Lake Thunderbird, Norman, Oklahoma

[efoss348]

I have been fishing Lake Thunderbird pretty hard since April of this year. I have had minimum luck on dirty bird. I would like to know if anyone has any luck out there?

I also would like some coaching or to go with someone who knows the lake if possible!

[BassnChris]

Sorry, I have not fished down there.

Have you tried in the regional board here on the forum?

http://www.bassresource.com/bass-fishing-forums/forum/13-central-bass-fishing/

[rockchalk06]

I have never caught a Bass on there. The Crappie is supposed to be decent in the spring though.

[Cryoglobin]

Never had that much luck in the dirty bird either, but i left there about 6 years ago.  I imagine its still overfished like it was back then.  I found out pretty fast that it was worth the relatively short drive to go somewhere less crowded with more fish.

 

Some places I used to hit.........

 

Bell Cow

Konawa

Ft. Cobb

 

And a little farther than that, McGee Creek was probably my favorite place.  

[efoss348]

I have been wanting to try Konawa and Ft. Cobb.

I have heard there are nice fish in Thunderbird, but it's a tough lake with almost no structure.

[stew6371]

Thunderbird has big fish in it. We fished a tourney there back in early spring. The weather was crap, very windy & cold. The winner won with 12.5 lbs, 2 fish. The best place is up north in hog creek. They are hard to find. I live 10 minutes from it & I usually go elsewhere to fish for bass. I do fish it for crappie some. Konowa is a great place to fish. I haven't fished Cobb in 25 years. I know it has good crappie & sandbass in it also. There is a bunch of small lakes around that don't get as much pressure as some of the bigger lakes do that you can have some success on. I try to fish them because of the boat I own. If anyone has any interest, my wife & I are running an electric only jon boat club. The website is www.electricbasstrail.webs.com. The tourney dates have not been set yet.

[flyingmonkie]

Evenin'!

 

I think I was in the same boat as you about two years ago.  I fished the lake obsessively for about a year, mapping out structure and trying EVERYTHING under the sun… many many hours.  I even did a couple tournaments, but never once made it to a weigh-in… this only further fueled my fire!  I still give it a go from time to time, but lately, have been making an hour drive south instead.

 

Pretty much what I've learned:

- Yes there are big bass… and the guys that catch them can do so consistently.  It's all about knowing where the right structure (brush pile) is at.

- Focus on brush piles, mainly submerged cedar trees.  

- Stay shallow (1-4 ft, usually, but I've heard them caught on brush up to 8 ft)

- Docks are always worth a shot, but they are few and far between

- Points are ok when fishing is active and lots of bait… but focus on brush piles.

- Ignore standing timber.  You'll flip it all day long and get nothing.

 

I've caught a bunch of fish at Thunderbird, and on a good day, might catch 8-10.  However, they are usually either different species (white bass, saugeye, crappie, catfish), or non-keepers.  My best [bass] day on Thunderbird came during late spring/early summer, and I caught three keepers… yes, THREE!  Largest was no bigger than 3 pounds.

 

My go-to is a chartreuse spinner bait, colorado blades, one with bright orange paint.  Can also do ok with chrome rat-l-traps and the occasional crank bait.  I'm a die-hard soft plastics guy, but I've never had good luck with soft plastics… blows my mind.  My next trip out, i'll probably focus on the rip-rap at the dam, as I've never given it much thought but actually offers some of the better structure on the lake.

 

I'd be happy to discuss more off thread or even go out there some day if you'd like - I live/work in Norman.

 

Tight lines!

[BassThumbAddict]

I fished dirty bird this weekend. I was confronted with the same problems as you. With me living in noble I tend to go to thunderbird as my convenient source. Although I did notice they have put cut up cedar trees in the water to help structure since the last time i've been out there. I am with cyro on this one, I think it is overfished.

[soonerbass73]

Hey has anyone done any crappie fishing lately??

[KaoTiK405]

There are plenty of bass in Thunderbird, just have to find them. A buddy and I went out there in mid march. Probably caught 12 between the 2 of us with an occasional saugeye in the mix. Bass fishing on tbird is complicated. Most of the brush and timber is occupied by crappie or sand bass. If you have a decent depth finder with sonar and a troller motor you can find honey holes in places that most fishermen fly right over on their way to points or brush piles. There is not much rock on most of the lake bottom, but when you find the rock, its almost a guarantee you'll find the bass. I hope this helps a little bit on your next trip. Good luck to you.

[_Coelacanth_]

Been meaning to post this, but just hadn't gotten around to it before now. On May 9th, my buddy and I took our Bass Raiders out to T-Bird to catch some Crappie. He was using a 2.5" chartreuse swim bait that he's had good luck with on Crappie down there before.

Just before 10AM, he hooked into this girl on his ultra-light rod with 4lb test line...

I was pretty impressed that he was able to land her. According to the digital scale I carry, she weighed 5lb 12oz. Up until a couple of years ago, he had never fished much, and had never even caught a Bass before. I was with him when he caught his first one (about 1/2 pound), and I'm glad I was there to see him break the 5lb mark. It was a pretty great day.

[flyingmonkie]

Nice one!  You can tell by the tail that she was guarding the nest.  I've seen a couple other large females (8+) pulled off of beds the past few weeks.  Jared Miller - local guy that fishes in the Elite series - has posted several pictures.