Lake Records News Stories for 2010

Oklahoma angler lands 13 lb. 4 oz. largemouth for lake record and “Top 20 Bass” list spot (3/18/2010)
            A Maysville angler put a new fish on Oklahoma’s list of Top 20 largemouth bass when he caught a 13 lb. 4 oz. lunker from Longmire Lake March 14.
            David Kinard caught the fish using soft plastic bait in the North Creek area of Longmire, located east of Paul’s Valley. The fish measured 26 inches in length and 23.25 inches in girth and was released. Taking the No. 17 spot on the state’s list of Top 20 Largemouth Bass from Randy Faddis’s 13 lb. 2 oz. fish caught in 1995, Kinard’s fish also stands as a new lake record for Longmire.
            Though it is not often that an angler lands a “Top 20 bass,” catching big largemouths this time of year is common. In fact, the No. 1 fish on the list, a 14 lb. 11 oz. fish caught by William Cross in 1999 from Broken Bow Lake, was caught March 14 that year, and a total of 13 of the fish on the list also were caught in March, with several others on the list caught in late February or early April. Nearly half of the fish on the Top 20 list were caught in the last 10 years.
            According to Gene Gilliland, central region fisheries supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, big bass such as those that reach 12-13 lbs. are certain to have significant genetic influences from the Florida strain of largemouth, which the Wildlife Department has been stocking in suitable lakes since the early 1970s.
            “They have the genetic potential to grow up to be trophies,” Gilliland said, and often more so than the native strain.
            While Florida largemouth bass carry the genetic potential to become large fish, the equation doesn’t end there.
            Trophy fish potential is the primary reason the Wildlife Department includes Florida largemouth bass in its stocking program — not to increase fish numbers. In order for that genetic potential to have full effect, however, bass also must have proper habitat conditions as well as time to grow to trophy sizes. According to Gilliland, it takes about 10 years on average for a largemouth bass with good genetics and good habitat conditions to reach the 10-lb. mark. Since Oklahoma is on the northern fringe of where Florida largemouth bass can be successful, warmer lakes such as those in southern portions of the state offer the best chances to grow big trophy bass, and the Top 20 list reflects that as well.
            According to fisheries biologists with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, now through the next month is a great time to be fishing for not only big bass, but also for high numbers of bass as water temperatures warm and as spawning season approaches.
            A number of good live and artificial bait choices are available including plastic worms, spinnerbaits and assortments of jigs as well as live minnows and even worms.
            According to Gilliland, anybody can catch a nice bass in Oklahoma, as long as they get out on the water and try.
            To fish in Oklahoma, anglers must have a state fishing license. Some municipalities and lakes also require anglers to carry special permits. Consult the current “Oklahoma Fishing Guide” for more information.
            To see a photograph of Kinard’s fish, log on to http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=878  . Other lake record fish and information about the lake record fish program can be viewed through a user-friendly search feature on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at http://129.15.97.19/fishsite/
 
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New Wister lake record crappie goes over four pounds; other lake records fill the books (4/22/2010)
            When Wister angler Jon Duvall and his cousin Clint decided to take a few youngsters fishing April 17, they ended up catching very few fish, but one reeled in by Duvall was a real whopper by any crappie angler’s standards.
            Duvall’s crappie weighed 4.2 lb. and measured 17.75 inches in length, setting a Wister lake record not likely to be surpassed for some time. He caught the slab on a jig in the lower end of the lake.
            Up to that point, only one crappie had been caught — one landed by Clint on the first cast of the trip. Though Duvall said that first fish was a nice crappie and the fishing party was excited about a potentially great fishing trip, the fishing did not pick up.
            “We fished and fished, but caught nothing,” Duvall said “Finally, right before it started to rain, I caught the biggest crappie we had ever seen.”
            Just one day before Duvall caught his huge “papermouth,” another lake record crappie was landed by 14-year-old angler Jessica Ellis. She caught her 2.3 lb. crappie from Tecumseh Lake using a Rainbow rod and reel given to her that day by her brother, who is also a lake record holder for a crappie he caught in March at Shawnee Twin Lake #1. Ellis’s lake record crappie, which she caught on natural bait in an area behind the lake’s pavilion, was also her first crappie.
            The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s lake record fish program was initiated in 2008 to recognize big fish from certain lakes and the anglers who catch them.
            The program has grown from about a dozen lakes at its inception to more than 40 lakes today. So anglers all over the state can go fishing just for leisure, but they can also go with a sense of competitive drive in hopes of putting their name in a record book.
            Species eligible for spots in the lake records book include blue, channel and flathead catfish and largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass in addition to crappie, paddlefish, striped bass, striped bass hybrids, sunfish (combined) walleye/saugeye and white bass. Minimum weights are set for each species and are detailed on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
            Anglers who catch a potential record from a participating lake should contact designated business locations around the lake that are enrolled as lake record keepers. A listing of official lake record keepers is available on wildlifedepartment.com.
            Once it has been determined that an angler has landed a record fish, the media is notified and the public will be able to view information about the catch on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
            An easily-operated search feature is available on the website that allows those interested to view a wealth of lake record fish information, ranging from the size of record fish caught to what kind of bait or rod and reel was used to catch them.
            All past and current state record fish are registered in the lake record fish program as records for their respective lakes.
            For more information about the lake record fish program, or for more on bass fishing in Oklahoma, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.
 
