Erin Howell of Lebanon snagged this 176-pound alligator gar recently from the Red River. The fish measured 7 feet, 5 inches. She returned the fish to the river.

CENTRAL
Arcadia: May 13. Elevation normal, water muddy. Largemouth bass fair on spinnerbaits along flooded vegetation. Channel catfish slow to fair on cut bait and stinkbait. Blue catfish fair to good on cut bait and stinkbait. Crappie good on minnows and jigs along the floating dock. Report submitted by David Rempe, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.
Arcadia: May 14. Elevation normal, water 65 and murky. Bass good on spinnerbaits along shorelines. Striped bass hybrids fair on shad and blood bait. Catfish slow to fair on shad and stinkbait off points. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 2-4 ft. along rocky shorelines and structure early and late. Report submitted by Sheila Hutton, gate attendant.
Draper: May 12. Elevation below normal, water murky. Boating closed due to low water levels. All fishing slow. Report submitted by Tony Woodruff, game warden stationed in Cleveland County
Hefner: May 13. Elevation normal, water 62-65 and murky. All boat ramps and the marina area are closed until 5 p.m. on May 17 due to a special event. Largemouth and smallmouth bass good on spinnerbaits and soft plastic baits in south creeks. White bass and striped bass hybrids good on chartreuse grubs at 2-6 ft. around docks, shallow shorelines and the intake. Channel catfish good on punch bait and live bait at the intake and dam. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 4-10 ft. along the south shore. Walleye good on chartreuse grubs and spinnerbaits at 2-8 ft. around docks, shallow shorelines and the intake. Report submitted by Lucky Lure Tackle.
Overholser: May 13. Elevation normal, water murky. Striped bass hybrids fair on chicken liver and night crawlers along the dam on warm days. Report submitted by David Rempe, game warden stationed in Oklahoma County.
Thunderbird: May 12. Elevation 4 ft. below normal, water clear. Crappie fair to good on minnows and jigs at 2-4 ft. around structure. Bass fair to good on tandem spinnerbaits and plastic worms at 2-6 ft. near structure and coves. Catfish fair to good on stinkbait and cut bait at 4-8 ft. near drop-offs. Report by Tony Woodruff, game warden stationed in Cleveland County.
Wes Watkins: Elevation 7 ft. below normal, water stained. Main boat ramp on the north side is open. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs near structure. Channel catfish fair on worms. Bass fair on spinnerbaits. Report submitted by Mike France, game warden stationed in Pottawatomie County.
NORTHEAST
Bell Cow: May 12. Elevation below normal, water muddy. Bass good on spinnerbaits and plastic baits. Channel catfish good on chicken liver, stinkbait and dough bait. Crappie good on minnows and jigs. Report submitted by Gary Emmons, game warden stationed in Lincoln County.
Birch: May 11. Elevation below normal, water clear. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 3-8 ft. Report submitted by David Clay, game warden stationed in Osage County.
Carl Blackwell: May 14. Elevation below normal, water warming and clear. Channel catfish good on stinkbait and punch bait along the bank near rocks. Largemouth bass fair near shallow cover. Crappie fair to good near structure after dark. Report submitted by Wade Farrar, game warden stationed in Logan County.
Chandler: May 12. Elevation normal, water muddy. Bass good on plastic baits and spinnerbaits. Channel catfish fair on chicken liver and dough bait. Crappie good on minnows and jigs. Report submitted by Gary Emmons, game warden stationed in Lincoln County.
Copan: May 13. Elevation normal, water clearing. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 2-4 ft. White bass fair on minnows and jigs near the mouth of creeks and inlets. Blue and channel catfish being caught on cut bait and chicken liver. Report submitted by Joe Alexander, game warden stationed in Washington County.
Eucha: May 14. Elevation 1/2 ft. above normal, water 62 and dingy. Catfish good on trotlines and limb lines baited with sunfish. Largemouth bass fair on jerk baits around grass beds. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs. Bluegill fair on crickets and worms. Report submitted by Dwight Moore, City of Tulsa.
