'If it's not a 180, it's close to it:' Oklahoma Wildlife Department shifts bass management strategy

Hunters and anglers in Oklahoma only have a few more days left to have their opinions heard on proposed 2022 hunting and fishing regulations.

The biggest change being proposed is ending the 14-inch minimum length limit on black bass on Oklahoma lakes (Lake Texoma is an exception).

Oklahoma anglers are currently not allowed to keep any largemouth or smallmouth bass they catch which measures less than 14 inches.

Under the new proposal, anglers still could keep a daily limit of six largemouth or smallmouth bass combined — including bass under 14 inches — but only one bass measuring 16 inches or longer could be kept.

Twenty years of electrofishing surveys show that 70% of the bass in Oklahoma lakes are below 14 inches in length, state fisheries biologists say.

Some lakes have a huge abundance of bass below 14 inches in length, said Josh Johnston, northeast region fisheries supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.

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"There is not very many places you can look at in the state where that is not the case," Johnston said.

The large population of small bass are hindering growth as too many are competing for a finite amount of food in lakes, state wildlife officials say.

They hope the proposed rule change will encourage more anglers to keep and eat the small bass they catch. The goal of removing small bass from lakes is to produce bigger bass in the future.

"It's no different than putting too many cows on a pasture," said Barry Bolton, head of fisheries for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "You eliminate some of those mouths, the ones that are left are going to grow faster."

The new bass management strategy is a drastic reversal of the previous strategy of protecting all small bass so they could potentially grow to trophy-size, Bolton said.

"If it's not a 180, it's close to it," he said.

State wildlife officials excluded Lake Texoma from the proposed black bass regulation because Oklahoma shares the water with Texas.

Black bass are largemouth, smallmouth and spotted bass. There already is no minimum length limit on spotted bass to encourage harvest of those fish.

The new black bass regulation would not apply to streams, but otherwise "it is pretty much a blanket regulation and we are going to see if it works," Bolton said.

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Bass tournament exemptions

Bass tournaments can receive an exemption to the rule that only one fish 16 inches or more could be kept per day. Tournament anglers could keep five bass, regardless of length, and release them after the weigh-in.

The bass tournament director would be responsible for obtaining the exemption, which would be shared with the tournament anglers on their cell phones.

Bass tournaments will be required to file a report with the Wildlife Department within 30 days after the event, which contains information such as number of fish caught, weights, sizes, etc.

If the report is not filed, the tournament director would not receive an exemption the next time, Bolton said. Bass tournaments have shared such information with the agency in the past, but it was voluntary and some bass fishing clubs would not file reports, he said.

Such data, along with the Wildlife Department's spring electrofishing surveys, will help fisheries biologists make management decisions in the future, he said.

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Trying to save quail

December's record warm and dry conditions have made it tough on quail and pheasant hunting in the state, but January hopefully will be colder, wetter and better for the bird dogs.

"Really tough scenting conditions has made it tough for dogs and hunters to find the birds," said Tell Judkins, upland game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. "If we could get some moisture, it would help."

Quail season runs through Feb. 15 in Oklahoma, but that could change on some public hunting areas in western Oklahoma. The Wildlife Department wants to shorten quail hunting season by two weeks on the state's wildlife management areas west of State Highway 81.

By ending quail season Jan. 31 on those public hunting areas, the hope is more birds will survive into the April breeding season.

The quail hunting season dates would remain the same on private land and Oklahoma Land Access Program properties (land the Wildlife Department leases from private landowners).

Judkins said he wants to see the results of shortening the quail season on the public areas before recommending any such change statewide.

"I want to make a decision based on what the data is showing me and make sure it is the right decision," he said. "I don't necessarily want to take away hunting opportunity based on what I think is going to work."

Another rule proposal for those same wildlife management areas would allow trappers to use leg hold traps to catch predators of quail, such as coyotes and raccoons.

"Those two things working together could do some pretty good things for our quail, we hope," Judkins said.

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Comment period ends Friday

A public hearing on all proposed hunting and fishing regulations for 2022 is scheduled at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 6, at the Wildlife Department's headquarters in Oklahoma City, 1801 N Lincoln.

The online public comment period is open through 4:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7. All comments must be made through wildlifedepartment.com or mailed to the Wildlife Department (P.O. Box 53465, OKC, OK 73152) and postmarked by Friday to be accepted.

Opinions shared on social media are not forwarded to state wildlife commissioners, who will make the final decision on rule changes.

Reporter Ed Godfrey looks for stories that impact your life. Be it news, outdoors, sports — you name it, he wants to report it. Have a story idea? Contact him at egodfrey@oklahoman.com or on Twitter @EdGodfrey. Support his work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today.

This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: ODWC hopes proposed changes will produce bigger bass and more quail