WATER TEMP84°Fsteady over 13 daysSpavinaw Creek near Eucha, OK · 17 mi
POOL LEVEL−2.0 ftsteady over 14 daysbelow normal pool
Measured Tuesday, September 15, 2026 · refreshed daily · the guide report reads these for you
Grand Lake o' the Cherokees surveyed depth — open the app for the live, zoomable map
The fishery
Premier Midwest tournament lake in northeast Oklahoma, host of multiple Bassmaster Classics. Florida-strain largemouth stocked since 2020 are producing increasingly larger fish. Diverse habitat with rocky bluffs, timber, creek arms, and flat flats.
Species
largemouth · smallmouth · spotted
On BassHawk
Everything below points at one goal — finding the most, and the biggest, largemouth bass on Grand Lake o' the Cherokees.
Depth contoursSurvey-grade bathymetry with depth labels that adjust to today's pool level.
Daily guide reportA fresh report for Grand Lake o' the Cherokees every day — where the bite is, what's working, what changed.
Real-time conditionsLive water temp, pool level, weather, an hour-by-hour bite score — and the week ahead scored with the best window flagged.
Routed trip plansA timed, routed fishing plan built for the day you're going — launch to last cast.
Submerged structureMapped points, humps, ledges, creek channels, and standing timber to fish by depth band.
Mud linesSatellite-tracked water clarity — see where the mud line sets up before you launch.
Fish attractors65 state-placed brush piles and habitat sites marked on the map.
Spots & logSave your own spots, log catches, and carry them across devices.
Sunk habitat
65 state-placed brush piles and habitat sites on Grand Lake o' the Cherokees, marked on the map with the depth each sits in.
TYPE
SITES
DEPTH
PVC Structure
31
7–30 ft
Brush Pile
21
10–54 ft
Other
11
8–18 ft
Spider Blocks
2
19–22 ft
Exact coordinates for every site are in the app.
Mapped on BassHawk
Traced from pre-dam survey sheets — the roads, foundations and creek beds that were there before the water.
425roadbeds
212building foundations
14named creek channels
13railroad grades
1cemetery
Season at a glance
MONTH
LEAD PATTERN
JAN
Drop shot
FEB
Suspending jerkbait
MAR
Swim jig
APR
Wacky rig
MAY
Topwater walking bait
JUN
Deep crankbait
JUL
Deep crankbait
AUG
Drop shot
SEP
Squarebill crankbait
OCT
Spinnerbait
NOV
Suspending jerkbait
DEC
Drop shot
Pattern headlines only — full areas, depths, and bait detail live in the app.
Getting on the water
Afton Oklahoma 125 Public Boat Ramp 74331 Afton Public Boat Ramp 74331 Bernice Area at Grand Lake State Park Boat Ramp Cherokee Riverside State Park Cherokee State Park Boat Ramp Cleora Public Boat Ramp 74331 Cleora Public Boat Ramp 74331 #2 Hammerhead Ramp Honey Creek State Park Ramp Little Blue State Park Little Lake Boat Ramp Twin Bridges Area at Grand Lake State Park Wolf Creek Park and Boating Facility Arrowhead Boat Sales & Marina (marina) Arrowhead South (marina) Cedar Port Marina (marina) Cherokee Yacht Club (marina) Clearwater Bay Marina and RV Park (marina) Dripping Springs Marina & Resort, LLC (marina) Hammerhead Marina (marina) Hi-Lift Marina (marina) Honey Creek Landing Marina (marina) Indian Hills Marina (marina) Marina Del Rey Resort (marina) Paradise Cove Marine Resort (marina) Red Arrow Marina (marina) Safe Harbor Harbors View (marina) Scissortail Marina LLC (marina) Shangri-La Marina & Boat Sales (marina) Southwinds Marina (marina) Thunder Bay Marina (marina) Willow Park Marina (marina)
What a guide report looks like
A complete, real report for Grand Lake o' the Cherokees — nothing held back, from a few weeks back. It ran on that day's conditions, and conditions have moved since. Today's is in the app.
SAMPLE GUIDE REPORT · SATURDAY, AUGUST 22, 2026
Summer heat and murky water: go deep on channel edges, strip a dark chatterbait early, then drag football jigs down to the swing all day.
