Fishing PK

Story by Michael Pearce | Photos courtesy of Texas Parks and Wildlife

Possum Kingdom Lake became the talk of Texas bass fishing in February, when anglers landed three largemouth bass weighing more than 13 pounds each.

For reference, each of the bass are bigger than any others reported as caught at the lake in the past 31 years.

Thanks to the Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Toyota ShareLunker Program, all three female fish soon will be back swimming in the lake, as will many thousands of their genetically blessed progeny. Their return should make the future of bass fishing at PK even brighter.

On Feb. 12, fisherman Randy Palmer of Arlington caught a bass that weighed 13.38 pounds. That same day, angler Steven Davies of Burkburnett landed another bass that weighed 13.2 pounds. Six days later, fisherman Montana Hand of Weatherford reported catching a largemouth that weighed 13.06 pounds.
At the time of Hand’s catch, nine bass weighing more than 13 pounds had been caught in Texas this year – and three of those came from Possum Kingdom in just one week.

All three big female fish qualified as “legacy†fish in the state’s Toyota ShareLunker Program, which carefully transports females that top 13 pounds to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens in hopes of preserving great genetics. They’ll be paired up for spawning with a male offspring of previous ShareLunker fish. The huge female fish then will be returned to PK, and up to 20,000 fingerlings from each super-breeding will join them.

Tom Lang, outreach director of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries Division, said it’s not by accident that the three huge fish came from Possum Kingdom this year. Lang said the department, along with local bass clubs, has worked to improve fish habitats in prime areas of the lake. These habitats allow little fish to grow big, while also attracting bass to parts of the lake not normally affected by deadly algae blooms.

Another goal has been to increase the size and availability of assorted sunfish, on which huge bass often feed.

“It’s really nice to see we’ve been doing things right,†said Lang, who once served as the lake’s main biologist. “Hopefully this means we can expect bigger, better bass in the future.â€

PK fishing forecast

Robert Mauk, Texas Parks and Wildlife’s district fisheries supervisor, said PK Lake holds more than just a few mega-bass.

Mauk said the lake’s largemouth bass population has rebounded since the occurrence of several deadly golden algae blooms between 2001 and 2010. Each of those blooms blanketed the lake’s surface with dead fish from many species, he said.

“The lake’s (largemouth) bass population is great,†Mauk said. “There are all sorts of year classes in there. I’d say it’s probably our best bass lake in this district. There’s a lot of diversity in sizes. We see a fair amount of bass around 8 pounds, and double-digit bass happen occasionally.

“Unfortunately, it looks like the golden algae completely wiped out the lake’s smallmouth bass, but more have been stocked. We’ve never found one since the algae (blooms). It’s the same with spotted bass.â€
Mauk credited the comeback of the largemouth bass population to being helped by state stockings. For 21 years, natural production at the lake had been sufficient, but the algae blooms changed all that, so biologists added fast-growing Florida-strain bass to the fish population, as well as traditional northern-strain largemouths.

Striped bass are the saltwater transplants stocked in several Texas lakes, Mauk said, adding that they grow fast, get large and “pull like nuclear submarines.†PK has a healthy population, Mauk said, and this year many of the fish should be over the lake’s 18-inch minimum length limit. He added that the fishing could be great at times.

Sand bass, also known as white bass, are native to the Brazos River system and flourish on PK’s good shad populations. Mauk said the fish should have good runs up the Brazos River and other tributaries in the early spring, and anglers can expect quantity – and quality – when it comes to these fish that fight hard and are popular on many dinner tables.

Crappie and sunfish also are plentiful in PK, Mauk said, but a lack of shoreline access and deep water could make it difficult for anglers to access crappie spawning in the shallows. The lake also has some large bluegill, which can be especially fun for children to catch. A piece of worm on a small hook below a small bobber around boat docks is all it usually takes to land one.

PK holds nice catfish populations, and Mauk said the channel, blue and flathead catfish are in good numbers. The lake doesn’t produce the numbers of huge catfish as in some other Texas lakes, however, and the culprit could be the fish kills caused by the algae blooms.

Mauk said he’s confident the lake will grow some real brutes in time, though, adding: “There’s no shortage of fish that’ll put a serious bend in a rod and go well in a skillet. At least a few true giants may already be swimming around.â€

Mauk also pointed out the great fishing opportunities in the Brazos River below the dam at PK, whether it be floating in a canoe or kayak, casting small lures or fishing with bait.

“It’s a great fishery,†Mauk said. “You name it, you can catch it down there. It’s not unusual for us to go down, throw a little spinner bait and catch seven to nine species of fish. I really like bass fishing down there. It’s also where our state record striped bass was caught. It weighed 53 pounds, so hang on to your fishing poles!â€