Ft. Gibson: May 13. Elevation 2 1/2 ft. above normal, water 65 and clear. Crappie excellent on minnows and jigs at 1 ft. around any rocky banks and structure on hour after daylight and one hour before dark. Catfish excellent on whole shad and juglines drifting the main river and the flats. Paddlefish excellent in the Chouteau Bend area. Largemouth bass fair on crankbaits and spinnerbaits at 5-15 ft. White bass fair in the creeks and starting to move back into the main lake. Report submitted by Rick Stafford of Wagoner.
Grand: May 12. Elevation 1 ft. above normal, water 63. Largemouth bass good on Slug-Gos and jigs shallow. Catfish fair on fresh cut bait. Crappie good on minnows and jigs shallow. All other fishing slow. Report submitted by Kody Moore, game warden stationed in Delaware County.
Greenleaf: May 14. Excellent on soft jerk baits, Sinko, Yum Dingers and chatter baits shallow around stumps and cover. Crappie excellent on minnows, jigs, Strike King’s joker and Slab Doctor’s baby shad shallow around brush along banks and in the lake. Report submitted by Mike’s Outdoors.
Hudson: May 14. Elevation normal. Largemouth bass good on crankbaits, spinnerbaits and plastic baits. White bass good on small lures below dams and mouths of creeks. Channel and blue catfish good on cut shad and liver. Paddlefish fair to good in the upper end. Report submitted by Steve Loveland, game warden stationed in Rogers and Mayes counties.
Hulah: May 13. Elevation normal, water clearing. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 3-6 ft. White bass fair on minnows and jigs in white and pink near the mouth of creeks and inlets. Blue catfish good on cut bait and worms. Report submitted by Joe Alexander, game warden stationed in Washington County.
Kaw: May 15. Blue catfish good on worms with rod-and-reel and slow on juglines baited with cut bait and worms. Crappie good around Washunga Bay. Paddlefish slow below the dam. Report submitted by Emily Long, game warden stationed in Kay and Grant counties.
Keystone: May 14. Elevation 1 ft. above normal, water 60. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 3-5 ft. Catfish excellent on cut bait at 40-50 ft. White bass fair trolling rattletraps. Largemouth bass fair on minnows and plastic baits. Report submitted by Karlin Bailey, game warden stationed in Creek County.
Oologah: May 12. Elevation 1/2 ft. above normal and falling slowly, water low to mid 60s and muddy on the north end and murky on the south end. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 2-8 ft. along rocky banks. Channel and blue catfish good on shad and liver around the mouth of the river on the north end. Largemouth bass fair on spinnerbaits and crankbaits at 4-8 ft. around points. Blue catfish fair on shad below the dam. White bass fair on jigs below the dam. Report submitted by Brek Henry, game warden stationed in Rogers County.
Skiatook: May 13. Elevation 12 3/4 ft. below normal, water clear. Largemouth bass fair on spinnerbaits in back of coves. Crappie fair on minnows and jigs at 2-5 ft. along shorelines. All other fishing slow. Report submitted by Paul Welch, game warden stationed in Osage County.
Sooner: May 13. White bass fair on sassy shad and topwater lures in the discharge. Catfish fair on cut bait and live bait in the discharge. Crappie good on minnows and jigs around banks. Report submitted by Doug Gottschalk, game warden stationed in Noble County.
Spavinaw: May 14. Elevation 3/4 ft. above normal, water 62 and dingy. Crappie fair to good on minnows on slip cork along banks in evening and mid-morning. Largemouth bass good on lizards and crayfish all around the lake. White bass fair trolling white bombers and crankbaits in the main lake. Report submitted by Dwight Moore, City of Tulsa.
