Bull Shoals striper hits dead end for record

Bassmaster anglers have fallen in love with Bull Shoals Lake for its bass fishing this week, but the lake will probably not get the recognition it deserves for striper fishing.

As reported here last week, Rodney Ply of Diamond City caught a striper on Bull Shoals in February that weighed in the neighborhood of 68 pounds. Unfortunately, the fish’s weight when freshly caught could not be verified on a certified scale. By the time Ply weighed it on a certified scale, the fish had purged its belly and lost about 10 pounds.

Not only did the delay cost Ply a state record, it also cost him $100,000. Ply had entered the Mustad Hooks “Hook A Million” contest. If a registered contestant catches an official world-record fish on a Mustad hook, he wins $1 million. If he catches an official state record on a Mustad hook, he wins $100,000.

Ken Shirley, district fisheries biologist for the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission, said he is certain the fish weighed at least 68 pounds. It was 51 1/2 inches long and had a girth of 39 1/2 inches. According to a length-girth-weight calculator for striped bass on several striped bass fishing websites, a 52-inch long fish averages 58 pounds, with a maximum weight of 65 pounds. However, the calculator also says that a 54-inch fish has a maximum weight of 73 pounds.

The world-record striper, caught Aug. 6, 2011, by Greg Myerson in Connecticut, was 54 inches long and weighed nearly 82 pounds.

The AGFC is not likely to certify Ply’s fish as the new state record, but there’s no doubt that Bull Shoals harbors some giant stripers. It’s also a favorite destination — albeit a sleeper — among professional walleye fishermen.

TURKEY UPDATE

From some accounts, turkey season appears to be a success so far.

Willy the Barbecue Man from Hamburg called Thursday to tell me about a big gobbler he killed opening morning down in his part of the world. He made it sound easy. He also gave me a hard time for my near-miss at roughly the same time.

“What have I told you about turkey hunting and woodsmanship?” he demanded.

“What, go to Kansas if I want to kill a turkey?”

“No, knothead. You set up on a bird that was on the other side of a creek. You know darned well that a creek to a turkey is like a 20-foot high brick wall. You ain’t going to get him to come across it. No way.”

“I was just trying to make the best of a bad situation,” I said. “I had birds roosting where they don’t normally roost. I couldn’t get across that creek without those turkeys seeing me.”

I haven’t seen any other turkeys at my spot in northern Grant County, but I have found a fair amount of signs, mostly dusting areas. Birds are numerous in north Arkansas, however, especially along Bull Shoals Lake. The anglers competing in the Bassmaster Elite Series Tournament this weekend report hearing a lot of bids gobbling in the mornings, and one angler said he saw two adult toms fighting on the bank Thursday.

Rev. Mike Stanley, pastor at Friendship Baptist Church in Highland, also killed a big gobbler. He said it was a typical late-season hunt. The gobbler sprinted a long distance in response to his call.

“I almost had to stand up and wave at him to stop him,” Stanley said.

As of Saturday, hunters had killed 6,963 turkeys statewide, including 6,526 adult gobblers. Jason Honey, turkey biologist for the AGFC, predicted hunters would kill about 7,000 gobblers this year, so he appears to be on target.

Grant Westmoreland, a Shelter Insurance agent in Sheridan, said he enjoyed an excellent hunt in Kansas, and other friends have reported productive hunts in Oklahoma and Nebraska. Glenn Wheeler, a writer and photographer in Harrison, and his wife, Stacy, both killed big Osceola gobblers in Florida.

I’ve had some other chances since opening day. I’ve come close, but not close enough.