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~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Tenkiller Property.com E-Newsletter April 2010 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ In This Issue -- State Fish Offers Hot Angling Action -- CSI: Illinois River & Lake Tenkiller -- Red Fern Festival Unfurling its Fronds -- Tenkiller Area Events -- Fishing Report -- Team Tenkiller -- Tenkiller New Homes Greetings from Lake Tenkiller, Lots of things are happening in the Lake Tenkiller area, and we would like to share a little of it with you. Thanks so much for being one of the 1700+ subscribers to our award winning newsletter! We Love Lake Tenkiller!
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State fish offers hot angling action as spawning season arrives. Of all the official state symbols Oklahoma claims, the white bass is the favorite for anglers, especially in the coming weeks when the native fish begin their annual spawning runs up creeks, rivers and other streams that feed into lakes across the state. Historically, the spawning runs last from mid-March to the first of May, using a 1/8 oz. jig and a white or yellow curly tailed grub is a popular lure for catching white bass. Try tying on two jigs at a time, but hold on, because two fish fight harder than one. Eastern Oklahoma offers a number of white bass fishing opportunities, according to Gary Peterson, eastcentral region fisheries biologist for the Wildlife Department. "Pick one of the larger tributaries to the Arkansas River and watch for increased water flow in early spring," Peterson said. "For example, on Robert S. Kerr's Sallisaw Creek arm, fishing intensifies after a warm spring rain brings a water level rise. The same thing happens on Dirty Creek west |
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of Webbers Falls, below Greenleaf Dam on Greenleaf Creek or below every dam on the Arkansas River Navigation System for that matter. It's all a question of when the warm rains bring an increased water flow." Horseshoe Bend, on the Illinois River above Tenkiller Lake, is probably the best known white bass fishing "hot spot" in eastcentral Oklahoma, according to Peterson. "At times, when the spawning run is especially strong, the place resembles an RV campground, with plenty of states represented," Peterson said. Traditionally, white bass can be caught anytime from mid March to early May depending on water flow, but the peak is usually around the first week or so in April. "The smaller males are the first to show up in any numbers, and any water level rise after that will send the females upriver to spawn. Bank access is limited, but boaters can put in at the Horseshoe Bend boat ramp." To get to Horseshoe Bend, take State Highway 82 south from Tahlequah to Horseshoe Bend Road in Keys. Turn east, stopping at the Illinois River.One female white bass can produce up to one million eggs. White bass reproductive activities are triggered when water temperatures reach 50 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit. Spawning occurs at random over weeds, debris and rocks. When tributary streams are available, white bass prefers upstream migration for spawning. No parental care is provided to eggs or young. Anglers should equip themselves with light to medium light action tackle and an assortment of jigs.
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By Ed Brocksmith, STIR, Inc. |
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singular interests of Arkansas or Oklahoma. Tenkiller Lake, having an entirely separate, complex ecological dynamic, should benefit from adoption of a TMDL for the Illinois River. EPA defines a TMDL as: "a calculation of a pollutant load that assures that when implemented, an impaired water will attain and maintain applicable water quality standards." Phosphorus most certainly will be an object of any TMDLs for the Illinois River watershed. From 2000 - 2004, it's estimated that between 391,000 to 712,000 pounds of phosphorous entered Tenkiller Lake. Phosphorus does not disappear and is recycled from lake sediments for use over and over by algae. If you will kindly indulge a comparison to a crime scene investigation on a popular television show, you might think of a TMDL study as CSI: Illinois River. Imagine forensic investigators pouring over DNA evidence and spraying luminol up and down the Illinois River, setting the entire watershed aglow. The tell tale bright green which indicates blood on TV, will instead point to evidence of phosphorus, the nutrient that promotes the growth of algae. In great amounts, algae degrade water clarity; rob fish of oxygen, and cause taste and odor problems. Some algae can even be toxic to humans, pets and livestock. Complicating this crime scene is the fact that investigators in Arkansas and Oklahoma are not looking in the same box of evidence. Oklahoma water quality agencies conduct tests at normal, base flow, river conditions as well as during storm events called peak flow. Arkansas abandoned this type of testing, opting instead to test only at base flow conditions. This explains why phosphorus levels are several times greater at Watts, Oklahoma on our border than they are just upstream in Arkansas. According to Dr. Bill Andrews of the USGS Oklahoma Water Science Center, the disparity in water sampling is "like comparing 19th century and 21st century medical technology." "Oklahoma's flow-weighted testing is more representative of actual conditions," Andrews told a Tahlequah meeting sponsored by the Oklahoma Scenic Rivers Commission. "We believe that we have found the right way (for both the river and the lake) to do it." Read more here at the STIR Website
