Tailwater · Limestone · Oklahoma, US

Lower Illinois River (Tenkiller Ferry tailwater)

Below Tenkiller Ferry Dam the Illinois River runs nearly eight miles to the US 64 bridge at Gore as Oklahoma's other year-round trout tailwater, about four and a half hours from Dallas.

Poor · Rainbow Trout
Blue Winged Olive · 18–22
Poorlive now
Not the day for it
River high but settled. Not much stacked in your favour today. Worth an hour if you are nearby, not worth the special trip.
90% confidence
What moved it
  • Level1.92 mLast reading 11 min ago
  • Water temp22.2°C
  • ClarityClear
Today's fly
Blue Winged Olive
Blue Winged Olive18–22
Proven pattern for this period
Conditions on the water
Live gauge
Level
Steady
1.92 m
Last reading 11 min ago
Water temp22.2°C
ClarityClear
Weather26°C
WindS 17 km/h
Pressure1018 hPa
Rain · recent0.0 mm
Rain · ahead0.0 mm

Live readings only. Trends shown where the gauge supports them.

Water temperature for Rainbow Trout
Warm — slow
22.2°Cideal 10–18°C
0°14°28°

A dam sets this river's temperature, not the weather, so it can shift several degrees within hours when the release changes. Measured at the gauge. It also warms as it runs away from the dam.

How to fish it · for Rainbow Trout
When
Nymphing can work through most of the day.
Where
Cover mixed depths.
Method
Start with tight-line nymphs and adjust if fish rise or drift higher.
Kit
9 ft #4 rod, floating line, 12 ft tapered leader to 4–5 lb fluoro tippet.
Why this works
Water at 22.2°C. This is the line where catch-and-release kills brown trout. Do not fish for them today.
Likely species
Chironomids
Hatch timeline · todayQuiet day

Hatch predictions

Today's headline hatch shown — see all 2 active hatches hour by hour as a supporter.

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Sub-surface · on the nymphunder the surface

Hatch predictions

Top nymph shown — see all 4 guilds as a supporter.

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Beyond the hatch · worth watchingambient prey(1)

Hatch predictions

Top prey shown — see all 2 as a supporter.

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Evidence
Records-basedModerate confidence

Based on species-occurrence records, not local invertebrate surveys.

Through the year
0–3 scale · October highlighted
J
F
M
A
M
J
J
A
S
O
N
D
Trout seasonSeason
1
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
1
SulphurHatch
2
3
2
Trico (Eastern)Hatch
2
3
3
2
Eastern Blue-Winged OliveHatch
2
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
2
Eastern Summer BWO (Drunella)Hatch
2
3
3
2

Numbers are intensity 0 (none) to 3 (peak) — a guide, not a guarantee.

Ranked for today
Rainbow Trout fly box
Permits & access
Permit required — see local rules.
  • Year-round; 3 trout, only one a brown over 20 in; 1 trout, 20 in minimum from the gauge to Gravel Pit County Road; artificial lures with barbless hooks in the Watts unit
  • Oklahoma licence.
What's coming
Plan ahead
5-day outlook
Water here at 22.2°C. Nothing cooler within range.
About this water

Below Tenkiller Ferry Dam the Illinois River runs nearly eight miles to the US 64 bridge at Gore as Oklahoma's other year-round trout tailwater, about four and a half hours from Dallas. Rainbows are stocked, browns must be over 20 inches to keep, and the Simp and Helen Watts walk-in area gives you about a mile of artificial-lure, barbless water. The weak point is temperature: in warm years the releases run too warm, and ODWC has had to stop stocking. Fish it from late autumn to spring and check the gauge temperature before you drive.

  • Limestone
Conservation note

Rainbows are stocked. Brown trout are covered by the regulations (one over 20 inches), but ODWC's stocking list names rainbows only, so their current presence is unconfirmed and they are not scored. Not wild. The tailwater is also managed for striped bass, which are not scored.

The full read · show the working · for Rainbow Trout · confidence 90%
How the 6 is built — score × weight = contribution
Temperature3 × 28%0.8
Flow80 × 22%17.6
Clarity85 × 18%15.3
Feeding Time70 × 13%9.1
Pressure75 × 7%5.3
Insect activity23 × 12%2.8
Limiting factor: Water temperature (22.2°C) is outside Rainbow Trout's preferred range (10–18°C)= 51
Can you trust it?
Water temperaturelive gauge readinggauge
Level / flowon-river gaugeobserved
Prey activitymodelled from regional profilemodelled
What would change the calculation
Cooler water — back toward the 10–18 °C ideal band — would lift the score and ease welfare.
Directions
Apple MapsGoogle Maps
Seasons & zones
  • Trout 1 January → 31 December
Related guides
Euro Nymphingsubsurface methods
Booking & contacts