Most people have heard some rather unbelievable fish tales over the years. But just wait until you hear the one a 10-year-old Edmond boy tells. It’s as big as all of Oklahoma!
Alex Turner, son of Neil and Usha Turner, recently finished a personal fishing quest that is remarkable by any standard: He has caught a fish in each of Oklahoma’s 77 counties.
The journey successfully concluded Aug. 8, 2024, when Alex reeled in a largemouth bass from a private pond in Lincoln County – the county where he’d “gotten skunked at least six times before.”
The Final Fish: Alex Turner's years-long quest to catch a fish in every Oklahoma County successfully concluded Aug. 8, 2024, with this largemouth bass from a private pond in Lincoln County.
But on this try, Alex was fairly certain he would get his final county catch; after all, his mom had given him a kiss for luck that morning. A short time later, Alex was tossing a Texas-rigged worm from a boat in the pond, and it wasn’t long before he felt a tug and set the hook.
It was time to celebrate with chocolate cake!
“I feel like I’ve done a ton. It’s 77 fish plus extra fish, so I’ve done a lot of catching,” Alex said. “We’ve met a lot of nice people, who helped me with my goal.”
Dad concurred. “Our appreciation for the people and places in this state has skyrocketed”, Neil said. “The things Alex has been exposed to and the people he has met have been a big part of his education and help make him a better student, seeing how class subjects get applied in the real world.”
Alex, who happens to be autistic, is home-schooled in The Okie School of Adventure and Charm (the Turners’ own creation). The “school” has a popular YouTube channel with more than 100 videos that document Alex’s educational and fishing experiences.
“The outdoors has been one of the most effective therapies we have done with him. It’s raised his confidence, pushed his bounds, increased his patience, fueled his natural curiosity, and been highly educational. Plus - it’s been a lot of fun.”
HATCHING THE PLAN
Neil grew up in the Texas Panhandle, and the lack of public waterbodies in that region meant that he didn’t know much about fishing. “But I always wanted to fish.”
They moved to Edmond 12 years ago, and Alex was born. Neil decided he wanted to get into fishing in a good way, so he booked a fishing guide for a sand bass outing, and he took 5-year-old Alex with him.
“And he caught lots of fish.” Father and son were now hooked on fishing.
At age 5, Alex caught his first fish, a white bass, on April 6, 2019.
Several more fishing trips followed, including trout fishing and plenty of bank fishing. Then, in 2022, they signed up for a Wildlife Department learn-to-fish class in Le Flore County.
Alex was excited on the return trip home, recalling that he’d caught white bass in Mayes County, largemouth bass in Le Flore County, and several other fish in other counties. He told his dad, “Let’s see if we can catch them in all 77.”
“My first reaction was to laugh,” Neil said. “But then I began wondering, too. We thought that making this goal to catch fish in every county would help us explore the state at the same time as we improved our fishing skills. And with that, we were off.”
At first, the strategy was to target the bigger lakes, but Alex said that quickly changed.
“Our new idea was we would just use the smaller ponds. Big lakes — how are you supposed to find the fish? They’re massive. They don't have access everywhere. Meantime, in a small pond, fish are so limited. The only structure they know is probably a dock.
“That strategy worked out well.”
Neil said they stumbled on ODWC’s Close to Home Fishing ponds and found the fishing was a lot easier. “We were real excited to find ponds like that, and we used them a lot.”
They also made good use of the public fishing areas under ODWC’s management.
Over time, the every-county quest became more systematic. Educational field trips would also include a little time to catch a fish in a needed county.
“One of the great things that's happened from this is realizing there’s such a wide variety of water in Oklahoma, and a wide variety of conditions that you get to see.”
REELING IN MEMORIES
Alex said his dad took him everywhere, on both dedicated trips and when traveling for other reasons. Catching a fish was easy in some counties, and other were quite difficult. He recalls Greer County being both.
On Day 1 at Doc Hollis Lake (Sandy Sanders Wildlife Management Area), the air was still, the water was crystal clear “and the fish could see us.” No fish that day. But they went back for Day 2, and the wind had kicked in. “My dad hadn’t even got his line out, and I caught a fish!”
Sometimes the fishing is tough. About 20 counties have required second or third visits to catch a fish.
Getting fish in Cimarron and Beaver counties in the Panhandle wasn’t easy, and not just because of the long driving time from Edmond. “We needed two days but hung in there and got it.” They just kept trying and learned patience along the way.
The Turner family: mother Usha, son Alex, daughter Ella, and father Neil.
Alex clearly recalls the day of the total solar eclipse, April 8, 2024. They fished for hours without a bite. “We came back after lunch and started catching them during the eclipse! We did catch a fish on the eclipse, and it actually went off the ruler.”
And in every county, the requirement was to take a photo of Alex and his fish.
As for method, Alex has caught the most fish using worms and a bobber. His favorite fish to catch is any fish that bites. “I like sunfish the best because they just bite anything.
“I consider myself really good, but not a professional.” Alex said he’s learned so much from his dad about angling, and that his dad is really the professional.
PLENTY OF FISHING BUDDIES
One thing Alex and Neil realized is how Oklahomans from border to border are supportive and willing to help. “It’s just been overwhelming.”
“It’s fun to meet people,” Alex said.
To find leads on fishing spots, Neil joined online angler forums where he shared Alex’s mission and asked for suggestions in various counties. Alex received plenty of invitations to “come and fish my honey hole.”
Grant County was particularly difficult, as publicly accessible water mostly doesn’t exist there. But after putting out a request online, an invitation arrived from a pond owner. “Nobody had basically fished there before,” Alex said. “I casted out. Oh! Bite already! Wow! It was super easy,” Alex said.
After several dozen counties were checked off the list, Neil began posting updates on Facebook and asking for suggestions in other counties. That’s when several game wardens joined in to help.
“What a resource they were,” Neil said. “And we would run into other Wildlife Department employees out in the field, and they would help.”
He credits ODWC for a great deal of help and inspiration.
“Along the way, we have been students of your fishing tips, fished ODWC lakes, WMAs, OLAP ponds, traded e-mails with employees, called game wardens to ask for tips, talked with your field personnel, and taken advantage of other resources that you offer.
“Thank you for all the work you do for our state and how much it has benefited us on reaching this goal. I say thank you for all of it — not only as the dad of an aspiring fisherman, but as a citizen of this great state that you all make better.”
So, with his two-year quest now a success, what’s next.
Alex said he’d like to revisit some of his favorite fishing spots, including the Illinois River and Barren Fork Creek. But not anytime really soon.