W.R. Holway Reservoir Depth Map & Fishing Spots (OK)

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Lake depth chart

W.R. Holway Reservoir, OK

Max 180 ft

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Where to start

Fall shad migration window is on — see the hatch outlook

Hatch outlook

Fall shad migrationActive window

Typical here: Sep 1 – Dec 15 · upper ends and stained creeks turn on first, the main lake follows; Deep-South creeks hold bait into December

adultall day, best mid-afternoon as the sun warms the bait — the rare pattern where you can sleep in — follow the bait, not the structure: gulls, herons and egrets diving or stacked in a creek mean the shad (and the bass) are there — run and gun until you find flickering bait or surface activity

Concentrates hard but unevenly — whole stretches go empty while one creek loads up. The birds are the map.

Creek-arm run-and-gun: lipless crankbait and squarebill through the flats and ditches, walking topwater over surface schools, a 3/8 oz spinnerbait around isolated cover along the creek channel. Downsize to match the young-of-year shad; jerkbaits are the sleeper.

The event happens over backs of creek arms, pockets and ditches, secondary points on the way in, and main-lake flats where the bait balls roam

Willow fly (summer mayfly)Active window

Typical here: Apr 1 – Oct 31 · recurring broods all summer — the heart of it is June–July, famously around July 4th on the Tennessee River lakes; any one hatch lasts days to ~3 weeks

dunhatches at dusk — clouds of bugs just before dark, continuing into the night — after hatching they fly to shoreline foliage — trees near lighted docks get covered; the feeding zone is the water under bug-loaded overhanging bushes and willows
spinnerthe following days: mating, egg drop and spent flies falling from the overhangs — the bream bite under the bushes runs as long as the bugs do

A two-level event: bream stack under the bug trees, and the big bass stack under the bream. Fish the same bushes twice — small for bream, big for the bass just outside them.

Crickets or small poppers under a float tight to the bug-covered bushes for bream; beetle spins and hair jigs just under the surface; for the bass, run a bluegill-pattern topwater or squarebill down the outside edge of the overhangs.

The event happens over under and just outside overhanging willows and bushes on steep banks; trees near lighted docks after dark

Next on this water

Spring crawfish emergence · forageFeb 15 – May 15 · in ~6 months

Shad spawn · baitfishMar 15 – Jun 15 · in ~6 months

Bluegill spawn (bream-bed bass) · forageMay 1 – Jul 31 · in ~8 months

Recommendations come from depth structure and seasonal species behavior. Treat them as a starting point, not a guarantee. Contours here are generated from real agency depth surveys; use the survey badge for the provider, dataset, datum and measured coverage. Never use for navigation. Always check local regulations.

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Recent catches at W.R. Holway Reservoir

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Fishing W.R. Holway Reservoir: what the data says

762-acre reservoir in Mayes County, Oklahoma. The lake tops out around 180 ft. The depth chart comes from published agency bathymetric survey data, so the contours are survey-derived rather than computer-modeled. Every species below gets its seasonal read from the same numbers driving the chart.

The outline encloses 763 acres, worked by 22.5 miles of shoreline — 2 islands included. An index of 5.8 puts the bank firmly in maze territory: point after pocket after cove, every one a casting target. Littoral water — the productive band under ~15 ft — makes up 9% of this chart. End to end it runs roughly 2.2 mi, about 1.9 mi across. Mayes County claims this one. Its nearest charted neighbour, Lake Hudson (Markham Ferry), is 4 mi to the northwest.

Largemouth Bass fishing at W.R. Holway Reservoir

When the water first warms, largemouth bass slide up into 2 to 10 ft. By summer they slide out to 8 to 20 ft, and by winter most fish are in 15 to 35 ft. If you only fish one area, make it Main-lake point: a point around 15 ft that scores prime in fall. In summer the feeding windows fall in early morning and the evening. Keep a texas-rigged 10" worm or a deep-diving crankbait rigged through the warm months.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 10 ft	dawn & dusk	Shallow bay flat (24 ft)	Spinnerbait, Chatterbait
Summer	8 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Texas-rigged 10" worm, Deep-diving crankbait
Fall	4 to 15 ft	midday & dawn	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Squarebill crankbait (shad), Spinnerbait
Winter	15 to 35 ft	midday	open water	Blade bait, Jigging spoon

Smallmouth Bass fishing at W.R. Holway Reservoir

Come spring, look for smallmouth bass tight to the bank in 3 to 12 ft. Expect a summer slide to 10 to 30 ft, then a winter hold in 20 to 45 ft. Start at Main-lake point. It's a point holding about 15 ft of water and rates prime come fall. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. A drop shot (goby/minnow) or a ned rig is the honest summer answer here.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	3 to 12 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Ned rig, Tube jig
Summer	10 to 30 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Drop shot (goby/minnow), Ned rig
Fall	8 to 25 ft	midday & dawn	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Jerkbait, Blade bait
Winter	20 to 45 ft	midday	open water	Blade bait, Hair jig

Spotted Bass fishing at W.R. Holway Reservoir

In spring, spotted bass run shallow here, mostly 5 to 20 ft. Midsummer fish sit out in 15 to 40 ft before dropping to 25 to 50 ft for winter. Spring spotted bass concentrate at Main-lake point, a prime-rated point around 15 ft. Fish it in early morning and the evening and you'll meet the bite. You won't need more than a drop shot over brush or an underspin + fluke (schoolers) most summer days.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	5 to 20 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Ned rig on gravel points, Shaky head
Summer	15 to 40 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Drop shot over brush, Underspin + fluke (schoolers)
Fall	10 to 30 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Walking topwater, Underspin
Winter	25 to 50 ft	midday	Secondary point (57 ft)	Damiki/hover rig, Jigging spoon

