A new lake record was set at Lake Hefner for Striped Bass when Clidell Woody caught this 16.1 pounder on March 18th. The old record was 14.8 pounds set by Glen Burling in 2010.
Clidell caught it on the west side of Hefner near the spillway. He was fishing for catfish using cut shad.
Hybrids arrive in Lake Hefner via the North Canadian River from Canton Lake.
Striped bass hybrids are a hatchery-raised cross between stripers and white bass and are favorites with fishermen because they are fierce fighters.
I received my January ’08 issue of Bassmaster Magazine yesterday and noticed there was an article about Sooner Lake. Like OklahomaFishingGuides.com, Bassmaster magazine dedicates a page to a lake and writes about the fishing opportunities and other interesting things to do in the area. Much to my surprise, the magazine references our website, specifically the Lake Sooner page!
I would like to thank Bassmaster magazine and Senior Writer Robert Montgomery for mentioning us. Our mission has always been to feature the lakes and rivers of Oklahoma, including fishing and all the other fun things to do while in the area. To be referenced by the granddaddy of all bass magazines is truly an honor. Visit them online at: www.Bassmaster.com
Avid fisherman Jason P. sends us this report from Lake Texoma:
Here is a picture from a striper day out on Lake Texoma in late November. It was a great trip. We were trolling the flats and had four poles out with umbrella rigs. Every time we would roll over a hump or depth change, we had fish on all four poles. No joke at one time, we had 9 fish on at once!
We threw back more than 50, but I wanted to keep the ones pictured so 23 could have a fish fry for some family and friends. So I cleaned all these and we fed 20+ people and still had leftovers. All the fish were healthy and the meat was clean and tasty.
I know a lot of people cut out the red stripe when filleting stripers, but not me. I leave it in and soak them in ice water and vinegar for 24 hours, then rinse clean with cold fresh water and freeze for minimum 48 hours. Then thaw and cook. You’ll never even taste any bitterness. Just a tip passed on to me from a buddy.
Editor’s Note: Thanks for the picture and report Jason. What a great trip and thanks for the prep tips!
Guide David Clark of Fish On!is sponsoring a raffle for a fishing trip to benefit the OKWD Hybrid/Striper programs. The details are as follows:
FISH ON!!!! RAFFLE
All Money to benefit the Oklahoma Wildlife Department
I am raffling off a weekend Striper fishing trip to Lake Ouachita (20 miles W of Hot Springs Ark).
It is $20 per ticket and I will only sell 50. 100% of the money will be donated to the Oklahoma Wildlife Department. They will quadruple all funds donated.
The $1000.00 donated will become $4000.00. The money will be used towards the Oklahoma Hybrid/Striper programs. The drawing will be at the OSBA Nov. meeting. (do not have to be present to win)
This is for a day and a half of fishing, and up to four anglers. We would meet at daylight Sat. morning (1 usually camp) go in for a shore lunch (hopefully fish fry) go back out, fish till dark and fish Sunday morning till about 11am and then pack up and come home.
It is for a fall/winter trip either the fall/winter of 2007/2008 or 2008/2009. (I consider fall/winter being Nov. thru Jan.)
The biggest fish that we have caught there has been in Nov. Dec, and Jan. This is for the fishing part of the trip only. If you don’t want to camp, there are a couple of fairly nice motels on the water front for about $65 a night.
To purchase your ticket, call me at 918-724-6786 or email me at David@FishOnOK.com.
Guide David Clark of Fish On! Guide Service sends us this amazing fishing report from Lake Sooner:
FISH ON!!! Well it started off kinda slow, but ended with a very big bang. After weathering a few thunderstorms and a couple of dry spells, we caught the biggest Striper I have ever seen caught out of Lake Sooner.
We caught it and had three more on at the same time. Two of the other three came off. The third one is still hooked and swimming around with a Ugly Stick attached to his behind. The fourth one was this 25lber. He sure did seem on the skinny side. It measured 42 inches long and had a 24 inch girth. I think for the length it should of been around 35lbs. It had a very big head.
We tried to release it but it would not swim off. We first thought he was hung up, but from good experience I know there is nothing there to hang up on (82.68 blue). Then he started taking some drag and the fight was on. It was on a down line so that made it even more fun.
It was the biggest fish my client had ever caught and we were all very proud of him. By the end of the day we had caught 35 Hybrids and a few more small Stripers. The water temperature was 86 degrees and we were in 35ft of water most of the day. Fish ON!!!!
Editor’s Note: What a monster! How much fun!! If you want to go fishing with David, visit his website at: www.FishOnOK.com.
The fishing at Grand Lake will be getting even better in the near future now that the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has stocked close to 104,000 striped bass hybrids in the huge eastern Oklahoma reservoir.
“Striped bass hybrids prefer open water habitats, feed in schools and travel long distances following shad, their main staple,” said Jim Burroughs, northeast regions fisheries supervisor for the Wildlife Department. “The forage base is large enough to support the striped bass hybrids as well as other popular sport fish in Grand Lake.”
The hybrids were provided by the Wildlife Department, and Burroughs said it will not be too long before anglers could see these fish in their livewells. “These are fingerlings, meaning they will reach catchable size in about two years,” Burroughs said.
Grand Lake has been stocked in the past with striped bass hybrids – the hatchery-produced cross between the Oklahoma native white bass and the striped bass. This stocking of hybrids is the fifth in the last 10 years.
“We look forward to continued cooperation with the Grand River Dam Authority to improve fishing opportunities at Grand Lake,” Burroughs said.
As a sport fish, hybrids are well-known for their rapid growth and fighting ability and have reached weights of 18-20 pounds in Grand Lake When fishing lakes, productive baits for catching striped bass hybrids include live shad, topwater plugs, slabs, spoons and jigs.
For more information about striped bass hybrids, or for license and fishing regulations, log on to www.wildlifedepartment.com or consult the current “Oklahoma Fishing Guide.”
I had the opportunity to take some friends kids fishing at Lake Texoma during the Free Fishing Days and boy did we have fun! It was Zane’s first time striper fishing and TJ’s second time.
We were about 300 yards west of TI Point around 12:30pm when the bite kicked in. All 6 rods were going at once! We would reel them in, rebait, recast, and pow, another fish on.
When it was all said and done, there were stripers all over the floor of the boat and TJ had caught an 18 lb’er!
Send us your free fishing day pictures and stories for inclusion on Hawg Blawg.
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