Tenkiller: May 13. Elevation 5 ft. above normal and rising, water murky. Largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass slow on spinnerbaits, buzz baits and topwater lures in flooded brush. Crappie slow on minnows in coves and docks. Sunfish fair on worms in docks. Report submitted by Monte Brooks of Cookson.
Webbers Falls: May 14. Bass excellent on tubes, chatter baits, flipper and Zoom brush hogs shallow around stumps and cover. Crappie excellent shallow around stumps and flats. Fish are spawning. Report submitted by Mike’s Outdoors.
NORTHWEST
Canton: May 12. Elevation 13 ft. below normal, water clear. Crappie good on minnows and jigs along the dam and Canadian campground. White bass fair on jigs and crankbaits along the dam. Report submitted by Mark Walker, game warden stationed Blaine County.
Ft. Supply: May 13. Elevation normal. Channel and blue catfish fair on stinkbait and cut bait all over the lake. Crappie fair jigging along the jetties. Report submitted by Mark Reichenberger, game warden stationed in Woodward County.
SOUTHEAST
Arbuckle: May 12. Elevation 7 ft. below normal, water 70. Crappie spawning in coves at 5-7 ft. off bluff banks and good off docks. White bass being caught on shad crankbaits and wiggle-tailed grubs; spawning and along windblown banks. Largemouth bass being caught on bass jigs while spawning and on crankbaits, shaky head worms, flukes and Carolina rigs. Smallmouth bass being caught on square bill baits and flukes. Report submitted by Jack Melton.
Blue River: May 13. Elevation normal, water 73 and clear. Smallmouth and spotted bass good on soft plastics around cover in large pools. Channel catfish good on chicken liver, stinkbait and minnows in large pools around current and around structure. Sunfish excellent on crickets and small jigs in still waters. Rainbow trout slow. Report submitted by Matt Gamble, biologist at the Blue River Public Fishing and Hunting Area.
Broken Bow: May 12. Water upper 60s. Bass good on flukes, shaky heads, swim baits and Carolina rigs in pink, green pumpkin and white at 5-15 ft. and on topwater lures and spinnerbaits along shallows early and late. Crappie good on chartreuse/orange and green weenie jigs at 15-30 ft. in creeks around timber. Walleye good on jerk baits and swim baits around islands and main lake points at night. Report submitted by Dru Polk, game warden stationed in McCurtain County.
Eufaula: May 12. Elevation 1 ft. above normal, water 64 and clear in the east and murky in the west. Largemouth bass good on crankbaits, spinnerbaits and plastic baits around buck brush and riprap areas. White bass good on jigs below the dam when running water. Blue catfish good on various baits along shallow flats and moving into rocky areas. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 1-5 ft. along banks and traditional spawning areas. Report submitted by Ed Rodebush, game warden stationed in McIntosh County.
Hugo: May 12. Elevation 1/2 ft. above normal, water 64. Largemouth bass good on lizards and dressed jigs around the button brush and along ledges. Crappie fair on minnows along the river channel and fair to good on jigs in the tail water. Blue catfish good on cut bait in the tail water. Report submitted by Jay Harvey, game warden stationed in Choctaw and Bryan counties.
Konawa: May 12. Elevation normal, water 71 and clear. Largemouth bass excellent on plastic worms at 3-6 ft. along cattails and weed beds. White bass and striped bass hybrids fair on spoons and jigs at 5-10 ft. Channel catfish fair on chicken liver and stinkbait at 3-5 ft. around points. All other fishing slow. Report submitted by Daryl Howser, game warden stationed in Seminole County.
Lower Mountain Fork: May 12. Fishing has been great. In addition to midges and blue-winged olive mayflies, March Browns and tan caddis flies are beginning to take trout throughout the river. Report submitted by Mark Hannah, game warden stationed in McCurtain County.
McGee Creek: Elevation 1/2 ft. above normal, water 64 and clear. Largemouth bass good on soft plastic lures and spinnerbaits at 5-15 ft. Crappie fair on minnows over cedar trees and next to creek channels. Channel catfish fair to good on liver and stinkbait in upper creek channels where fresh water is coming in. Report submitted by Larry Luman, game warden stationed in Atoka County.
