'Never seen a bass like that': Oklahoma anglers are catching huge bass on both sides of the Red River
Oklahoma anglers are catching huge bass on both sides of the Red River.
Brodey Davis of Tuttle made a big splash in the bass fishing world with the 17.06-pound largemouth bass that he caught from Lake O.H. Ivie in south Texas on Feb. 24.
Not only was Davis' fish the lake record, it was the seventh biggest largemouth ever caught in Texas, the biggest bass caught in 30 years in the state and the biggest ever that didn't come from the trophy bass Lake Fork, about 70 miles east of Dallas.
Then three days later, Trevor Yates of Little Axe caught a 14-pound, 5.76-ounce largemouth bass at Arbuckle Lake. It is the eighth-biggest largemouth bass ever caught in Oklahoma and only eight ounces shy of the state record and three ounces below the lake record.
In addition, Josh Jones of Sapulpa became the first angler in Texas to catch four Legacy Class Sharelunkers (a bass weighing 13 pounds or more).
Through the Texas Parks and Wildlife's Sharelunker Program, state officials will accept largemouth bass over 13 pounds that are caught by anglers in Texas. The fish are then bred in captivity and their offspring stocked in Texas lakes to spread the big bass genetics.
Jones caught a 15- and a 13-pounder last year from O.H. Ivie Lake, then landed a 14-pounder from the same lake in both January and February.
More: 'I put in the hours': Meet Josh Jones of Sapulpa, the hottest angler in America
The 17-pound giant
Davis and his son, 9-year-old Stetson, made a spur-of-the moment decision to go to Lake O.H. Ivie on Feb. 23.
A round of sleet had canceled Davis' work duties and school for Stetson, so they decided to jump in the pickup and make what was a six-hour drive due to the weather to the trophy lake 55 miles east of San Angelo, Texas.
Davis' personal best largemouth was 8 pounds, 3 ounces, a fish he caught at McGee Creek Lake near Atoka in March. The 37-year-old oilfield worker always dreamed of catching a 10-pounder.
"That's why you go to Ivie," Davis said. "You go to Ivie to catch your personal best. I am after one fish, a double-digit."
He accomplished much more than just a double-digit bass. Davis and his son were fishing the lake on Feb. 24 and had decided to cast along one more bank before going in for lunch.
It was noon when Davis saw an "above-average" bass on his Garmin LiveScope unit, the forward-facing sonar that has made it easier for anglers to locate big bass. Davis cast his Alabama rig and reeled the lure about 7 or 8 feet above the fish.
"All she did was turn around and in essence watch it go by," he said.
On his second cast, Davis brought the lure about 3 feet above the fish "and she swam up and slammed it. I watched the whole thing on my screen."
Stetson, who had bundled up in a sleeping bag to get warm, scrambled out of it to grab the net. Davis battled the fish for about five minutes, worrying that his line might break.
"I didn't try to rush it," he said. "I took my time."
Finally, the fish had played out and Stetson was able to get a net underneath it and the pair lifted the giant bass into the boat to their amazement.
"I have never seen a bass like that," Davis said. "I have never seen a 17-pounder in an aquarium."
When donating to the Texas Sharelunker program, anglers can choose to have state wildlife officials keep the fish in captivity to breed until it dies, or just to spawn once, then be released back into the lake. Davis chose the latter and will meet Texas officials at O.H. Ivie in May when his fish will be released into the lake.
DNA tests showed that the bass was not related to any previous fish in the Sharelunker Program. For his donation to the program, Davis gets a catch kit filled with merchandise and a replica mount of his fish and is eligible for more prizes.
"It's been an unbelievable experience," Davis said of the notoriety the 17-pound bass has brought him. "I don't think I will ever catch a bigger one."
Why doesn't Oklahoma have a Sharelunker Program?
Davis' beast from O.H. Ivie had Oklahoma bass anglers wondering why the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation doesn't have a Sharelunker Program to grow 17-pound bass like Texas.
