May 8, 2015
Alligator Gar, Bigmouth Buffalo State Records Set
The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation has certified new state fishing records for alligator gar and bigmouth buffalo.
ALLIGATOR GAR, 254 POUNDS 12 OUNCES
Paul Easley of Mead with his state-record alligator gar weighing 254 pounds 12 ounces, caught April 23, 2015, in Lake Texoma.
☼About 1 p.m. April 23, 2015, angler Paul Easley of Mead was snagging in Lake Texoma in Marshall County when he landed a new state-record alligator gar. The monster fish was 97 3/4 inches in length and 44 inches in girth.
☼Easley was using a Quantum reel on an Eagle Claw rod with 150-pound braided line.
☼The gar was weighed on certified scales at the Wildlife Department's South Central Region fisheries office near Durant, and then released alive.
☼The previous state-record alligator gar weighed 192 pounds 1 ounce, caught in January 2011 in the Red River.
BIGMOUTH BUFFALO, 60 POUNDS 6 OUNCES
(sorry, couldn't find photo to insert)
Allen Bynum of Ardmore with his state-record bighead buffalo weighing 60 pounds 6 ounces, caught at Lake Texoma on April 25, 2015.
☼About 5 p.m. April 25, 2015, angler Allen Bynum of Ardmore was bowfishing in Lake Texoma in Love County when he shot a new state-record bigmouth buffalo. The fish was 43 inches in length and 33 3/4 inches in girth.
☼The fish was weighed on certified scales at the Durant State Fish Hatchery. It was kept by the angler.
☼The previous state-record bigmouth buffalo weighed 59 pounds 15 ounces, caught in November 1988 at Greenleaf Lake.