Murray: May 13. Elevation 6-7 ft. below normal, water 68. Largemouth and smallmouth bass good on various baits, soft plastic baits, spinnerbaits and crankbaits. White bass slow on minnows and jigs. Channel catfish good on stinkbait, liver and worms at 3-4 ft. Crappie fair to good at 5-7 ft. around brush. Report submitted by Jeremy Brothers, game warden stationed in Carter County.
Pine Creek: May 12. Elevation normal, water clear. Crappie excellent on jigs at 6-8 ft. Bass good on pumpkin seed grubs and craw jigs near flooded timber and points. Catfish picking up on night crawlers off the half bridge. Report submitted by Mark Hannah, game warden stationed in McCurtain County.
Robert S. Kerr: May 11. Bass fair on crankbaits and stick baits and good on topwater lures off points, along creek channels and in coves up river in coves. White and spotted bass excellent up the Canadian River; look for concentrations of gulls; white bass are congregated in deeper pools. Crappie fair close to creek channels on submerged brush. Channel and blue catfish excellent on trotlines and juglines baited with cut bait at 12-20 ft. close to creek and river channels. Report submitted by Allen Couch, game warden stationed in Haskell County.
Sardis: May 10. Elevation 1 ft. above normal, water 66. Channel and blue catfish fair to good on cut bait and dead minnows. Flathead catfish fair to good on live bait. All other fishing slow. Report submitted by Dane Polk, game warden stationed in Pushmataha County.
Texoma: May 12. Elevation 3 ft. below normal, water 56 and murky in the north and clear in the south. Largemouth bass and smallmouth bass fair to good on spinnerbaits and crankbaits at 5-15 ft. in the creek channels. Striped and white bass fair to good on slabs, sassy shad and live bait at 10-30 ft. from Platter Flats to the Islands. Channel and blue catfish fair to good on live bait, stinkbait and worms at 10-20 ft. from the Washita River to Catfish Bay. Crappie fair to good on minnows and jigs at 5-15 ft. in the upper creeks and underwater brush piles. Sunfish fair to good on shrimp, worms and small tube jigs at 5-10 ft. around fish attractors and riprap. Report submitted by Danny Clubb, game warden stationed in Bryan County.
Wister: May 12. Elevation normal, water murky. Largemouth bass good on spinnerbaits and crankbaits, R2 best. Crappie good on minnows and fair on white/pink grubs at 2-8 ft. around brushy cover. Catfish good on juglines and trotlines baited with cut bait and dead minnows at 8-12 ft. Report submitted by Randy Fennell, game warden stationed in LeFlore County.
SOUTHWEST
Altus-Lugert: Fishery is still affected by the Golden Algae blooms from this past winter. Fisheries personnel are continuing to monitor the situation.
Ellsworth: May 12. Elevation 5 ft. below normal, water muddy. Catfish fair to good on cut bait off rocky points. Crappie fair to good on minnows and jigs in shallow water around structure. Report submitted by Mike Carroll, game warden stationed in Comanche County
Foss: May 14. Elevation 12 ft. below normal with gates closed, water low 60s and clear. Main ramp is still open. Walleye good on live bait. Crappie good near the marina. Catfish fair trotlines baited with liver and stinkbait. Report submitted by Eric Puyear, B & K Bait House.
Ft. Cobb: May 14. Elevation 4 ft. below normal, water 67 and murky. Crappie good on minnows and jigs at 2-8 ft. Channel and blue catfish good on cut bait and live bait at various depths. Striped bass hybrids good on swim baits, cut baits, live baits and crankbaits at 4-8 ft. Largemouth bass good on live bait, soft plastic baits, crankbaits and swim baits at 2-6 ft. Report submitted by Tyler Howser, game warden stationed in Caddo County.
