The Grand Lake Setup
Grand Lake O ’ the Cherokees is the official name of the lake created with the completion of the Pensacola Dam on the Lower Neosho River in 1940 . Grand is a relatively large lake with over 46,000 surface acres and 1,366 miles of shoreline , and an abundance of cover and fishable water make it an immensely popular and productive fishery .
“ One of the great things about Grand is that there ’ s just so much to fish ,” says Oklahoma native Zack Birge , who has collected Toyota Series and Phoenix Bass Fishing League wins on Grand Lake . “ It ’ s consistent with rock pretty much everywhere around the entire lake and then you have docks and some isolated wood mixed in . You also have steep banks , creek channels and flats – and all of those will hold fish at times .”
Grand Lake is deep by Oklahoma standards , averaging 36.3 feet . According to REDCREST qualifier James Elam ( who won a BASS Open on Grand in 2017 and climbed the tournament ranks fishing Grand Lake and other Oklahoma waters ), water clarity varies depending on which section of the lake you ’ re fishing .
“ You have clear water down by the dam and the water gets dirtier up the lake when it gets flatter and you start to have more mud banks ,” Elam says . “ Then it gets cleaner again when you go further up the river .”
By all accounts , the fishing quality has been improving on the fishery , and the late-spring timing of REDCREST should offer hefty largemouth moving shallow after leaving their deeper winter holding areas .
Fisheries biologist Steven Bardin – co-manager of MLF ’ s Fisheries Management Division – describes Grand Lake as a healthy fishery based on angler studies and electrofishing performed by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation .
“ It ’ s rare to have a lake this size with this size of fish , and it ’ s a testament to the forage base of shad and management of the lake ,” Bardin says . “ One big thing that happened recently is the partnership between the city of Grove and the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation in placing 250 pieces of MossBack Fish Habitat near the popular Honey Creek State Park Ramp . The ramp is one that many five-fishlimit tournaments use , and the habitat was all placed in 10 to 14 feet of water and will serve as places that fish can stage and recover after being released . It ’ ll greatly help the fishery , and the state has an interactive map where anglers can get all of the coordinates of each piece of habitat to load into their electronics and fish .”
GRAND LAKE TOURNAMENT HISTORY
Although it ’ s been the site of multiple Toyota Series , BFL and College events , REDCREST 2022 will be the first tournament contested on Grand Lake held under MLF ’ s catch , weigh , immediate-release format and 2-pound scorable-size minimum .
While the 41 REDCREST qualifiers haven ’ t fished Grand under MLF rules , the majority of the anglers in the field are very familiar with it from Toyota Series , BFL and other tour-level competitions . Grand Lake has hosted two Bassmaster Classics won by MLF anglers ; Cliff Pace won the event in February of 2013 and Evers took the title in March of 2016 .
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