 
 
****Photo*****
 
Duvall Crappie: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=941
Ellis Crappie: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=935


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Lake record updates for April
 
Lake: Chouteau L
Species: Striped bass hybrid
Weight: 11.5 lbs.
Angler: Joshua Denton
Date caught: April 20
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=944
 
Lake: Ft. Cobb
Species: Largemouth bass
Weight: 10.6 lbs.
Angler: Charles R. Coffman
Date caught: April 18
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=939
 
Lake: Tenkiller
Species: Crappie
Weight: 2.3 lbs.
Angler: Mike Hayman
Date caught: April 18
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=940
 
Lake: Hudson
Species: Paddlefish
Weight: 40 lbs.
Angler: Blake Shelton
Date caught: April 13
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=926


Lake: Okmulgee
Species: Crappie
Weight: 2.3
Angler: Glen Brown
Date caught: April 11
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=929
 
Lake: Murray
Species: Largemouth bass
Weight: 12.1 lbs.
Angler: Jeff Kriet
Date caught: April 7
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=902
 
Lake: Kaw
Species: White bass
Weight: 3.3 lbs.
Angler: Michael Bastemeyer
Date caught: April 5
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=900
 
Lake: Thunderbird
Species: Crappie
Weight: 2.9 lbs.
Angler: Jereme Fortune
Date caught: April 2
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=897
 
Lake: Kaw
Species: Crappie
Weight: 3.0 lbs.
Angler: Robert Robinson
Date caught: April 2
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=899
 
Lake: Sardis
Species: Largemouth bass
Weight: 11.8 lbs.
Angler: Mark Wiles
Date caught: March 30
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=906
  
Lake: Ft. Cobb
Species: Crappie
Weight: 2.5 lbs.
Angler: Shanon Pack
Date caught: March 30
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=891
 
Lake: Hefner
Species: Smallmouth bass
Weight: 6.5 lbs.
Angler: Bryan P. Suchy
Date caught: March 29
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=889
 
Lake: Wes Watkins
Species: Crappie
Weight: 2.7 lbs.
Angler: Cory Gray
Date caught: March 29
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=888
 
Lake: Texoma
Species: Spotted bass
Weight: 3.8 lbs.
Angler: Royce Harlan
Date caught: March 28
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=886
 
Lake: R.S. Kerr
Species: Spotted bass
Weight: 3.4 lbs.
Angler: Joe Erwin
Date caught: March 28
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=894


Lake: Shawnee Twin #1
Species: Crappie
Weight: 2.1 lbs.
Angler: Lucas Ellis
Date caught: March 24
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=884


Lake: Oologah
Species: Crappie
Weight: 2.5 lbs.
Angler: Cody McEndree
Date caught: March 23
Photo and more information: http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=883


 
For more on the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s lake record fish program, including a user-friendly record fish search feature, log on to http://129.15.97.19/fishsite/
 

