Sorry Texas, the new record holder for largemouth bass in Lake Texoma just went north.
On March 3, Royce Harlan of Kingston, Okla. hauled in a 12.4-lb. largemouth bass from the waters of Lake Texoma, nabbing that lake record and setting the stage for a great fishing season.
Harlan caught the 24-inch bass in the Washita arm using a Carolina-rigged soft plastic bait. The fish is a new record bass for Texoma in the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s lake record fish program. It also beats the current Texas lake record of 11.82 pounds caught Jan. 13, 2000 by Kenneth Stone.
“It’s always a thrill to catch a big fish,” Harlan said. “Everybody always hopes for that one big bite. I got it, and I’m thankful for it.”
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s lake record fish program was initiated in 2008 to recognize big fish from certain lakes and the anglers who catch them.
The program has grown from about a dozen lakes at its inception to more than 40 lakes today. So while anglers all over the state can go fishing just for leisure, they also have a chance of putting their name in a record book.
