To drive home the point, Gilliland reported that the ODWC’s fisheries division will propose in 2009 to remove both the length limit and bag limit on spotted bass statewide. “It’s a free-for-all -- any size, as many as you want,” he said. “That’s over a year from now before that happens, but we’re trying to send a message. There are times when we need people to keep fish.”

Meanwhile, spring is here, and you want to know where to go to enjoy some good bass fishing, both for pleasure and, we hope, to catch a mess for dinner. Here’s a list of prospects for your region.

CENTRAL
Lake KonawaIn terms of numbers and quality, Lake Konawa, a power plant reservoir on the outskirts of the town of Konawa, is Oklahoma’s top bass lake for 2008. Again. That’s right -- again!

It was also the only lake bigger than 1,000 acres that the ODWC surveyed in this region last year. (Continued)

During 2007 electrofishing surveys, it produced 185 bass per hour. Of those, 69, or 37 percent, were longer than 14 inches. The heaviest bass in the survey weighed 8.7 pounds. In terms of fishing, however, Konawa’s quality may depend on when you visit.

“Konawa tends always to be at the top of the list numbers-wise,” Gilliland said, “but it gets very difficult to fish in the summertime. In the spring, some good stringers come out of there, and the tournament results look good, but in the summertime, it gets real weedy. It gets a lot of submerged vegetation, and the water gets hot because of the power plant. It has good bass abundance and decent numbers over 14 inches, but it gets tough in summer. The vegetation really changes the character of the lake.”

Lake Wetumka
Among lakes smaller than 1,000 acres in this region, Lake Wetumka produced 167 bass per hour, but only 22 (13 percent) were larger than 14 inches. The biggest bass weighed 6.4 pounds. Obviously, anglers could help Wetumka by keeping some bass.

Bell Cow
For a high-quality fishing experience, Bell Cow may be the place to go. Last spring it produced only 21 bass per hour, but 16 (76 percent) were longer than 14 inches. The biggest weighed 8.8 pounds.

“Bell Cow has low fish abundance, but it still produces good quality fish,” Gilliland said. “I know fishermen that go there who only get five or six bites a day, but they’re nice ones. They consider that a good day. They don’t have to catch 20 to 30 a day to feel like they’ve had a quality experience.”

OKLAHOMA CITY
The ODWC sampled only three Oklahoma City-area lakes in 2007, Stanley Draper, Purcell and Thunderbird. All three are pathetic, but Gilliland said that Thunderbird had a good spawn in 2007 and might provide some decent fishing in a couple of years.

“Thunderbird was dismal,” he said. “The water level was so low for so long that there’s just no cover, and so the survival of young bass was just really, really poor. It should have had a bumper crop this year. It was down so low for so long that it had so much terrestrial vegetation in the basin. All that got flooded, so its bass should have had tremendous survival, but that won’t translate to better fishing for two or three years.