’08 BASS World Championship at Ft. Gibson

Fort Gibson Lake will host the 2008 Yamaha BASS Club World Championship October 6-11, which could be a good thing for tournament anglers considering Lake Fort Gibson took the number one spot in the most recent Oklahoma Bass Tournaments Report published by the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

The event will feature 38 six-angler teams that qualified for the championship event through their performance at six regional events. The six-angler teams will compete for a top prize of six Skeeter/Yamaha boat packages valued at $50,000 each, one for each winning team member.

Daily tournament launches and weigh-ins will take place at Taylor’s Ferry North. Launches will begin at 7 a.m., with the weigh-ins starting at 3 p.m. Both are free and open to the public.

The most recent Oklahoma Bass Tournaments Report (PDF)is now available for anglers looking to gain knowledge on Oklahoma bass fishing. The Wildlife Department has been gathering data on bass fishing tournaments across the state for the last 14 years, and the information collected helps in the management of bass populations.

In 2007, the average winning tournament weight was 11.89 lbs., an increase of almost one pound over 2006. The overall success rate at tournaments based on anglers or teams who bring at least one bass to the tournament weigh-in was 61 percent, down four percent over the previous year. “Though the success percentage went down in 2007 from the previous year, the success rate is still equal to the long-term average,” Gilliland said.

The average angler caught 2.3 bass per day that weighed 2.3 lbs. each, up from 1.9 bass per angler and 2.2 lbs. per fish in 2006. The largest tournament-caught bass reported in 2007 weighed 11.8 lbs. and was caught from Lake Arbuckle during a Little Dixie Bass Club tournament in March.

The Top-20 lakes were ranked according to five fishing quality measurements (percent success, average first place weight, average fish per day, average weight per fish and hours of fishing to catch a 5-pound bass).

Based on 2007 reports, Lake Fort Gibson reclaimed the top spot on the list of tournament lakes after being knocked out of the top 10 last year. Second place went to Sooner Lake, followed by Lake Wes Watkins. Grand Lake and Lake Murray tied for fourth place, followed by Lake Texoma, Lake of the Arbuckles, Lake Eufaula and Lake Keystone. Lake Eucha, Lake Tenkiller Ferry and Lake Thunderbird tied for ninth place, with McGee Creek Lake coming in tenth. Lakes were ranked on the Top 20 list if a minimum of nine reports were received.

According to Gilliland, information from lakes with fewer reports may not convey their actual fishing quality. “Lake Konawa, for example, isn’t on the list because we didn’t get enough reports,” Gilliland said, “but it’s obviously a great bass lake.” See the rest of the Top 20 list as well as other tournament results in the 14-page report (PDF).