One reason is Texas has a corporate sponsor in Toyota to help pay for the costs. And biologists say the warmer climate and longer breeding season in Texas contributes to the state growing bigger bass than in Oklahoma.
"Genetics are important, but I could argue that climate is equally or more important," said Ken Cunningham, assistant chief of fisheries for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Oklahoma does have a trophy bass breeding program. The department raises Florida bass at its Durant hatchery and puts the fingerlings in Oklahoma lakes.
But state wildlife officials said they once considered instituting a Sharelunker Program similar to Texas.
In 2008, the Wildlife Department hired an independent contractor to conduct a feasibility study for a Sharelunker-style program. That study looked at the needed hatchery and equipment upgrades, personnel needs, and associated operational costs.
"At that time, projected upgrade costs were $3.8 million, annual operation costs were $280,000, and would require five additional staff members at the Durant State Fish Hatchery," Cunningham said.
The program was determined at the time to be cost prohibitive, especially considering what the Wildlife Department was already doing to enhance bass genetics, Cunningham said.
The Wildlife Department began its Florida largemouth bass stocking program in the 1970s. Florida-strain bass grow faster and bigger than Oklahoma's native largemouth bass.
"The goal of that program is to influence the genetics of our largemouth bass populations and to produce more bass over 8 pounds," Cunningham said
Broodstock used in the breeding program have been obtained from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Texas Parks and Wildlife over the years, he said.
"We currently contract with Auburn University to genetically test our broodstock to ensure they are pure Florida bass before spawning them," he said.
"We also conduct surveys of stocked lakes to evaluate the genetics and growth of our bass populations. All of these efforts have led to the trophy bass successes that we've had at lakes like Arbuckle, Broken Bow, McGee Creek and Cedar, just to name a few."
More: 'The secret is out': A near 12-pound largemouth from Lake Bixhoma kicks off big bass season
An Arbuckle lunker
A recent success came on Feb. 27, when Yates caught his Arbuckle Lake giant. Like Davis, Yates also was fishing with an Alabama rig and using LiveScope.
Yates was fishing in an OKC Bass Trail tourney with his father, Todd, when he landed the brute shortly before 1 p.m.
Yates located fish on his sonar moving along a long, isolated rock pile about 40 feet from the bank. The big bass was on the end of the rocks chasing the smaller fish, he said.
"I made a long cast out there about 80 feet, and I had my LiveScope set that far out, and I could see it coming," Yates said. "She just kind of floated behind it all the way to the boat and finally grabbed it about 20 feet from the boat. It was like she inhaled the entire A-rig."
Yates knew it was a good fish but had no idea how good until his father was able to net it. Their scale in the boat was off, weighing the fish at 14-1.
"We are freaking out, high-fiving and fist-bumping," Yates said. "I am in shock."
The 25-year-old welder called his wife in Little Axe to inform her that he had just caught a 14-pound bass. She, along with Yates' mom and cousin, then raced to Arbuckle to see it.
After the bass tournament weigh-in and four hours after the bass was caught, Yates finally was able to get it officially weighed for state recognition on a certified meat scale at the Walmart in Sulphur. Yates then returned to Arbuckle Lake to release.
"She was healthy," he said. "When I let her go, she just swam off."
Incredibly, Yates and his father did not win the bass tournament.
"We actually lost by three-quarters of a pound," he said. "We only had two fish. We had the 14 and then my dad caught a 5-pounder."
Still, Yates wasn't heartbroken by the close loss. He had reeled in a fish of a lifetime.
"I couldn't have been any happier that day," he said.
Reporter Ed Godfrey looks for stories that impact your life. Be it news, outdoors, sports — you name it, he wants to report it. Have a story idea? Contact him at egodfrey@oklahoman.com or on Twitter @EdGodfrey. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Oklahoma anglers are catching huge bass on both sides of the Red River