White Bass fishing at W.R. Holway Reservoir

In spring, white bass run shallow here, mostly 2 to 12 ft. Midsummer fish sit out in 8 to 25 ft before dropping to 15 to 40 ft for winter. Fall white bass concentrate at Main-lake point, a prime-rated point around 15 ft. Fish it in early morning and the evening and you'll meet the bite. You won't need more than a slab spoon or a small topwater (schooling fish) most summer days.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	2 to 12 ft	dawn & dusk	open water	Curly-tail jig (white), Small lipless crank
Summer	8 to 25 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Slab spoon, Small topwater (schooling fish)
Fall	6 to 25 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Jigging spoon, Blade bait
Winter	15 to 40 ft	midday	Deep basin (179 ft)	Jigging spoon (deep), Blade bait

White Bass & Hybrids fishing at W.R. Holway Reservoir

Come spring, look for white bass & hybrids tight to the bank in 3 to 15 ft. Expect a summer slide to 10 to 30 ft, then a winter hold in 20 to 40 ft. Start at Main-lake point. It's a point holding about 15 ft of water and rates prime come fall. Prime time lands in early morning and the evening. A jigging spoon or a topwater (when schooling) is the honest summer answer here.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	3 to 15 ft	midday & dawn	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Rooster tail / inline spinner, Curly-tail jig (white/chartreuse)
Summer	10 to 30 ft	dawn & dusk	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Jigging spoon, Topwater (when schooling)
Fall	8 to 25 ft	midday & dawn	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Small blade bait, Jigging spoon
Winter	20 to 40 ft	midday	Deep basin (179 ft)	Jigging spoon, Blade bait (vertical)

Walleye fishing at W.R. Holway Reservoir

Spring puts walleye in skinny water — 4 to 15 ft is the zone. As the season builds they drop to 15 to 35 ft, wintering in 20 to 40 ft. Fall walleye concentrate at Main-lake point, a prime-rated point around 15 ft. Warm-month bites cluster around the evening and early morning. A crawler harness on bottom bouncer or a deep crankbait (trolled) covers the summer program.

Season	Depth	Best window	Start at	Go-to baits
Spring	4 to 15 ft	dusk & dawn	Main-lake point (15 ft)	1/8 oz jig + minnow, Hair jig
Summer	15 to 35 ft	dusk & dawn	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Crawler harness on bottom bouncer, Deep crankbait (trolled)
Fall	12 to 40 ft	dusk & night	Main-lake point (15 ft)	Jigging rap, Jig + big minnow
Winter	20 to 40 ft	dusk & dawn	Deep basin (179 ft)	Jigging spoon + minnow head, Rattle bait

W.R. Holway Reservoir also holds blue catfish (10 to 40 ft in summer), channel catfish (8 to 25 ft in summer), flathead catfish (8 to 30 ft in summer), crappie (10 to 25 ft in summer), bluegill (4 to 15 ft in summer). Pick any of them on the map above for rated spots and bait picks.

Notable structure

Count 6 structure marks on this chart. The deepest, Deep basin, sits near 179 ft.

Deep basin: deep basin, around 179 ft
Secondary point: point, around 57 ft
Feeding flat: feeding flat, around 46 ft
Shallow bay flat: feeding flat, around 24 ft
Back-bay flat: feeding flat, around 20 ft
Main-lake point: point, around 15 ft

W.R. Holway Reservoir fishing regulations

Season dates, license requirements, and size and bag limits for Oklahoma waters are set by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation — and special regulations can apply to W.R. Holway Reservoir specifically, so confirm the current rules before you fish.

Check the official Oklahoma fishing regulations →

Common questions

How deep is W.R. Holway Reservoir?

W.R. Holway Reservoir is about 180 ft (55 m) deep at its deepest point. The depth chart comes from published agency bathymetric survey data, so the contours are survey-derived rather than computer-modeled.

What fish are in W.R. Holway Reservoir?

Anglers target largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, spotted bass, white bass, white bass & hybrids, walleye, blue catfish, channel catfish, flathead catfish, crappie, bluegill on W.R. Holway Reservoir.

Where is the best fishing spot on W.R. Holway Reservoir?

Main-lake point is the top-rated area: a point in about 15 ft of water that rates prime for largemouth bass in fall. Scroll up to the map for the complete spot list by species and season.

When is the best time to fish W.R. Holway Reservoir?

For largemouth bass, the summer bite is best in early morning and the evening. Each species page section below lists the seasonal windows, and the map shows a live NOW badge when you're inside one.

What are the fishing regulations for W.R. Holway Reservoir?

Fishing on W.R. Holway Reservoir is regulated by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. Check the official Oklahoma regulations for current license requirements, season dates, and size and bag limits — special regulations can apply to this specific water.

Nearby waters

Lake Hudson (Markham Ferry) 4 mi · Spavinaw Lake 11 mi · Lake Eucha 15 mi · Fort Gibson Lake 17 mi · Illinois River (Oklahoma) 24 mi · Claremore Lake 27 mi · Grand Lake 'O' the Cherokees 28 mi · Oologah Lake 35 mi · Stilwell City Lake 39 mi · Greenleaf Lake 42 mi · Brushy Creek Reservoir 51 mi · Skiatook Lake 57 mi

See how W.R. Holway Reservoir stacks up: best largemouth bass lakes in Oklahoma · best smallmouth bass lakes in Oklahoma · best walleye lakes in Oklahoma · best white bass lakes in Oklahoma

Browse all Oklahoma fishing maps or see every water on DepthScout. Bathymetry: published agency survey data. How we build these maps. Fish here with a sonar unit that logs? Send us your depth data and we'll improve this chart, credited to you. For fishing guidance only, never navigation.