer website or OMPA to see if there is a pattern to the water release.
I am ready for some relaxation and fishing-this being cooped up makes me too chatty:) When you are outside fishing it is just peace and quiet.
I scoped out Copan last year and some other lakes up your way. It is fun for me to get away for the day and go on an "adventure" as I refer to it.
Tuffish had some questions on jug fishing kaw but I have never jug fished so I do not have much information to share. Surely there are some jug fishing people out there with some information on some great sites at Kaw.

[rivrbunny]

Went fishing up at Kaw yesterday. Several boats fishing on Big Beaver they were not catching - all the fish were in shallow water by the bank.
I of course did not have my fishing poles close by it is a long hike to the water thru thick brush.
Went to Hilltop next where I fished with Rusty's, Danny King's and a Kastmaster with no luck.
A guy next to me was fishing with shad caught with a throw net. He was getting some solid bites but did not reel any in while we were there.
Hope some of you had some luck catching fish at Kaw Lake.

[loop]

They tell me that the Sandy's are runing up the river been getting them from Hilltop to Traders the last few days.
Guy said he an a friend took a 100 Friday but only 30 Saturday from the Newkirk bridge area.Game warden said they were hitin them heavy around the Hilltop area Saturday.
Loop

[rivrbunny]

Thanks Loop,
We may try to get back up there today.

rivrbunny

[223reload]

I fished there back in 01 while working in Shidler If any of you locals get to fish at shidler lake try the south corner of the dam i caught 5 cats from 4 to 12 lbs in only 2 hrs had to quitcause i ran out of bait ...liver but that was enough for my fam. to eat for a while

[rivrbunny]

Exactly where is Shidler lake? I heard it was in a pasture somewhere off hwy 18. Do you have more exact directions? I don't want to be driving around in people's pastures looking for a lake:)

rivrbunny

[223reload]

its about 1/2 mile south of the town of shidler on the east side of the road talk to the locals at the quick-trip about where to turn off at ,like i said last time i fished it was 01 it may be private now