Oklahoma pro angler lands lake record while fishing Lake Murray (April 29, 2010)
            Professional angler and Oklahoma resident Jeff Kriet caught both a personal best and a lake record largemouth bass this month at Lake Murray when he reeled in a 12.1 lb. fish from the south end of the dam.
            Kriet, who lives in Ardmore, was fishing for smallmouth, and though his party landed more than 50 that day, it was the largemouth that put him in the record books.
            “That’s the biggest bass I’d ever caught,” said Kriet, who has been bass fishing full time for the past 15 years. “I’ve fished all over the place.”
            Kriet has been fishing Lake Murray for about 35 years, and the lake has not only produced his best largemouth, but he also caught his best smallmouth out of the lake as well. However, unlike the smallmouth, which he said weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz., the largemouth was officially weighed and put in the books for good.
            “I think it’s a great deal,” Kriet said about the lake record fish program.
            When fishing a lake, he said he often finds himself curious to know what the record for that body of water might be, which is one reason he likes the lake record fish program. Endless stories are told about big fish from various lakes — and there is undoubtedly some truth to many of them — but with no official record, there is an element of legend to it that leaves room for skeptics.
            But with the lake record fish program, fish get the recognition they deserve and prove to other anglers just what kind of fish Oklahoma lakes can produce, and Kriet’s Lake Murray largemouth is no exception.
            Kriet said the lake record program gives anglers an incentive to have big fish officially weighed, drawing attention to fish that deserve to be recognized and removing any doubt about what kind of fish swim in Oklahoma waters.
            “It’s on paper and it was let go,” said Kriet about his fish. “It’s not a rumor anymore.”
            The information from Kriet’s bass is in the record books, but the actual fish is back in Lake Murray, only to grow and perhaps break its own record under the name of a future angler.
            “It’s a great lake,” said Kriet about Lake Murray. “It’s just full of fish.”
            The day Kriet caught his lake record largemouth, he went to a honey-hole on the lake where he knew fish spawned early, and it was there he landed his lake record.
            The fish measured 26 inches in length and 20.5 inches in girth.
            The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s lake record fish program was initiated in 2008 to recognize big fish from certain lakes and the anglers who catch them.
            The program has grown from about a dozen lakes at its inception to more than 40 lakes today. So anglers all over the state can go fishing just for leisure, but they can also go with a sense of competitive drive in hopes of putting their name in a record book.
            Species eligible for spots in the lake records book include blue, channel and flathead catfish and largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass in addition to crappie, paddlefish, striped bass, striped bass hybrids, sunfish (combined) walleye/saugeye and white bass. Minimum weights are set for each species and are detailed on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
            Anglers who catch a potential record from a participating lake should contact designated business locations around the lake that are enrolled as lake record keepers. A listing of official lake record keepers is available on wildlifedepartment.com.
            Once it has been determined that an angler has landed a record fish, the media is notified and the public will be able to view information about the catch on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
            An easily-operated search feature is available on the website that allows those interested to view a wealth of lake record fish information, ranging from the size of record fish caught to what kind of bait or rod and reel was used to catch them.
            All past and current state record fish are registered in the lake record fish program as records for their respective lakes.
            For more information about the lake record fish program, or for more on bass fishing in Oklahoma, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.
 
