Family-Outdoors

If not for the two that got away, tournament anglers Marco Vaca and Doyle Idleman might possibly have weighed-in a five-bass stringer of nearly 50 pounds. As it turned out, their 42.71-pound sack on March 23 at Lake of the Arbuckles was enough to win the Future Bass Team Trail's first 2014 divisional contest, Trail director Joe Copeland said. The giant stringer also eclipsed Arbuckle's heavy-sack record: 42.04 pounds caught by former Elite Series angler Jeff Reynolds and Johnny Thompson in January 2013. For the past several years, Lake of the Arbuckles in the Chickasaw National Recreation Area has been giving up lunker largemouth bass. Vaca and Idleman's largest fish bent the scale at 10.93 pounds, but even that did not win the biggest-bass honor at the tournament! The second-place team of Terry Alsup and Brad Hill had the day's big bass at 11.69 pounds, with a five-fish stringer totaling 34.16 pounds. Six bass at the tournament weigh-in went more than 1...

 As Oklahoma's summertime fishing action fades into fond memories, the state's fish hatcheries are turning their focus onto creating many great fishing memories of the future.    In mid-September, employees at the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation's Durant State Fish Hatchery took another step in the process of raising Florida largemouth bass (FLMB) for stocking in state waters next spring.    About 1,000 DNA-certified FLMB brood fish are maintained at the hatchery in southern Oklahoma. These fish are spawned each spring to produce the fingerlings that are stocked into state lakes. However, new brooders must be certified each year to replace those lost to retirement or old age.    Oklahoma's largemouth bass state record has been broken the past two consecutive years, and each of these record fish were verified to have Florida genes.    The Wildlife Department began stocking Florida bass in Oklahoma waters in the 1970s, wit...

According to the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, introducing Florida strain largemouth bass is a " resourceful way to "Retired" adult brood fish from the Wildlife Department's Florida strain  largemouth bass brooding program that were released into  two Duncan area lakes recently to increase the likelihood for bigger bass.  positively influence bass populations."   According to Ryan Ryswyk, southwest region fisheries biologist for the Wildlife Department, the stockings are not intended to increase the overall bass numbers in the lakes, but rather to introduce genetic influences. The strain has been introduced into Humphreys and Clear Creek Lakes.   "The adult Florida bass that are stocked in these lakes will spawn with native bass, creating what are known as 'F1s. These F1s will have the Florida genetics needed to grow to a large size as well as the native genetics to survive at cooler wintertime temperatures."  Related ar...

Pictured is Dale Miller of Panama, Okla., with the new state record largemouth bass he caught  Wednesday, March 13 at Cedar Lake in southeast Oklahoma. The fish weighed 14 lbs. 13.7 oz. Cedar Lake in southeast Oklahoma has produced its second state record largemouth bass in less than one year. The new record was caught Wednesday, March 13 by Dale Miller of Panama, Okla., and weighed 14 lbs. 13.7 oz. Miller caught the bass at 11:30 a.m. Wednesday on a Hawg Hunter Bait Co. rod set up with an Abu Garcia Revo reel and an Alabama rig. The fish measured 26 1/8 inches in length and 23 inches in girth. "Last month, I bought a fishing license, and this month I have the state record for the largemouth bass," Miller said. Miller said when the fish first hit his line and he set the hook, he called for help from his brother, Vonnie, who was fishing with him. He said Vonnie questioned whether there was really a fish on the line. Miller sa...

The Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (WCEP) is pleased to announce that this year’s group of birds that will follow the ultralight planes to Florida has safely arrived in Wisconsin from the U.S. Geological Survey’s Patuxent Wildlife Research Center in Laurel, MD. As with last year, they were taken to the White River Marsh State Wildlife Area in Green Lake and Marquette Counties. This is only the second year that this new site has been utilized. The cranes will spend the summer with Operation Migration staff getting acclimated, gaining strength, and learning to follow the planes. This fall, Operation Migration will guide the young birds on their first southward migration to the Gulf coast of Florida, the cranes’ winter home. These birds represent a portion of the 12th group of endangered whooping cranes to take part in a project conducted by WCEP, a coalition of public and private organizations that is reintroducing a migratory flock of whooping cranes into easte...

Bald Eagle (Photo credit: Pen Waggener ) Bald eagles are migrating back to Minnesota and may be seen in large numbers across parts of the state over the next few weeks, according to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources (DNR). “It’s definitely time for folks to keep their eyes out,” according to Lisa Gelvin-Innvaer, DNR regional nongame wildlife specialist. “Usually we see these bigger pulses of migrating eagles a little later in March, but it appears that timing may be early for a lot of natural events this year due to the mild winter.” Only two states, Florida and Alaska, have greater nesting populations of bald eagles than Minnesota. In 2005, researchers estimated there to be more than 1,300 active nests in this state. Fall migration typically occurs as lakes and rivers freeze over, since most eagles prefer a diet of fish. Bald eagle wintering grounds typically contain open water, ample food, limited human disturbance and protective roosting sites. Gelvin-Innvaer said th...