GROVE, Oklahoma — A combination of perfect water levels and big bass anxious to rush the bank should produce giant bags for anglers competing in the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees presented by Battery Tender. That has competitors like Oklahoma Progressive Bassmaster Elite Series rookie Austin Cranford anxious to blast off.
Competition days will be April 23-25 with daily takeoffs from Wolf Creek Park at 6:30 a.m. CT and weigh-ins each day at the same location at 2:30 p.m.
Cranford lives a few hours away in Norman, but has spent ample time on this 46,000 acre reservoir and understands its tendencies. It’s not a secret to many other competitors, either. The big lake has been the host to numerous Bassmaster events over the decades, including the 2013, 2016 and 2024 Bassmaster Classics.
“It’s been a really, really warm year this year so far,” he said. “Around home, the fish started spawning in mid-March. Grand is a little bit further north, so they’re generally a week or two behind us. Judging by weights in local tournaments, the big main wave hasn’t gone up yet. This is exactly the week when it usually goes down.”
Turtlebox Bassmaster Opens presented by Battery Tender Division 1 and Division 2 will both include two events with forward facing sonar and two without. Grand Lake, the second event of Division 2, will not allow anglers to use this technology. Cranford said it likely won’t matter. While the technology always plays some role in anglers’ plans when it is allowed, it wouldn’t provide a huge advantage in this instance.
“Those fish are sitting with their noses looking at the bushes, waiting to flood the bank,” he explained. “They don’t like to spawn unless they have a bunch of shallow cover, and right now they have a lot of shallow cover. There’s going to be lots of bush flipping, lots of frogging and lots of spinnerbaits.”
What makes it particularly promising is that the water is currently about 3 feet high. That puts exactly the right amount of cover in the water. Weather always factors into fishing tournament outcomes and in Oklahoma the conditions seem to change hourly. This region has been hit with volatile daily weather shifts in recent days, with occasional storms and stiff winds persisting through the tournament, although daily high temperatures should remain in the upper 70s. Cranford said that one monkey wrench that could enter the equation is if the water were to suddenly rise.
“That could hurt the weights, if it got like 6 feet high,” he said. “At that point they’d get away from us and be hard to catch, but they usually don’t let it get too far out of control. It’s not like Eufaula or Fort Gibson where it gets 12 feet high. But the worst thing that could happen is they’re already spawning, the water comes up and they don’t move.”
Another issue could be if prime areas muddy up. If the entire system stays reasonably clean, the lake will fish big. If it gets dirty in certain zones, that will push more anglers into more confined areas. Despite the prevailing spawn, he wouldn’t expect much sight fishing to go down under any circumstances, but stained water will reduce that option even more.
He expects that if things stay stable the currently ideal conditions will produce a three-day winning weight in the 65 pound range and that it will take at least an 18 pound average – if not 20 – to make it to the final day of competition. How anglers get their remains to be seen. It could be three consistent bags or we could see a 25- to 26-pound limit followed up by two in the 18-19 pound range. The big bass, he believes will be in the 7- to 8-pound range.
While sight fishing shouldn’t rule the day, that doesn’t mean that heading to the premier stands of bushes will be the only way to catch bass. Cranford believes that there could also be a bit of a shad spawn.
“Anyone who finds that can get right real quick,” he said. “And if you find them, they should reload in the same places each day.”
Most of all, he understands that it’s rare to get conditions so promising, and no one looking to be competitive can lay off the gas for even a moment.
“This is what Oklahoma guys dream of. We’ve all been on that incredible bush flipping bite and it’s definitely one of my favorite things to do.”
Follow along with all of the action from the Turtlebox Bassmaster Open at Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees presented by Battery Tender on Bassmaster.com.
Grove Convention and Tourism Bureau is hosting this event.
