Ft. Cobb angler lands 10.6 lb. lake record bass from improved habitat area

When Charles Coffman of Ardmore nabbed a 10.6 lb. lake record largemouth bass from Ft. Cobb Lake April 18, fisheries biologists were pleased, not only because the fish was the first known largemouth bass over 10 lbs. from the western Oklahoma lake, but also because it was caught in an area recently targeted for improving fishing opportunities.
The fish was caught from a new shallow-water brush pile near the new dock that was installed by Fort Cobb State Park and the Bureau of Reclamation. The brush pile, created by personnel with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, was part of an effort to draw fish to concentrated areas so anglers can enjoy improved success.
“We pursued the shallow-water brush project after results of last year’s bass sampling showed quick returns — adult bass found and used the trees within days — and it’s nice to see that it translated to angler success as well,” said Larry Cofer, southwest region fisheries supervisor for the Wildlife Department.
The shallow-water brush project at Ft. Cobb involved cutting and placing over 500 cedar trees in eight locations across the lake, and more than half of the trees are visible to anglers in no-wake zones of the lake.
“We already received several good comments from bass and crappie anglers and look forward to many more fishing success stories from Ft. Cobb,” Cofer said.
Invasive cedar trees spread fast and, for the amount of nutrients and space they take up, they offer few benefits to wildlife that cannot be obtained from noninvasive native trees. As a result, one of the best places for cedar trees, if not treated with prescribed fire, is at the bottom of a lake where fish will use them as cover. There, they not only provide habitat, but they also provide fishing opportunities for anglers while benefiting land-dwelling wildlife.
Coffman’s largemouth bass measured 25 ¼ inches in length and 18 ¼ inches in girth. It was caught on a soft plastic bait and goes down as one of many lake records set this spring on lakes all across the state.
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s lake record fish program was initiated in 2008 to recognize big fish from certain lakes and the anglers who catch them. The program has grown from about a dozen lakes at its inception to more than 40 lakes today. So anglers all over the state can go fishing just for leisure, but they can also go with a sense of competitive drive in hopes of putting their name in a record book.
Species eligible for spots in the lake records book include blue, channel and flathead catfish and largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass in addition to crappie, paddlefish, striped bass, striped bass hybrids, sunfish (combined) walleye/saugeye and white bass. Minimum weights are set for each species and are detailed on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/.
Anglers who catch a potential record from a participating lake should contact designated business locations around the lake that are enrolled as lake record keepers. A listing of official lake record keepers is available on wildlifedepartment.com. Once it has been determined that an angler has landed a record fish, the media is notified and the public will be able to view information about the catch on the Wildlife Department’s Web site at http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/.
An easily-operated search feature is available on the website that allows those interested to view a wealth of lake record fish information, ranging from the size of record fish caught to what kind of bait or rod and reel was used to catch them. All past and current state record fish are registered in the lake record fish program as records for their respective lakes.
For more information about the lake record fish program, or for more on bass fishing in Oklahoma, log on to http://www.wildlifedepartment.com/.
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