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From Ok News Release:
http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/wl_new...e_in_four_years

Very nice fish, anyone know anything about a Resorvior Strain SMB? Sunil? Cecil?


Smallmouth bass record broken for the third time in four years

For the third time in four years, an Oklahoma angler has broken the state record for smallmouth bass.

Steve McLarty now holds the record with an 8-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth bass he caught on March 4 on Lake Eufaula in east central Oklahoma.

McLarty, who lives in Broken Arrow, was competing in a Fishers of Men bass tournament when he hooked the big fish in a quiet, rocky cove.

“We actually pulled into the area on the way to another spot first thing in the morning. I was using a jerk bait and was hoping to catch a good smallmouth, but I certainly did not expect to catch one this big,” McLarty said.

The record fish measured 23.5 inches long and was 19 inches in girth . McLarty was using a Shimano rod and a G-Loomis reel spooled with 10-pound test line.

The previous record smallmouth holder was Karl Council, also of Broken Arrow, who caught an 8-pound, 1-ounce smallmouth bass in March of 2005 on W.R Holway Lake in northeastern Oklahoma.

While he may hold the bragging rights to the state record smallmouth, McLarty did not place in the top three of the tournament and the big fish award went to a 9-pound largemouth bass caught by another tournament angler.

“I heard the big largemouth was caught just about 100 yards away. That is just my luck to catch a state record smallmouth and not even win the big fish award. But I am certainly not complaining though, it is a real honor to catch a fish like this,” McLarty said.

Eufaula Lake, in east central Oklahoma, was first stocked with smallmouth bass in 1992 according to Garland Wright, central region fisheries supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. The lake was stocked with a reservoir-strain smallmouth bass that originated in Tennessee and Eufaula is now home to a self-sustaining population. The sprawling reservoir has a growing reputation as a first class smallmouth bass fishing destination.

In addition to Eufaula, Oklahoma is home to several outstanding smallmouth fisheries including Texoma, Skiatook, Lawtonka and Broken Bow lakes.

For a complete list of record fish and the procedures regarding certifying state record fish, consult the “2006 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.

Caption: Steve McLarty now holds the record with an 8-pound, 3-ounce smallmouth bass he caught on March 4 on Lake Eufaula in east central Oklahoma. McLarty, who lives in Broken Arrow, was competing in a Fishers of Men bass tournament when he hooked the big fish in a quiet, rocky cove.


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Reservoir strain fish? Hmmm... that's a new one. So this fish evolved in reservoirs over thousands of years? \:D

I think what they mean is the original fish came from the TVA lakes. To call them a different strain is a misnomer in my opinion.

What can I say, some outdoor writers are dimwits. I know I was one of them. :p


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Wow, Ric! Thanks for posting. I had not heard of that fish. Impressive indeed.

Like Cecil, I had not previously heard of the "reservoir" strain. However, those deep, cool, Tennessee resevoirs (e.g., Dale Hollow) have put out monster smallies for years. That must be the source of their stocked fish.


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Ric - As Cecil and Dave have mentioned the reservoir strain of SMB would just be offspring of SMB that have been grown in reservoirs or lakes for quite a few years. Lake or reservoir SMB tend to have larger top end sizes compared to stream living SMB. This is probably due more to food availability than special or unique genes that promote larger fish. These fish are not recognized by the American Fisheries Society as an official genetic strain or subspecies of SMB.


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Oh well, I guess it's just wishfull thinking there might be a SMB strain that was more suitable for spawning in still waters.


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 Quote:
Originally posted by Cecil Baird1:
What can I say, some outdoor writers are dimwits. I know I was one of them. :p
That's not limited to just outdoor writers, or to you, Cecil. ;\)


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Ric, thanks for posting that story.

At 23.5" in length, and 19" in girth, that's a beautiful fish.

I've got some 20" SMB in my pond. I can't wait to see what they are like this summer.

All of my SMB were from a SMB Hatchery in Carbondale, IL. I had two stockings of SMB in the 3" to 7" range, and then a stocking of the Hatchery's brood stock (about 55 of them ranging from 15" to 19" in length).

These SMB have spawned in my pond. I can't say if I had much survival of frye though.

I believe if SMB are pond or lake raised, you can get them to spawn in ponds. Survival of the YOY is the question.


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Wow Sunil - 20" in your pond. We need to talk sometime. That is impressive. Do you have them pellet trained and/or what is their forage base?

I was impressed that I had some up around 17-18". 20" is incredible!!


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NEDOC, these SMB are pellet trained. They came that way from the hatchery. However, I don't feed on a regular basis, just some hand feeding from time to time.

My largest SMB have only been in my pond since early summer '05. Those were the 55 or so that were already 15" to 19" long when they were delivered. These were the brood stock (breeders) from the Hatchery.

As far as my initial SMB stockings of 3"/5"/7", I have some of those up to about 11" and 12" now.

The forage base is Yellow Perch, Golden Shiners, and Fatheads.


Excerpt from Robert Crais' "The Monkey's Raincoat:"
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How big is your pond again, Sunil?

Those are some impressive fish, regardless of origin. They fight so hard and are such beautiful fish it's hard not to be jealous of you. I saw a picture of one of NEDOC's better smallies a couple of days ago and it had incredible coloration. I wish he would post a picture...or I'd do it for him if he wanted. Great fish. I think in the past these fish were considered to be a poor choice for ponds. They didn't know wht they were missing!! ;\)


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Extremely interesting comments. When I was growing up, Tennessee was always kind of considered to be "the" smallmouth hotbed. I'm fascinated by the fish because in Eastern Nebraska we don't have appropriate habitat in our public waters, so we might go to Lake McConaughy in the western part of the state, which is a 30,000 acre impoundment and catch these gorgeous 2-3 pound fish that would jump like maniacs and bust up your tackle. They had almost a mystical quality.


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...or is "mythical" the word I'm searching for. :rolleyes:


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Bruce, go ahead and post the picture. Or if I have time today I will go through the process of learning how. I need to do that soon anyway.

You have to go with me to Lake Sharpe or Wilson in KS sometime for some smallie action. Lake Sharpe is unreal.

Another great thing about smallies is that they can be had with a flyrod. :p


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Bruce or Nedoc - do either of you know of any sources for SMB in the 8-10" range nearby?



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I grew up fishing the creeks in Middle Tennessee for smallies. A lot of people would look at these creeks and think there wouldn't be a bass in them the creeks are so small. The creeks in my area drain into Old Hickory on the Cumberland river which isn't a smallmouth reservoir by any stretch, so the largest smallies I ever caught in our creeks are in the 3 lb range about 4-6 miles upstream from the Cumberland. The main reason TN has such a great smallmouth fishery in the deep, cold reservoirs is that we are at the southern end of the smallie range, so ours enjoy a long growing season for a smallie.

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Shorty - Try Bill Hale out of McCook or Richard Carlson out of Wayne. I think both advertise in the back of Nebraskaland. They may not have any available until fall.

My cousin at Blue Valley Aquaculture in Sutton 402.773.5617 stumbles across some once in a while as well.


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This is a link to some photos from the Big SMB stocking from early summer '05. There are some pics from the '05 Bassmaster Classic also.

http://photobucket.com/albums/y159/RodNReel/

I have a few other pics at my home computer that I'll put up at the site which will show some growth in the SMB.

Bruce, my pond is 6-7 acres.

Robinson, I believe I can break that 5lb. limit for the SMB that you refer to. I'll have to work on it assuming that I've had survival through this past winter.


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 Quote:
Originally posted by Robinson:
In TN, in many cases, there is no such thing as stream smallmouth. If the water in the stream is deep enough, 6- 8lb + smallmouths can be in there.

What happens is that if there is a major flood, the smallmouth swim upstream, miles away from the lake or river system lake, such as Kentucky Lake, Wilson Lake, Pickwick, Wheeler Lake, Dale Hollow, Center Hill, Watt's Bar etc.

The one requirement for having giant creek/small river smallmouth, is food, of course.

A fellow was telling me of catchin 8 and 9 lb smallmouths from a small creek. I asked "how did he get them in on small creek tackle? "

He responded "creek tackle? we use Garcia 5500 c's baitcasters and live creek chubs. "

Smallmouths will not ever get over about 5lbs in a pond or small lake(say 10 acres, i have seen 6 lbers from 100 acre ones) in TN. I don't know why. But I've seen some of the best water, even professionally managed with stockers from the TN river system's giant strains, but in a pond, 4 lbs is about it and 5 lbs is the max. Even when forage is treadfin, gizzard shd, and trout stockers.
I don't know Robinson. I have seen some really big smallmouths out of small bodies of water. I have learned never to say never when it comes to nature. Maybe as a rule you won't get really large smallmouths out of small lakes and ponds on a regular basis, but I don't see why there would be a limitation on their maximum size simply by the size of the body of water. I would think if they can get big in small creeks they should be able to do say in ponds and lakes. My personal experience with the other species I grow out, is the size of the body of water is not as important as the water quality and food supply.

Maybe the fish are getting cropped easier in small bodies of water vs. larger systems?

Just respectfully disagreeing.


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I love fishing for smallmouth and unfortunatley my pond won't support them. These are some picutes of some of them that we caught in the UP of Michigan. We actually lost two that were bigger than these.


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Its how well you look doing it!

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Where did my post go? I think it was my best ever. Did I get moderated? \:\(


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Bruce, not by me. I often forget to hit the Add Reply. Maybe you did it.


It's not about the fish. It's about the pond. Take care of the pond and the fish will be fine. PB subscriber since before it was in color.

Without a sense of urgency, Nothing ever gets done.

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The odd thing was that it showed up in the "today's active topics". It just wouldn't show up on the actual thread. I was just kidding about best post ever, but it WAS pretty good. ;\)


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Bruce not me. But I would like to read the post if possible.
















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Robinson,

I've see reproduction from the smallmouth in my .62 acre pond. Not saying it was a lot but I've definitely see some, and I've also seen smallmouth bedding. What I believe hurts the smallmouth in my pond is the precense of more aggresive largemouth bass.


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Very nice pic's Sunil! I've got to get water in my pond those pic's drive me nuts!
I hadn't seen the tank pic's. Neat-o-cool!


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