Lake Hefner 2019

Went and fished Hefner for the first time in several years because it’s pretty close to the house and I wasn’t sure when/if the rain was coming.

Ran to the NW part of the dam and I could not believe how clear the lake was. Measured 10 ft of line out and could see my jig all the way down. Fishing report from wildlife department states crappie have been good lately, but not for me.

Fished the dam area for a bit about 12’ deep since I never saw any fish spook in the shallow water and caught about a 8lb carp.

Tried the boat slips by the restaurants and then briefly by the ramp with only a small bass to show for.

Anyone else fished this lake lately and had luck for any species?

Went out there Sunday morning to walleye fish and caught 8 keepers. Tried crappie fishing in a few different spots and did not have any luck either. I was also shocked by how clear the water was as well.

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Originally Posted by ike_hellbusch

Went out there Sunday morning to walleye fish and caught 8 keepers. Tried crappie fishing in a few different spots and did not have any luck either. I was also shocked by how clear the water was as well.

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I know this is a crappie forum, but I like to talk to walleye folks, too. What technique did you employ? I don’t fish Hefner but fish western OK lakes for walleye/saugeye.

Use night crawlers with a floating jighead and a weight about 12-16" above it and just drift for them.

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Originally Posted by ike_hellbusch

Use night crawlers with a floating jighead and a weight about 12-16" above it and just drift for them.

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Awesome! Congrats on the catch

All my big walleye & saugeye have come trolling crankbaits. My biggest is 32.5” from Fort Peck Res. in MT, but I do really well in Sooner dragging cranks as well. Haven’t tried any other lakes around me. It can be a boring tactic for folks used to a more active style of fishing, but it’s my most productive method for big ‘eyes. In all my years stationed in ND I never mastered crawler harnesses with bottom bouncers or Lindy rigs, so if I was gonna troll for walleye, I was dragging crankbaits.

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Originally Posted by JMDenney

All my big walleye & saugeye have come trolling crankbaits. My biggest is 32.5� from Fort Peck Res. in MT, but I do really well in Sooner dragging cranks as well. Haven’t tried any other lakes around me. It can be a boring tactic for folks used to a more active style of fishing, but it’s my most productive method for big ‘eyes. In all my years stationed in ND I never mastered crawler harnesses with bottom bouncers or Lindy rigs, so if I was gonna troll for walleye, I was dragging crankbaits.

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I’ve had good luck trolling cranks as well. I’ve done most of my damage using bottom bouncers and slow death rigs. A gps trolling motor is super helpful to maintain constant slow speeds when dragging bouncers.

Originally from ND, love walleye fishing!!