A great season for anglers, campers

Fall fishing should be about ready to take off around the state, if it hasn't already.

August and September are normally the slowest fishing months in Oklahoma, but cooler October nights are dropping water temperatures and will make fish more aggressive as they begin to feed heavily to store energy for the winter.

Whether you prefer fishing for bass, crappie, catfish or trout, there should be opportunities for some terrific autumn angling in the next few weeks. And with Oklahoma schools taking fall break this week, it's a perfect time for a camping, fishing and/or hunting trip.

Chuck Justice, who guides on McGee Creek and other lakes, says the fall bite is just heating up in scenic southeastern Oklahoma.

"The fall fishing on all of these lakes down here is turning on,” he said. "I would think it's the same almost anywhere in the state.”

Many sportsmen might have the same idea as Justice, who plans to spend the fall break bowhunting with his grandson early in the mornings, coming in for breakfast, then heading to the lake for some bass fishing.

"That's why I love the fall,” he said. "There is so much to do.”

At Lake Texoma, many of the campgrounds have re-opened and the striped bass fishing is on the upswing. September is a terrible month for striper fishing on the lake, but in October the fishing gets easier.

"The gulls are in,” said Paul Mauck, south-central fisheries supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

"Herons and egrets are chasing the surfacing fish around. They are pretty good bird dogs to show where the fish are right now.

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