Oct. 27–The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation’s winter trout fishing areas will open on Friday.
The winter trout areas are Blue River near Tishomingo, Medicine Creek in Medicine Park, Lake Watonga, Lake Pawhuska, Lake Carl Etling in the Panhandle and Robber’s Cave State Park near Wilburton.
Daily limit is six rainbow trout, except in portions of the Blue River.
Trout are usually stocked every two weeks in the winter fishing areas. Lake Carl Etling will receive more trout this season than in past years because the lake is full again after recent rain, state wildlife officials said.
Trout anglers need only a state fishing license. A separate trout license is no longer required.
BLUE RIVER TROUT DERBY NOV. 9-10
Blue River will be the site of the annual Veteran’s Day Trout Derby Nov. 9-10.
Sponsored by the Johnston County Chamber of Commerce and the Blue River Association, the entry fee is $25 for adults and $20 for ages 15 and younger.
Cash prizes of $100 will be awarded for heaviest two-day total of trout in male, female, youth and fly fishing divisions.
Some trout in the river will have attached tags worth $100, $50 and $20 for the anglers who catch them. The number of tagged trout totals $1,000.
For more information on the derby, call (580) 371-9288 or (580) 371-2175.
LAST BASS TOURNAMENT ON LAKE EUFAULA
The annual Last Bass Tournament, sponsored by the law firm of Lawter and Associates, will be held Nov. 10 on Lake Eufaula.
The two-man bass tourney is open to all anglers. Boats will launch from Eufaula Cove. Entry fee is $150 per boat if received by Thursday or $170 after Thursday.
Payback is 100 percent with the law firm adding $4,000 to the total purse. Total payouts are expected to exceed $56,000 based on past tournaments.
For more information, contact Jeff Saxton at (800) 522-8282, email [email protected] or visit www.lawterlaw.com.
SWAMP MAN TO VISIT OKC
Troy Landry, one of the stars of the History Channel’s “Swamp People,” will be making an appearance Saturday in Oklahoma City.
The alligator hunter from Pierre Part, La., will be signing autographs at O’Connor’s Lawn and Garden Store near Quail Springs Mall between noon and 4 p.m.
DEER MUZZLELOADER SEASON NOW OPEN
Oklahoma’s deer muzzleloader season opened Saturday and will continue through Nov. 3 statewide.
Archery deer season remains open through Jan. 15. So far, more than 12,000 deer have been harvested by bow hunters and youth gun hunters this season, state wildlife officials said.
“With the recent onset of cooler weather, deer will be moving longer in the mornings and earlier in the evenings,” said Erik Bartholomew, big game biologist for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation. “Hunters need to find natural food sources (for deer) like oak trees that are dropping acorns or persimmon trees.”
GUN HUNTERS GET A CHANCE AT BEARS
The bear muzzleloader season also opened Saturday and runs through Nov. 3 in the southeastern Oklahoma counties of Pushmataha, McCurtain, Latimer and Le Flore.
Bear archery season ended Oct. 20 with a total of 27 bears taken by bow hunters, almost all during the first few days of the three-week season, said Joe Hemphill, southeast region wildlife supervisor for the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation.
Bow hunters can still try to fill their archery tags during the bear muzzleloader season.
“Kinda slow,” Hemphill said of this year’s bear hunting. “Too much food, muscadines and acorns, on the ground out there (for bears).”
Hemphill expects hunters to have difficulty finding bears during muzzleloader season. Five black bears are the most ever taken by hunters during the muzzleloader season.
DUCK AND GOOSE SEASON WILL BE OPEN STATEWIDE SATURDAY
Duck season is now open in the Panhandle and Zone One (parts of northwest and north-central Oklahoma) and Saturday marks the season opener in Zone Two, which encompasses the rest of the state.
Goose season also opens statewide on Saturday. The first half of duck season runs through Dec. 1 in Zones One and Two and statewide for goose season. The hunting seasons then reopen on Dec. 14.
Duck season runs uninterrupted through Jan. 8 in the Panhandle. Sandhill crane season is currently open through Jan. 14, west of I-35 only.
TULSAN WINS ARKANSAS FLY FISHING TOURNAMENT
Last weekend’s annual “One Fly or Lure Tournament,” held at Spider Creek Resort on the White River near Eureka Springs, Ark., was won by Ken Russell of Tulsa, who caught 40 rainbow trout on a single fly.
Jim Sinclair of Eureka Springs, Ark., finished second and Bryce Cadion, formerly of Jay, placed third.
The tournament is held on the Beaver Lake tailwaters of the White River in northwest Arkansas.