Page 19 - May/June 2022 Outdoor Oklahoma

I BRANDON BROWN/ODWC
was raised in northeastern
Oklahoma in the 1970s. I was
fortunate to enjoy a middle-class
upbringing in a two-parent
home, always a roof over our heads
and always plenty to eat. Food securi-
ty is what they call it these days. And
an important part of my family’s food
security was what Oklahoma’s out-
doors would provide.
Thanks to Dad’s love of hunting
and fishing, Mom always had sever-
al containers of frozen game in the
freezer. Quail and fish were the main-
stays — especially fish, and mostly
black bass. Mom would “make sure
the oil was really hot” and fry up a Black bass harvest rules will change statewide in September, and anglers will be encouraged
to keep more and smaller fish to help balance sizes within populations.
mess of cornmeal-coated bass filets
for dinner on a regular basis. 10 percent of bass fishing lakes sampled were considered
Back then, seems like most anglers practiced a phi- to be a “quality” bass fishery. The regulation was heavily
losophy of “keep what you can eat, and throw back the supported by anglers.
little ones.” Since then, Oklahoma has become a top destination for
Then the philosophy began to change, especially among bass fishing. So popular in fact, B.A.S.S. selected Oklahoma
bass anglers. In 1972, the fledgling Bass Anglers Sportsman as the host state in 2013 and 2016 for the Bassmaster
Society initiated a “Don't Kill Your Catch” program that Classic at Grand Lake O' the Cherokees.
evolved over the years into today’s catch-and-release Oklahoma fisheries biologists are now concerned that
ethic practiced by most bass anglers. With B.A.S.S. lead- catch-and-release has possibly gone too far.
ing the way, bass fishing tour- “Currently, we are consid-
naments became very popular, Bass Sizes Statewide ering ways in which bass man-
and the organization’s tourna- To view data showing the agement in Oklahoma could
ments became catch-and-re- abundance of bass by length be improved,” said Cliff Sager,
lease only. in 13 state lakes from 2016-20, Senior Fisheries Biologist with
During the past four decades, scan the code. the Oklahoma Department of
the often self-imposed prac- Wildlife Conservation.
tice of catch-and-release for largemouth and smallmouth “In the most recent survey of Oklahoma anglers, 69 per-
bass has become deeply rooted in fishing culture. It has cent of bass anglers returned all, or nearly all, the bass they
been touted as a greatly successful fisheries management caught back to the water. The popularity of the sport com-
tool. However, during an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife bined with the cultivated practice of catch-and-release of
Conservation study in the 1990s, up to 43 percent of fish smaller bass has impacted ODWC’s ability to increase the
released after being caught in fishing tournaments died abundance of larger bass,” Sager said.
within six days. Biologists have noted slowing growth rates and skewed
The Wildlife Department developed a statewide black size structures in black bass populations (see QR code).
bass management plan in 1991. Long-range management This is concerning because they not only manage the state's
goals with specific objectives were set, including the even- fisheries resources so that natural reproduction will sustain
tual implementation of the 14-inch minimum length limit on populations, but also manage these resources to create as
smallmouth and largemouth bass. At that time, less than many angling opportunities as possible.

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