Earlier this week B.A.S.S Conservation Director enlightened me about the smallmouth fishery on Tenkiller. Gene told me that native smallmouth never took hold in Tenkiller, or similar lakes that are conducive for smallmouth.
That changed in 1981 when an Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation hatchery truck made a trip[ to Tennessee, and specifically my home lake. That is J. Percy Priest Lake, located in my hometown of Nashville. Through an agreement with the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency, the smallmouth from Percy Priest were collected, transported back to Oklahoma and released into Tenkiller as brood stock. It is amazing to me that those fish seeded a lake that is now the best smallmouth lake in Oklahoma (next to Lake Texoma).
“The lake smallmouth were much easier to adapt than if we’d transplanted stream-based smallmouth from our lakes in the Ozark foothills,” he explained.
This morning I relayed that story to tournament leader Chris Zaldain, who had this to say in reply.
“I wondered about that because these smallmouth are shaped and colored more like fish that are outside of this area. In fact, without knowing this, these smallmouth reminded me of what we caught at Fort Loudon Lake at the Classic.”
I can personally attest that he is correct. In fact, my personal best smallmouth weighing 6 pounds came near the boat ramp where the Oklahoma truck was staged on Percy Priest. Small world. And you never know. But this is one of the wonders of nature and great fisheries management.
(Sidebar: I caught that trophy smallie at night on a shallow, submerged road bed, on a Zorro short-armed spinnerbait with Uncle Josth 101 pork frog trailer.)