Lawtonka: May 12. Elevation normal, water murky. Catfish fair to good on cut bait. All other fishing slow. Report submitted by Mike Carroll, game warden stationed in Comanche County.
Tom Steed: Elevation 10 ft. below normal, water murky. Crappie good on minnows and jigs along shallow rock and brush areas. White bass and striped bass hybrids good on minnows on bottom off points. Catfish fair on cut bait. Report submitted by David Smith, game warden stationed in Kiowa County.
Waurika: Elevation 12 ft. below normal, water murky. Crappie fair on minnows and white/chartreuse jigs near rocks and timber. Striped bass hybrids very good on crayfish, jigs and shiny spoons off windy points. Blue catfish very good along the rocks at Corum Bridge. Flathead catfish fair on worms and sunfish. Report submitted by Ted Hasty, game warden stationed in Jefferson County.

Feral hogs destroy wildlife habitat at alarming rates and cause a number of important concerns to hunters, farmers and other landowners in Oklahoma.
Feral hogs can cause extensive damage to farm fields, crops, stored livestock feed, woodlots, suburban landscaping, golf courses and wildlife habitat relied upon by native species such as deer, turkey, squirrels and quail.
Their voracious appetites, destructive habits and prolific breeding patterns wreak havoc on the landscape, often resulting in overwhelming competition to native species. They may also carry diseases that can be transmitted to other species, including humans.
“The bottom line is they don’t belong here,” said Kevin Grant, Oklahoma state director of Wildlife Services for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS), which oversees feral swine management issues in Oklahoma as part of a memorandum of understanding with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. The memorandum is rooted in the fact that feral swine are not true wildlife, but rather descendants of domestic stock living at large in a feral state.
Grant said millions of dollars and significant resources have been spent in an effort to make sure domestic swine stock is safe from disease, so the presence of feral populations raises concerns for the safety of domestic swine and the swine industry.
“If they’re here, they need to be on the plate or in a pen because they’re not native to the Americas, and the way that they’re really taking off out there is pretty phenomenal,” Grant said.
Grant’s comments were part of a presentation to the Oklahoma Wildlife Conservation Commission on the statewide status of feral swine, or “wild hogs” as they are often called in Oklahoma.
According to Grant and officials with the Wildlife Department, feral hogs are a well-established and still growing problem in Oklahoma.
“They are probably the most prolific large mammal around,” Grant said, adding that feral swine can reach sexual maturity by 6 months of age, have relatively short gestational periods and can give birth to large litters multiple times a year.
In the 1990s, the Agriculture Department worked with the Wildlife Department and the Noble Foundation to study the spread of feral hog populations in Oklahoma. Feral hogs seemed to originate in southeastern Oklahoma, and they since have spread to all 77 counties.
Grant said a common question is what can be done about growing and problematic feral hog populations.
“There is no one thing,” Grant said. “It’s our nature – we want to believe that there’s a magic bullet we can employ that will solve this.”
But Grant said solutions are not simple.
“It’s going to take a combination of a lot of things to get any kind of control on feral swine,” he said.
Grant said to truly have an effect, an estimated 70 percent of the feral hog population would need to be harvested annually for several years, an unlikely probability due to lack of access to populations. Additionally, in a given area, some landowners may wish to eradicate populations whereas others may not wish to do so on their property.
Three possible approaches to feral hog population control include trapping, aerial hunting and the use of toxicants, Grant said, though each has significant limitations.
For example, hogs can learn to avoid or even escape traps, a common method used across Oklahoma.
“It’s a good method; it’s not the end-all,” Grant said, adding that trapping may at least help keep up with feral hog reproduction in a local population.
“Aerial hunting is a really good way to get them,” he said “But it has its downside, too. One is that you have to be able to see them.”
Visibility restricts aerial hunting to those times of the year when there are no leaves on trees and brush. Additionally, hogs can learn to avoid aerial activity and adapt simply by moving onto properties not frequented by low-flying airplanes and helicopters.
