Texoma yields second state record fish

"March madness" is often used to describe the frenzy of college basketball, but a different sort of March Madness is happening to anglers fishing Lake Texoma. For the second time in less than one week a new state fish record has been broken on the southern Oklahoma reservoir; this time for smallmouth bass. On March 22, Aaron Fridrich caught a new state record smallmouth bass weighing a whopping seven pounds, 12 ounces. Fridrich's record catch follows on the heels of a new state record blue catfish weighing 87-pounds, 4-ounces caught six days earlier at Texoma by Rusty Keeton of Ardmore. Fridrich, of Prague, was fishing in preparation for an upcoming bass tournament when he tied on a crankbait in the portion of the lake south of Kingston. "I only got one bite the whole day, but the fish hit hard and made it all worth it.," said Fridrich. "When it came up to the boat I couldn't believe how big it was."

Fridrich's fish was 23 3/8 inches long and was 18 1/4 inches in girth. "Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would ever catch a state record smallmouth," Fridrich said. "Smallmouth bass are native only to the Ozark and Ouchita rivers and streams in eastern Oklahoma," said Kim Erickson, fisheries chief for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "This newest record is a testament to the success of our smallmouth bass stocking program which uses lake-strain smallmouth bass to establish reproducing populations in lakes having no native smallmouth bass."

Erickson added that anglers also have good opportunities to hook a smallmouth bass at Skiatook, Eufaula, Murray and Lawtonka lakes. The previous smallmouth bass record of seven pounds, eight ounces was set by Carl Gayle who pulled the big smallie from Lake Texoma in February of 1996.

For a complete list of record fish and the procedures regarding certifying state record fish, consult the "2003 Oklahoma Fishing Guide". If you think you may have hooked a record fish it is important that you weigh the fish on an Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture certified scale and the weight is verified by a Wildlife Department employee.

Reported by Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation