Page 39 - 2020 May/June Outdoor Oklahoma

bout the time that redbuds flash
Atheir pretty pinkish blooms on
eastern Oklahoma’s hillsides and BRANDON BROWN/ODWC
gray streamside sycamores unfurl
their fresh leaves the color akin to a
wet lime, there’s something curious
going on.
And it goes mostly sight unseen.
Smallmouth bass are on the move
with the singular purpose of pro-
creation. As our planet wobbles
back to the vernal position, the
amount of daylight lengthens, shad-
ows shorten and the creek waters The Neosho smallmouth bass, seen in this image taken from video, was the subject of a four-
warm. These cues signal to one of year study aimed at finding out this unique species movements and nesting habits in streams of
America’s top freshwater sport fish northeastern Oklahoma.
that it’s time to spawn. unhook your catch and decide to
The fish that ardent anglers call release it. A plucky flip of the tail
“bronzeback” hold a renowned fin, a splash, and off it goes. The fight of this
reputation as energized packets Smallmouth bass are a favorite of
of fish flesh. Twitch a floating many anglers — and have been for fish is always
stickbait on slick water over a years since well before former U.S. outsized.
dark pool at dusk, or drag a cray- Fish and Wildlife Service scientist
fish-colored club-tailed jig over and medical doctor, James Henshall,
a gravelly run, and then hang on. branded the species as the “gamest
The fight of this fish is always fish that swims” in his 1881 tome,
outsized. And expect to see a few “Book of the Black Bass.” It’s still in
leaps out of the water before you print, by the way.
SHANNON BREWER/OSU

Deeper pools are where Neosho smallmouth bass were commonly found in the warmer months.

MAY/JUNE 2020 37