For all those who love to going fishing, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation through its “Keep, Cool, Call” program is giving Oklahoma anglers the opportunity to earn a $1,000 bounty in “Wanted Dead, Get $100”. With this new program, anglers who catch a black carp can get up to $1,000 a month, to try to get rid of the invasive species.
Anglers can report he catch of a black car in Oklahoma and earn $100 bounty as many as 10 times in a month. Black carp are bottom-feeding mollusk eaters and pose a significant threat to native mussel populations. As of right now the Wildlife Department says there is no record of a black carp ever being caught in Oklahoma.
Here are the how to's: 1.) Humanely kill the fish 2.) It is illegal to transport a live invasive species into Oklahoma 3.) You must share where you caught the fish (preferably GPS coordinates), the type of sighing gear and bait used, depth, water temperature and current conditions.
4.) Take photos of the fish's head and mouth and total length.
5.) Email all information to erika.sarveta@odwcOklahomaCity.ok.gov or call (580) 596-8025 or (918) 683-1031.
6.) Anglers must keep the carp frozen o on ice so Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation (ODWC) can pick up the fish.
The ODWC is also needs help from anglers. The department is tagging flathead catfish in Grand Lake to learn about their movement, spawning and harvest. Tagged catfish can be identified by a small tag attached to the gill plate.
If you catch a tagged catfish, please report the catch by calling (918) 504-2303. This helps the department with important data to better manage the species.