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Native Smallie...

Most of our reservoirs in Oklahoma are stocked with Great Lakes strain Smallmouth Bass. These are wonderful sport fish but its nice sometimes to focus on our native Neosho Strain smallies. These tough fighters make their living in clear, fast water and beautiful places. This is a really good fish... keep in mind I am 6'5" and weigh just north of 300lbs. I make it look a little smaller than it is.

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Comment by dick tabbert on August 9, 2013 at 8:35am: Nice fight on the UL

Comment by Allen Morgan on August 8, 2013 at 6:57pm: Forgot to mention, there's Tennessee-strain Smallies in Skiatook, just about 45 minutes away from me.

Comment by Allen Morgan on August 8, 2013 at 6:53pm: I haven't been to the Barron Fork river since I was kid, going to the Scout Camp.

I'm also on the NE OK kayak anglers page on Facebook. Several of the other guys are hitting that area. There's even an outfitter that will shuttle a kayak on the Barron Fork, which is very tempting. Last year, we did a group float/paddle on Spavinaw Creek. I had a shot at Neosho-strain Smallies, but all I caught were small Crappie and various sunnies.

I hear you about the "to thick to drink, to thin to plow" bit. All that rain up in Kansas and in Western OK is coming down the Arkansas and Cimarron Rivers, respectively. Keystone Dam just opened up to 40K cfs today. There goes my fishing plan for tomorrow..... Anyway, Keystone Lake FINALLY cleared up several weeks ago, from the flood this Spring. Now, once that floodwater from the Cimarron hits the lake, it's going to muddy up most likely for the rest of the Summer and into Fall. Joy.

Comment by Keith Owen on August 8, 2013 at 6:27pm: Hey Allen... You are actually closer to Northeast Oklahoma than I am here in Norman, OK. Blue River is south and a little east from here. Down near Ada, OK. The Blue was a little off color. Not bad. A little color in the water actually helps the fishing. When its gin clear the fish can be pretty picky. Everything here near home is still blown out and muddy. Too thick to drink, too thin to plow.

Your closest Smallmouth waters would be the Illinois River drainage out at Tahlequah, OK. I would take a serious look at the Barren Fork River. It has awesome fishing for smallies, a lot of public access and no floaters like the Illinois does. About a two hour drive for you.

Comment by Keith Owen on August 8, 2013 at 6:08pm: Vince... I think that the ZOOM Tiny Fluke is a great bait that gets over looked a lot. I have caught some big Sunfish and a lot of really good Crappie with it rigged on a 1/16 or 1/8 jig head. I fish it "Texas Rigged" at the Blue River to avoid hang ups. I also catch some dandy Saugeyes on the bigger sizes, usually with a belly weight style hook.

Comment by Allen Morgan on August 8, 2013 at 3:28pm: Nice fish! I have yet to head out that far east to tangle with them. It's one of the things I want to do this year; not sure if it will happen.

With all the rain in SE Kansas, SW Missouri, and NW Arkansas, how's the water in your area? In that one pic, it looks kind of murky.

Comment by Vince Fusco on August 8, 2013 at 3:17pm: Beautiful Smallie, Keith! I am a big fan of Zoom baits and live real close to their operation here in GA.

Comment by Keith Owen on August 8, 2013 at 2:48pm: Some folks were asking about my set-up for this fish. I was fishing a 5'6" ultra-light rod with 10 pound test Power Pro green braid. It hit a ZOOM Tiny Fluke, Baitfish color. I fish them on a size 1/0 offset wide gap hook (its actually a pretty small hook). I rig them on the side. They are thinner that way and I get better hook-ups.