WATER 93°FAIR 91°FWIND 5 MPH WSEASON SUMMERPOOL -2 FT
Water's sitting at 93 degrees, hotter than comfortable for largemouth, so they're pulling out deep to find cooler water and stay low-light. The lake is stained and the pressure is holding steady, which means the fish are settled in a pattern. Under full cloud cover the shallow bite stretches a bit longer into the morning, but don't count on much after that. The pool is falling slowly, which concentrates bait and bass on structure like channel swings and points where they can ambush. Your best windows are early and late, dark and soft light. When the sun climbs and heat peaks, you're working deep structure where the fish sit tight.
The day's game plan
EARLY MORNING · 6:42 AM to 8:30 AM
Drowning Creek Channel Swing and Lower-Lake Channel Swing (east), 8 to 18 feet on the outside bend.
Dark chatterbait, black or black-blue, 1/2 oz, stripped steady and fast just above the bottom to trigger reaction strikes before the sun burns off the cloud cover.
Bass are still feeding in marginal light and the stained water helps a dark bait stand out. The channel swing concentrates bait moving with current, and they're looking for breakfast before the heat ramps up. Strip fast to wake them up.
MORNING · 8:30 AM to 11:00 AM
Lower-Lake Channel Swing (west) and Lindly Point, drop down the 10 to 20 foot outside bend and the main-lake point taper.
Medium-diving crankbait, chartreuse-and-black or dark green shad patterns, 1/2 to 5/8 oz, crank down to 12 to 15 feet and hold the depth, working the edge where the flat meets the channel.
As the cloud cover settles in steady, bass stay willing to move short distances. A crankbait at depth covers ground and keeps you on the structure edge where they're positioned. Chartreuse helps them find the lure in stained water. The point funnels their movement between shallow and deep.
MIDDAY · 11:00 AM to 2:30 PM
Main Lake Points (West), Lower-Lake Channel Swing (west), 15 to 22 feet, tight on the channel edge and the steep drop.
Football jig, 3/4 to 1 oz, brown or black, dragged slowly along the bottom with a dark creature trailer, work it inch by inch right on the edge where the structure meets deep water.
Heat and sun drive them as deep as structure allows, and they're not chasing anything. You're fishing them where they're sitting, not where they're hunting. The football jig hugs bottom and stays in their strike zone. Drag it slow. No speed.
LATE AFTERNOON · 2:30 PM to 5:30 PM
Ice Box Bluff Point and Drowning Creek Channel Swing, 10 to 20 feet on the bluff face and the swing bend.
Shaky head, 1/4 oz jighead, watermelon or green pumpkin 4-inch finesse worm, shake it vertically and hop it slowly up the structure. Let it fall on slack line between shakes.
The pressure is still steady so nothing's triggering a big reaction, but shaking keeps the bait in front of them without having to work it far. The Shaky head on structure where they're hugged up tight is a confidence call in mid-summer heat. The drops let the worm fall through their zone on the way down.
EVENING · 5:30 PM to 7:15 PM
Main Lake Points (East), Lindly Point, transition zone from 8 to 15 feet as the light softens.
Topwater prop walker, dark color, walk it steady and rhythmic 50 feet off the point and around the tip; slow cadence, not fast.
As the sun gets lower and the stained water darkens, bass start sliding shallower to hunt. A walking topwater is silent and displaces water. The steady cadence in dim light triggers feeding. They'll come up to it in the last hours before dark.
DUSK · 7:15 PM to 8:45 PM
Drowning Creek and Duck Creek shallow back areas, 4 to 12 feet, rock and wood cover near the creek channel.
Spinnerbait, black-and-chartreuse or dark blade with dark skirt, 3/8 to 1/2 oz, slow roll it just off bottom through cover, let the blade thump and flash.
Low light and active feeding window after the heat of the day. A spinnerbait's vibration carries through stained water and triggers reaction strikes. Slow rolling keeps it in the strike zone longer when visibility is down. The dark blade and skirt create silhouette in dim light.
NIGHT · 8:45 PM to midnight
Same creek areas with docks or overhanging cover, 6 to 14 feet, work the dock pilings and brush.
Black Texas rig, 4 to 5 inch dark creature bait, 3/8 oz weight, pitch it tight to cover and work it slowly, let it sit for 5 to 10 seconds between hops.
Bass feed shallow at night when they feel safe. Texas rig is silent and sneaky, good for pitching into cover anglers can't see. Dark color is essential in darkness. Keep retrieves slow and deliberate, patience on the pitch.
Where to fish
Drowning Creek Channel Swing — 8 to 18 feet on the bend, 104 feet deep in the channel · Outside bend of creek channel with flat above the drop. Concentrates bait movement and bass staged to ambush. Funnel water and fish between shallow creek flat and deep channel. Classic staging and feeding spot in summer when bass use deep water to escape heat.