Aerial hunting also can be risky and hazardous. The state Legislature has passed two bills that allow aerial hunting from helicopter or fixed-wing aircraft outside the Oct. 1-Jan. 15 period.
The governor has signed one bill, and another is awaiting signature.
The Department of Agriculture Wildlife Services also is studying the use of toxicants as a method for control, though it has not been implemented in the United States.
In Australia, hog populations are being successfully controlled with the use of sodium nitrite.
However, any toxicant used in the United States for wildlife population control must be registered with the EPA after a tremendous amount of testing and evaluations. Effective solutions for avoiding non-target species also must be developed.
“This is going to be some years down the road,” Grant said.
Alan Peoples, chief of wildlife for the Wildlife Department, said traditional methods of hunting hogs do not decrease populations of feral swine as much as simply dispersing those populations.
Still, feral hog hunting is a popular pursuit in Oklahoma.

Caddo ceremonial dancers are in need of turkey feathers

Members of the Caddo Nation of Oklahoma are asking turkey hunters to provide feathers for their ceremonial Turkey Dance.
“We have about 20 dances carried over from ancient times,” said Phil Cross, a historian for the Caddo Culture Club in Binger.
“We have a special dance called the Turkey Dance that is one of our most cherished. We use the feathers of the wild turkey in our dances and regalia.”
With Oklahoma’s wild turkey hunting season underway, Harris is hoping that hunters could donate some feathers for the ceremonial dances.
“Wing and tail feathers are the most desired for making our fans and other items,” Cross said.
The Caddo Culture Club was established many years ago to preserve and teach the Caddo Indian culture and traditions.
Members of the club have appeared at powwows, universities, public schools, civic clubs, historical societies and museums throughout the United States to perform their dances.
If you have turkey feathers to donate, call Harris at (405) 933-2473 or email info@caddolegacy.com.
More information about the club can be found at www.caddolegacy.com

Jason Christie of Park Hill won on the FLW Tour on April 14 then captured a Bassmaster Elite Series crown on Monday at Bull Shoals.

FROM BASS REPORTS

Two days ago on the Ramada Quest stage, Bassmaster Elite Series pro Jason Christie bemoaned the crystal water and dead-calm conditions of Arkansas’ Bull Shoals Lake.
“Clear water and no wind scare the heck out of me,” said the Elite Series rookie from Park Hill on that second day of competition. He dropped from fourth place to 14th.
It was a serious fall in what had become the “ounces-count” Quest.
If Christie was scared, he was scared straight. On the third day, the Oklahoma pro managed to climb up to 11th place and qualify for Monday’s fourth and final round. He was 5 pounds, 6 ounces behind the leader.
Monday at the weigh-in, he showed what having the fire under you can do. He turned in a huge bag, the tournament’s largest: 18 pounds even. Christie won his first Elite Series trophy and $100,000. It was his second consecutive Bassmaster Classic qualification.
“Awesome,” said Christie about his secure return to the Classic.
“I was hooked on it last time, and I’m ready to go again.”
Christie’s winning weight was 56 pounds, 8 ounces. The five largemouth in his Day 4 bag of 18-0 included two 4-pounders and a 5-0, the largest bass of the day.
His margin of victory was 1 pound, 2 ounces over Fred Roumbanis of Bixby, Okla. That was a notable achievement given that the Day 3 leader, Casey Scanlon, led by 12 ounces, and the Day 1 and 2 leader, Greg Vinson, led by 1 pound and by 3 ounces, respectively.
Christie’s leapfrog from 11th into first place was the biggest Day 4 comeback in Elite Series history. (Arkansas pro Kevin Short rose from sixth place to win the 2009 Mississippi River Elite event.)
Christie, 39, came into the Quest hot off an April 14 FLW Tour win on Beaver Lake. The Elite Series title of Monday chalked up rare consecutive wins in the sport’s best-known circuits, both on White River impoundments in Arkansas.
