Miranda Lambert’s spoonbill, bass fishing is red-hot and top water bite has started on Texoma stripers
Miranda Lambert snagged this paddlefish below Hudson Lake in northeastern Oklahoma
Last week I blogged about country music star Blake Shelton of Ada catching a lake record paddlefish from Hudson Lake.
Fellow country star Miranda Lambert, a Texas native who now lives near Tishomingo, also was on that trip and snagged a paddlefish, which are also called spoonbills and the Oklahoma Marlin in the Sooner state.
Paddlefishing is slowing down to a halt in northeastern Oklahoma. The lack of timely rains has cut the season short, said Brent Gordon, northeast fisheries chief for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
“It’s dying down,” he said. “They need their spring rains for that run and they just haven’t gotten it.”
Gordon thinks the paddlefish might have one good spawning run left this year if it rains.
“They just haven’t had the flows to bring them up (the rivers) to spawn,” Gordon said.
As of Thursday, 3,500 paddlefish had been checked in at the Wildlife Department’s cleaning and processing station at Twin Bridges State Park on Grand Lake.
That’s about half the number of what the center check in last year, Gordon said.
Some of the decline is due to tighter restrictions on paddlefishing this year, but most of it is the result of the unfavorable spring weather, he said.
The biggest paddlefish checked in has been 68.9 pounds.
Bass fishing is going gangbusters
While the paddlefishing is getting cold, the bass fishing is heating up.
“We are hearing good reports from practically every corner of the state,” said Gene Gilliland, fisheries biologist for the Wildlife Department. “I was talking to one guy who said Hugo and Pine Creek were on fire.”
Water temperatures have risen dramatically recently and bass are moving to the banks to spawn.
“It’s going on full-tilt right now in a lot of places,” Gilliland said.
Grand, Texoma, Arbuckle and Murray are all lakes where Gilliland has received reports of bass on spawning beds.
“Konawa has been doing really good,” he said. “Everywhere, we are hearing that the fish are in 2 to 3 feet of water.”
At McGee Creek, one of the state’s best bass lakes by reputation, a Missouri angler landed a 10.6-pound bass on Wednesday.
McGee Creek fishing guide Chuck Justice said he and client caught four largemouth bass weighing between 8 and 10 pounds on Wednesday and numerous fish ranging from 4 to 7 pounds.
“The fishing here is just outrageously good on big fish right now,” he said. “It’s just going to get better for the next two or three weeks.”
Top-water bite has started on Texoma
Anglers have started catching stripers on top-water lures at Lake Texoma.
For my money, there is nothing that’s more fun than getting into a school of white bass or stripers when they are surfacing.
The top water action will be more frequent in the coming weeks.
“There have been a few good top water days, but in my experience it’s still a little early for it,” said Matt Mauck of the Wildlife Department.
“May is generally when it kicks off good.”
Thank you for joining our conversation on Outdoors. We encourage your discussion but ask that you stay within the bounds of our commenting and posting policy.
Comments
If you would like to catch a lot bigger spoonbill than that just email me & i can put you & your new husband on 50 to 75 pounders next spring.
Blake and Miranda, my wife and I were gald to hear you finally tied the knot. I’ve seen you both on a few shows, some huntin’, some pickin’. Just wanted to say if you ever want to come to N.C. and kill a nice Buck or a Black Bear during our season send me an email and well talk. Congradulations!! and keep us laughing Blake. You had me rollin’ when you went hunting with Micheal Waddell and Uncle Ted. The hogs and the truck cab. “now , just throw me a little corn right here”. Anyway, good luck in your lives and careers!!!
you guys are the best down to earth couple there ever was, i wish i had that closeness in my marriage,i wish i could come and see you at the “midland county fair in august” but work has cut my hours so much that i cant hardly afford gas at almost $4.00 a gallon . I love you both and so does my * year old Autistic daughter . xoxoxo
[...] Ed reports that Lambert snagged her own impressive paddlefish, which are also called spoonbills and the [...]