Sean McAllister, and his 6 pound 14 oz, Black Bass Hybrid from Lake Texoma

March 2, 2006

What do you get when you cross a smallmouth bass with a spotted bass? You get a black bass hybrid – and Sean McAllister got a new state record, and pending world record, fish.

McAllister, who lives in Stilwell, pulled a 6-pound, 14-ounce oddity from Lake Texoma, Feb. 5.

“At first I just thought it was just a weird looking smallmouth, until someone mentioned it looked like a spotted bass,” McAllister said.

Fisheries biologists with the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation suspected it was a black bass hybrid and DNA analysis confirmed it was a cross between smallmouth and spotted bass. The Wildlife Department established a new category, black bass hybrid, for the unique fish.

“It is certainly rare, but it is not totally unheard of. I have seen two others in my 35 years of experience, but both were much smaller than this one,” said Paul Mauck, south central fisheries supervisor for the Wildlife Department.

According to Mauck, the black bass hybrids occur naturally when the spawning areas of the two species overlap.

While hybridization occurs occasionally throughout the two fishes range, only Missouri currently recognizes a black bass hybrid record. Since that record stands at 5-pounds, 10-ounces, McAllister’s fish will set a new world record, pending approval from the International Game Fish Association.

McAllister caught the record fish while fishing a Carolina-rigged Zoom lizard. The fish measured 20.8-inches long and was 16.5 inches in girth.

Mauck offered a few tips on identifying spotted and smallmouth bass. Spotted bass typically have a sandpaper-like tooth patch on the tongue that can be felt with a finger, according to Mauck. The most recognizable characteristics of a smallmouth is its brown color, additionally smallmouth often have vertical bars on their sides rather than the dark spots of the spotted bass.

For a complete list of record fish and the procedures regarding certifying state record fish, consult the “2006 Oklahoma Fishing Guide.” If you think you may have hooked a record fish it is important that you weigh the fish on an Oklahoma State Department of Agriculture certified scale and the weight is verified by a Wildlife Department employee.

Check out the other Oklahoma State Fishing Records