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Oklahoma state record established
for black bass hybrid
March 17, 2006 - What do you get when you cross a smallmouth
bass with a spotted bass? You get a black bass hybrid - and Sean
McAllister got a new state record, and pending world record,
fish.
McAllister, who lives in Stilwell, pulled a 6-pound,
14-ounce oddity from Lake Texoma, Feb. 5.
"At first I just thought it was just a weird
looking smallmouth, until someone mentioned it looked like a
spotted bass," McAllister said.
Fisheries biologists with the Oklahoma Department
of Wildlife Conservation suspected it was a black bass hybrid
and DNA analysis confirmed it was a cross between smallmouth
and spotted bass. The Wildlife Department established a new category,
black bass hybrid, for the unique fish.
"It is certainly rare, but it is not totally
unheard of. I have seen two others in my 35 years of experience,
but both were much smaller than this one," said Paul Mauck,
south central fisheries supervisor for the Wildlife Department.
According to Mauck, the black bass hybrids occur
naturally when the spawning areas of the two species overlap.
While hybridization occurs occasionally throughout
the two fishes range, only Missouri currently recognizes a black
bass hybrid record. Since that record stands at 5-pounds, 10-ounces,
McAllister's fish will set a new world record, pending approval
from the International Game Fish Association.
McAllister caught the record fish while fishing
a Carolina-rigged Zoom lizard. The fish measured 20.8-inches
long and was 16.5 inches in girth.
Mauck offered a few tips on identifying spotted
and smallmouth bass. Spotted bass typically have a sandpaper-like
tooth patch on the tongue that can be felt with a finger, according
to Mauck. The most recognizable characteristics of a smallmouth
is its brown color, additionally smallmouth often have vertical
bars on their sides rather than the dark spots of the spotted
bass.
For a complete list of record fish and the procedures
regarding certifying state record fish, consult the "2006
Oklahoma Fishing Guide." If you think you may have hooked
a record fish it is important that you weigh the fish on an Oklahoma
State Department of Agriculture certified scale and the weight
is verified by a Wildlife Department employee.
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