Angler reels in the third largest largemouth bass in the state

OK DWDC

2/20/03

One more meal, perhaps a shad or a few crayfish, and the smile on Dave Masters’ face would be even brighter. Not that Masters was hungry, but if the huge, 14-pound, 8.5-ounce largemouth bass he caught recently was just three ounces heavier, it would have broken the state record.

Masters, who lives in Bixby, caught the lunker on a jig on an undisclosed lake in northeast Oklahoma. His nine-year old son helped him bring the impressive fish into the boat, just as the sun was going down Wednesday, February 12. The largemouth is the third largest bass ever recorded in Oklahoma. The big bass was weighed on certified scales at Greenwood Convenience and Outdoor Center in Skiatook.

“This is certainly the time of year to go fishing for the really big bass,” said Bill Wentroth, northwest region fisheries biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “If you look at the top 20 largemouth bass caught in Oklahoma, you can see that most were caught in early spring.”

The current record is held by William Cross for a 14-pound, 11-ounce largemouth bass he caught in Broken Bow Lake in March of 1999.

For a complete list of record fish and the procedures regarding state record fish consult the “2003 Oklahoma Fishing Guide.” If you think you may have hooked a record fish it is important that you weigh the fish on certified scales and that the weight is witnessed by a Wildlife Department employee.