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article by Kate Kelly, Tourism Director,Tahlequah Area Tourism Council |
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Tahlequah becomes the tractor capital of the world, or at least Oklahoma, on Saturday, April 23 when the Red Fern Festival Tractor Parade takes off through downtown Tahlequah. Tractor owners, enthusiasts, tractor clubs and organizations and everyone in between are encouraged to enter their tractors in the parade - either the tractor alone, or a tractor pulling a float. The fourth annual Red Fern Festival is the weekend of April 23 and 24, 2010. In addition to the tractor parade, the 5Cs Car Show, hound dog field trials, the Red Fern Barbecue Cook Off and Extravaganza, the ever- popular crawdad hole, old fashioned children's games, the Art Depot for children, live music and more are on tap. The Red Fern Festival attracts people from throughout the state, region and nation. Booths will be set up in Norris Park selling ferns, handcrafted items, jewelry, the book "Where the Red Fern Grows" and other items. There will also be a wide variety of food vendors. "It is remarkable to see the fun and laughter of the children and their families reliving this fabulous tale in the town where it all began," said Kate Kelly, tourism director with the Tahlequah Area Chamber of Commerce. Kin Thompson, Tahlequah Area Tourism Council vice chairman, attended the festival last year with his family and presided over the crawdad hole, where children were able to catch crawdads in a small water-filled pool. Thompson will again be at the helm of the crawdad hole for this year's festival. In its first year, the festival was chosen as an official Oklahoma Centennial Event and received a Merit Award for Outstanding New Event. In its second year, the Red Fern Festival took the Redbud Award for Outstanding New Event. The awards are given by the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, and the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association. click here for information on the Red Fern Festival
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April 1st-30th, Muskogee's Azalea Festival, Honor Heights Park boasts 40 acres of manicured gardens with over 30,000 Azaleas in 625 varieties. Fri-Sun, Apr 2-4, Marval's Easter Weekend, Ride the Bunny Train. Kids bring your basket because there will be an Easter Egg Hunt. Come join the fun and take pictures. Click here for info |
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Sat, Apr 3, 7-11, Blackgum Volunteer Fire Dept pancake breakfast, Hwy 100, Community Building Sat, Apr 3, 10am Easter in the Park at Tenkiller State Park, Egg Hunt, shelter 2 Sun, Apr 4, Easter Sunrise Services on Lake Tenkiller Apr 10 - May 2 38th Annual Trail of Tears Art Show and Sale, One of the most prestigious annual, multi- tribal art shows in the country. Cherokee Heritage Center, 6 miles South of Tahlequah Click here for info Fri, April 30, Clearwater Cafe opens for the season at Pine Cove Marina on Fri, Sat, and Sundays, 918-489-5655
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Got a Tenkiller Fishing or Hunting Picture? e mail it to me george@tenkillerproperty.com Greenleaf: Elevation normal and clear. Largemouth bass fair on spinnerbaits and crankbaits around rocky pints, shoreline and |
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creek channel. Catfish fair on fresh cut bait on bottom. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs at 6-12 ft. around fishing dock and brush structure. Report submitted by Lark Wilson, game warden stationed in Muskogee County. Webbers Falls: Elevation 3 ft. above normal. Largemouth bass fair on spinnerbaits and crankbaits along riprap and in creek channels. Catfish fair on fresh cut bait on bottom. Crappie fair on purple jigs and minnows at 6-12 ft. around bridges and brush structure. Report submitted by Lark Wilson, game warden stationed in Muskogee County. Lower Illinois: Elevation normal, water 48 and clear. Largemouth bass fair on crankbaits at 2 ft. White bass fair on jigs at 1-2 ft. Channel catfish good on cut bait on bottom. Crappie slow on jigs at 1-2 ft. Trout good on flies at the surface, on rooster tails at 1-2 ft. and on power bait on bottom above Gore Landing. Report submitted by D. Tracy, Town of Gore. Lower Illinois Trout Stocking Schedule April 6, 13, 20, 27;
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