 
****Photo*****
 
 http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=902
 
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Ft. Cobb angler lands 10.6 lb. lake record bass from improved habitat area (April 29,2010)
            When Charles Coffman of Ardmore nabbed a 10.6 lb. lake record largemouth bass from Ft. Cobb Lake April 18, fisheries biologists were pleased, not only because the fish was the first known largemouth bass over 10 lbs. from the western Oklahoma lake, but also because it was caught in an area recently targeted for improving fishing opportunities.
            The fish was caught from a new shallow-water brush pile near the new dock that was installed by Fort Cobb State Park and the Bureau of Reclamation. The brush pile, created by personnel with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, was part of an effort to draw fish to concentrated areas so anglers can enjoy improved success.
            “We pursued the shallow-water brush project after results of last year’s bass sampling showed quick returns — adult bass found and used the trees within days — and it’s nice to see that it translated to angler success as well,” said Larry Cofer, southwest region fisheries supervisor for the Wildlife Department.
            The shallow-water brush project at Ft. Cobb involved cutting and placing over 500 cedar trees in eight locations across the lake, and more than half of the trees are visible to anglers in no-wake zones of the lake.
            “We already received several good comments from bass and crappie anglers and look forward to many more fishing success stories from Ft. Cobb,” Cofer said.
            Invasive cedar trees spread fast and, for the amount of nutrients and space they take up, they offer few benefits to wildlife that cannot be obtained from noninvasive native trees. As a result, one of the best places for cedar trees, if not treated with prescribed fire, is at the bottom of a lake where fish will use them as cover. There, they not only provide habitat, but they also provide fishing opportunities for anglers while benefiting land-dwelling wildlife.
            Coffman’s largemouth bass measured 25 ¼ inches in length and 18 ¼ inches in girth. It was caught on a soft plastic bait and goes down as one of many lake records set this spring on lakes all across the state.
            The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s lake record fish program was initiated in 2008 to recognize big fish from certain lakes and the anglers who catch them.
            The program has grown from about a dozen lakes at its inception to more than 40 lakes today. So anglers all over the state can go fishing just for leisure, but they can also go with a sense of competitive drive in hopes of putting their name in a record book.
            Species eligible for spots in the lake records book include blue, channel and flathead catfish and largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass in addition to crappie, paddlefish, striped bass, striped bass hybrids, sunfish (combined) walleye/saugeye and white bass. Minimum weights are set for each species and are detailed on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
            Anglers who catch a potential record from a participating lake should contact designated business locations around the lake that are enrolled as lake record keepers. A listing of official lake record keepers is available on wildlifedepartment.com.
            Once it has been determined that an angler has landed a record fish, the media is notified and the public will be able to view information about the catch on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
            An easily-operated search feature is available on the website that allows those interested to view a wealth of lake record fish information, ranging from the size of record fish caught to what kind of bait or rod and reel was used to catch them.
            All past and current state record fish are registered in the lake record fish program as records for their respective lakes.
            For more information about the lake record fish program, or for more on bass fishing in Oklahoma, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.
 
****Photo*****
 
 http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=939
 
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 Country music star lands lake record paddlefish
            Country music star and avid outdoorsman Blake Shelton of Tishomingo landed a lake record paddlefish April 13 when he reeled in a 40 lb. fish from below the Lake Hudson dam.
            The fish measured 41 inches in length and was caught by way of snagging — the most common approach to catching “spoonbills.” Paddlefish do not strike lures or live bait but instead feed on tiny organisms called plankton.
            “I have been an outdoorsman my whole life and I love to hunt and fish,” Shelton, 33, said. “I have been fishing as long as I can remember, and catching a paddlefish is the most exciting kind of fishing I have ever experienced.”
            Shelton’s lake record comes just as the paddlefish angling in northeast Oklahoma is peaking. The best time to fish for paddlefish is during the spring (usually late March to mid-April) when the fish move up from reservoirs into rivers for their annual spawning run. The fish travel upstream and become concentrated, making it easier for anglers to locate good fishing spots.
            The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s lake record fish program was initiated in 2008 to recognize big fish from certain lakes and the anglers who catch them.
            The program has grown from about a dozen lakes at its inception to more than 40 lakes today. So anglers all over the state can go fishing just for leisure, but they can also go with a sense of competitive drive in hopes of putting their name in a record book.
            Species eligible for spots in the lake records book include blue, channel and flathead catfish and largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass in addition to crappie, paddlefish, striped bass, striped bass hybrids, sunfish (combined) walleye/saugeye and white bass. Minimum weights are set for each species and are detailed on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
            Anglers who catch a potential record from a participating lake should contact designated business locations around the lake that are enrolled as lake record keepers. A listing of official lake record keepers is available on wildlifedepartment.com.
            Once it has been determined that an angler has landed a record fish, the media is notified and the public will be able to view information about the catch on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at wildlifedepartment.com.
            An easily-operated search feature is available on the Web site that allows those interested to view a wealth of lake record fish information, ranging from the size of record fish caught to what kind of bait or rod and reel was used to catch them.
            All past and current state record fish are registered in the lake record fish program as records for their respective lakes.
            For more information about the lake record fish program, or for more on bass fishing in Oklahoma, log on to wildlifedepartment.com.
 
****Photo*****
 
http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=926 <http://lake-record.ou.edu/fishsite/public/fishView.php?id=926>
 
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