Reeling in a new record

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Noel Reeves poses with the record-breaking bass he caught at Lake Lawtonka earlier this month. Photo Submitted

June 19, 2011

Duncan man breaks Lawtonka record

Justin Nutter The Duncan Banner The Duncan Banner Sun Jun 19, 2011, 09:16 PM CDT

DUNCAN — When Duncan resident Noel Reeves and his friend, Marty Kaus, took to the water at Lake Lawtonka earlier this month, their primary goal was simply to familiarize themselves with the area before an upcoming fishing tournament.

Reeves didn’t realize it at the time, but by the end of the day, he would re-write the lake record books.

What started as a routine day quickly turned into local history, as Reeves reeled in the biggest largemouth bass he’d ever caught. In fact, it was the largest anyone had ever caught on the lake.

“We were getting ready for a local Duncan tournament that was going on the following weekend on the lake,” Reeves said. “We were out there trying to locate some fish and I guess what we call ‘pre-fishing’ before a tournament.”

Rather than dropping the fish back into the water immediately, Reeves and Kaus found a local biologist to certify the fish’s length and weight. Reeves’ catch measured 25.5 inches and weighed in at 12 pounds, 11 ounces, breaking the previous Lake Lawtonka record of 11 pounds, one ounce.

Reeves — who had little previous experience on the lake — said he has hauled in several big fish in his life, but none nearly as big as the record-breaker.

“It was actually the second time I’d ever been out on the water at that lake and the first time my partner had ever been out there,” he said. “We’d caught several fish, but that was the only real big fish we caught. It was definitely a very lucky deal. I’ve caught several in the nine- or real close to 10-pound range, but never anything that big.”

Reeves added the previous record stood for nearly three decades and represented the biggest catch in the state for several years. After getting the weight certified, he elected to release the fish into the water.

“The lake is right by a hatchery and you have to have the lake records certified on a certified scale,” he said. “We certified it with the biologist and released it back into the lake, so hopefully, it will live long enough for someone else to catch it.”

His success translated over to the competition the following weekend, as he and Kaus placed third in the tournament. The duo have participated in competitive fishing on lakes all across the state. Reeves said they both enjoy the spirit of competition, which is why they return to the lake every year.

“We’ve been fishing tournaments together for probably 12-14 years. We just fish a lot of tournaments because we enjoy fishing and we enjoy the competition. They are extremely competitive. Normally, in a year, we’d fish four to five circuits that would range from this part of Oklahoma to all over the state.”

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