Fishing Sooner Lake in Pawnee County, Oklahoma

• Overview

  Sooner Lake belongs to Pawnee County, Oklahoma. It lies 925 feet above sea level. This is big water, about 8.1 sq miles, and in a wind it behaves like a small sea. With about 29 miles of shoreline, local advice saves a lot of walking. Of the waters listed here in Pawnee County, this is the largest. Head to Pawnee, 14 miles away, for anything you forgot. McCord is 17 miles away, with Perry at 18 miles. It sits well inside its county, with no border complications.

• Where to Fish on Sooner Lake

  Nothing we hold settles how deep this runs. Built water gives depth close in, which suits a bank angler. Levels move with the draw rather than the rain on water like this. Across Pawnee County, recorded fish include green sunfish, largemouth bass and orangespotted sunfish. These are county-wide records, so not all of them will be in this water. At Sooner Lake the first feature you find is worth twenty minutes.

• Seasonal Patterns

  Long-term averages put July at about 82°F and January near 35°F. Ice comes and goes from one year to the next. In a normal year the cover is thin and short-lived. November and March are the quiet, comfortable months to be out. That is the shape of the year on Sooner Lake. Autumn feeding runs harder as the light drops away.

• Tackle & Baits

  Who may fish here is not settled in anything we hold. Access points are not mapped for this water, which suits people who like quiet. Largemouth respond to soft plastics tight to cover; go weedless where the growth is heavy. Where access is informal, keep it that way by behaving. Rules for boats are stricter than rules for the bank in many places. For a change of water, Upper Black Bear Creek Site 5 Reservoir is 6 miles distant. What applies at Sooner Lake may have changed since it was mapped.