“I just want to ride this train ’til it wrecks,” said Christie of his winning streak.
He said he saw few similarities in Beaver and Bull Shoals, except for one factor:
“Beaver taught me the fish are not as far along as we thought that they were. The males are pulling up, but the females are still in the eating mode,” he said. “But Beaver and Bull Shoals are a lot different, even though they’re on the same river [the White]. Beaver has a lot of colored, flat water — but Bull Shoals has a lot of fish in it.”
At Bull Shoals, his winning pattern was firing casts to schooling fish busting the surface of a creek he fished all four days. But he didn’t see that schooling action until the fourth day. On the first day, he used a crankbait. The second day he tried the crankbait, then put it down when it didn’t produce and went to a Carolina rig. The third day he went again to the rig, but abandoned it for flipping bushes. On Day 4, when the fish started to show themselves, he broke out a Heddon Zara Spook One Knocker, a bait with one big internal weight in a transparent finish.
“I was going from bush pocket to bush pocket, and they came up,” Christie said. “I stayed there. When I need a 3 1/2 to cull, and I haven’t seen a 3 1/2 all week, I’m going to stay there.”
He said the bass were breaking the surface across a “giant” area.
“The only ones you could catch were the ones close to you,” he said. “They were going so much, I’d turn to one side, go for one, then turn to another. I tried to stay on top of it as much as I could.”
He caught his entire 18 pounds Monday on the Spook. When he was flipping to bushes, he used a green-pumpkin Yum Wooly Hawg. The crankbait was a Bomber 6A in crawdad.
Day 3 leader Scanlon of Lenexa, Kan., ended in third place with 54-11. Finishing fourth at 54-1 was Cliff Prince of Palatka, Fla. Fifth place was taken with 53-15 by Lake Wylie, S.C., pro Britt Myers, who finished second in the 2012 Quest.
Christie’s victory was his first Elite Series win, but third on the Bassmaster circuit he joined in 2012 to make his bid to be an Elite pro. In the Opens, he won a Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open event and secured a berth in the 2013 Bassmaster Classic, his first. By the end of the season, he had amassed enough Northern Open points to qualify for the Elite Series. He also scored a second 2012 Open win.
In his first Classic appearance — in February on his home water, Grand Lake O’ the Cherokees — Christie finished seventh. His Elite debut was not so pretty: 69th at the Sabine River. He recovered nicely with a Top 12 on Falcon Lake.
The Quest produced a new leader in the Toyota Bassmaster Angler of the Year race: Edwin Evers of Talala.
Former leader Brandon Card of Caryville, Tenn., dropped into sixth place. Evers has 259 points; Card, 233.
Between Evers and Card in AOY standings are Terry Scroggins, San Mateo, Fla., second place with 250 points; seven-time AOY winner Kevin VanDam of Kalamazoo, Mich., third place with 250; and Ish Monroe of Hughson, Calif., and Jeff Kriet of Ardmore, both with 238 points.

Oklahoma noodlers will be able to go after blue catfish and channel catfish in addition to flatheads in the summer of 2014.

Noodlers in Oklahoma will be able to go after channel catfish and blue catfish next year along with flatheads.
Gov. Mary Fallin has signed legislation which makes it legal for noodlers, or hand fishermen, to keep blue cats and channel cats in addition to flathead catfish. The law takes effect Nov. 1.
Whether noodlers actively will search for blue cats, however, is another story.
Blue cats are known for having a sharper bite than flatheads, and many noodlers who have snatched them in past have expressed regret.
“Compared to a dog, a blue cat is a pit bull and a flathead is a poodle,” said Skipper Bivens of Temple, star of the Hillybilly Handfishing television show.
Most noodlers are able to snatch catfish during spawning season when the males are guarding the nests. But there is a difference in the bite of a blue cat and a flathead.
“If they catch a blue cat, they will pay for it,” said Robert Fleenor, head of the law enforcement division for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.