Waurika, once under Paul Mauck's supervision, was transferred to Cofer's region several years ago during one of the ODWC's frequent reorganizations. Mauck sounds almost wistful about the loss, but Cofer considers it a welcome windfall.

"I didn't go there until I started working it a few years ago, but now it's one of my favorites," Cofer said.

He recalled a recent trip with a friend, Frankie Phelps, when they both caught 12-pound hybrids.

"I'd put a 12-pound hybrid against any striper," Cofer said. "It reminds me of a red drum on the coast. You get him up to the boat and it sees you, and it runs again and again and again on those drag-burning runs. Trying to get him into the boat is a chore, especially if you don't have a net."

Fort Cobb
Situated near Binger, hometown of Johnny Bench, the Hall of Fame catcher for the Cincinnati Reds, Fort Cobb should be an all-star performer, but it's not. Cofer is still trying to figure out why.

"It's full of gizzard shad, just full of them," Cofer said. "We stock it every year with hybrids, but we don't have consistent year classes there, and we don't know what the reason is.

"We had a sand bass die-off there a few years ago that got just about every one of them," he added. "It was some kind of virus, we think. We tried to supplement that situation with hybrids. We stock them every year, but survival hasn't been consistent every year."

Like Skiatook, Fort Cobb is a pretty good place to catch a lot of fish in the 3- to 4-pound range. Occasionally you'll get a few in the 8- to 10-pound class, Cofer said.