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Best blue catfish lakes in Oklahoma

18 Oklahoma waters hold blue catfish, 18 mapped with real state-agency depth surveys. Ranked below by size and depth-data quality — open any water to see exactly where to fish it: depth contours, scored spots with plain-English reasons, seasonal windows and bait picks. Open-water giant of big rivers and reservoirs; follows shad schools and feeds in current year-round.

1. Lake Texoma — 96 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
2. Grand Lake 'O' the Cherokees — 130 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie, Channel Catfish
3. Sardis Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Crappie
4. Waurika Lake — 50 ft max · survey depth data · White Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Bluegill
5. Hugo Lake — 40 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
6. Lake Hudson (Markham Ferry) — 60 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie, Channel Catfish
7. Lake Thunderbird — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Channel Catfish
8. McGee Creek Reservoir — 80 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie
9. Lake Ellsworth — 50 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Channel Catfish
10. Wister Lake — 35 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie, Bluegill
11. Hulah Lake — 20 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie, Channel Catfish
12. Lake Stanley Draper — 90 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Crappie
13. Lake Lawtonka — 55 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Smallmouth Bass, Saugeye, Channel Catfish
14. Arcadia Lake — 45 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Saugeye, Crappie, Blue Catfish
15. Lake Hefner — 70 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Walleye, White Bass, Crappie
16. Okemah Lake — 45 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, White Bass, Crappie, Channel Catfish
17. Heyburn Lake — 30 ft max · survey depth data · Largemouth Bass, Crappie, Bluegill, Channel Catfish
18. Lake Overholser — 16 ft max · survey depth data · Walleye, White Bass, Crappie, Bluegill

When to fish blue catfish in Oklahoma

• Spring 5–25 ft — High water is your friend — fish current seams and flooded flats.
• Summer 10–40 ft — Drift cut bait across channel edges and deep flats.
• Fall 15–45 ft — Blues shadow massive shad schools — find bait on the graph first.
• Winter 20–50 ft — The trophy season: anchor on deep holes packed with wintering shad.

Also in Oklahoma: best largemouth bass lakes · best smallmouth bass lakes · best walleye lakes · best white bass lakes · best saugeye lakes · best crappie lakes · best bluegill lakes · best channel catfish lakes · best white bass & hybrids lakes · best flathead catfish lakes

Blue Catfish elsewhere: Indiana · Ohio · Kentucky · Texas · Kansas · Tennessee · Missouri · Georgia