Lower-Lake Channel Swing (west) — 10 to 20 feet on the break, 120 feet in the channel · Outside bend where flat meets old river channel, steep drop. Main-lake ambush edge where bass intercept bait pushing through the channel. Deep water access lets them pull down in heat, structure keeps them positioned to feed. Works all day in summer.
Lindly Point — 5 to 20 feet taper, deep water 56 feet adjacent · Main-lake point with rock and hard bottom, adjacent deep-water sanctuary. Most-reported spot on the lake for summer bass. The taper funnel forage and bass between shallow and deep. Point geometry lets them hold shallow in morning and early evening, retreat to deep water during heat.
Ice Box Bluff Point — 8 to 18 feet on the bluff face, deep water at the base. · Steep bluff with hard rock face dropping fast. Vertical structure provides concentrated holding depth in summer heat. Bass use bluff face as highway and deep water as sanctuary. Rock holds bait and structure attracts craws and natural forage.
What to throw
Chatterbait — n/a · Black or black-blue · 1/2 oz (Early morning in low light and stained water.) Strip it steady and fast 6 to 12 inches above bottom, keep it moving to trigger reaction strikes.
Medium-Diving Crankbait — n/a · Chartreuse-and-black or dark green shad · 1/2 to 5/8 oz (Mid-morning on points and channel edges, water holding 10 to 20 feet.) Crank steady down to 12 to 15 feet, hold the strike depth along the structure edge, don't pause.
Football Jig — n/a · Brown or black · 3/4 to 1 oz (Midday peak heat when fish are deep and tight to structure.) Drag it slowly on bottom with short hops, work it inch by inch along the edge. Pause 3 to 5 seconds between drags.
Shaky Head — 4 in · Watermelon or green pumpkin · 1/4 oz (Late afternoon on bluffs and steep banks, 10 to 20 feet.) Shake it vertically and hop it slowly up the structure face, let it fall on slack line between shakes.
Topwater Prop Walker — n/a · Dark (black or dark shad) · n/a (Evening as light softens, 5 to 15 feet on shallow points and transitions.) Walk it steady with a rhythmic cadence, 50 feet off the point, slow and methodical, don't rush it.
How to work it
Dragging — Midday heat and steady pressure when fish are settled tight to bottom. · Deep structure edges, channel swings, bluff banks 15 to 25 feet. Cast to structure, let jig settle to bottom, pull 6 to 12 inches, pause 3 to 5 seconds, repeat. Keep line tension and feel the bottom.
Slow Rolling — Dusk and evening when visibility is reduced and bass are feeding shallow. · Creek channels and around wood cover, 6 to 15 feet. Cast and retrieve at the slowest possible retrieve speed while keeping blade turning, let weight take it near bottom but not dragging.
Shaking — Afternoon when bass won't chase but will peck at baits right in front of them. · Vertical structure, bluff faces, pilings, 10 to 25 feet. Hold rod tip steady, use wrist motion to vibrate the rod tip 6 to 8 inches per second, letting the bait shake in place with minimal movement, occasionally hop up the structure.
Pro tips
When the heat peaks, skip the shallow banks entirely and go straight to your deepest named structure. Bass aren't feeding up, they're sitting tight. Fish bottom and the deep edge of structure with slow, short-range baits like football jigs and drop shots.
Stained water all summer means dark colors and vibration are your carry baits. Chartreuse works for sight, but black and dark green shad patterns create silhouette in stained conditions. Don't bother with natural clear-water colors when visibility is this low.
The pool is falling, which concentrates baitfish and bass tighter to structure edges. That falling water is working in your favor by squeezing fish into ambush zones. Fish the outside bends and deep edges tighter than you would in a stable pool.
If conditions change
If a front blows through and pressure rises, expect a shutdown the next morning. Fish even slower and deeper, downsize to drop shots and small shaky heads, and fish the thickest cover you can find on the channel edges. If the wind shifts to push a warm south breeze and clouds break, the shallow bite can extend later into morning and earlier into evening, so fish points and creek mouths longer before retreating to deep structure. If heavy rain muddies the water beyond what it is now, go to pure vibration: max-blade spinnerbaits and lipless cranks, upsize baits 25 percent, and fish slower. If the water clears in a rare clear-weather window, downsize finesse baits and extend your leader, fish deeper with natural shad patterns, and expect bass to hold tighter to cover and move less.