About lake records, free hunting days and blackpowder

Too old for a record
After Sunday’s story on the new lake record hybrid (14 pounds, 8 ounces) at Hefner, Jim Black of the Village reminded me about the 18-pound hybrid that he caught on the Oklahoma City lake.
I even wrote a story about it in The Oklahoman with photo.
Unfortunately for Jim, he caught his big hybrid in 2006 before the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation started keeping lake records.
The Wildlife Department began the lake programs in 2008 and state wildlife officials made the decision to start from scratch. No fish prior to 2008 can be lake records, with the exception of catches that also were state records.
State wildlife officials say there would be no way to verify the weight or species of so-called previous lake records or if the fish were actually weighed on scales, even if the story and photo were published in a newspaper.
True, but it’s also true the lake records program was started to promote fishing in the state and help sell fishing licenses. The Wildlife Department wanted people to catch new lake records so newspapermen like me would write about it and create a buzz about fishing.
It’s worked. The lake records program has been extremely popular with Oklahoma anglers, except perhaps with fisherman like Black whose previous big catches don’t count.

Free hunting days and a blackpowder class
The fall hunting season is just around the corner.
Dove season opens Sept. 1 and Oklahoma’s annual free hunting days will be Sept. 4-5. No hunting licenses are needed on those days. Dove and squirrel will be in season.
For those wanting to learn about black powder firearms, H&H Gun Range in Oklahoma City is offering a free black powder class on Saturday from 9 a.m. until noon.
The class will cover firearm selection, ignition systems, black powder substitutes, bullet selections, nomenclature and maintenance.
Class size is limited. For more information, call Tim Nelson at 947-3888, ext. 141 or email him at TimN@HHGunRange.com.