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Striped Bass have
adapted well to freshwater existence and have prospered in several Kansas lakes.
Striped Bass don't reproduce in Kansas waters, however, populations are
maintained through stocking programs. Stripers are legendary for their hard
fighting nature and long, drag-sizzling runs. The Kansas state record is 44
pounds.
 For
many years Paul Bahr stared at a weathered newspaper clipping of when the
current state-record striper was caught from Wilson Lake in 1988. He often
dreamed of what it would be like to catch a striper that bested that 43.5 pound
fish.
Last Friday the Ellsworth angler found out when he boated a Wilson Lake striper
that later weighed 44 pounds on certified scales. The weigh-in was witnessed by
Heath Barta, a Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks park ranger, and others.
He caught the fish trolling with live shad in about three feet of water, a
technique that’s worked well for Bahr and his family. Last month his 11-year-old
daughter, Whitney, landed and released a 40.5 pound striper at Wilson. Last May
15-year-old Josh Bahr caught one that weighed 34 pounds.
Wildlife and Parks always waits 30 days from when they receive an application
for a state-record fish before making it official in case an investigation is
needed. A Kansas fisherman landed a whopper at Wilson lake last
week. Tommy Berger from the Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks says it is a
state record, the largest striped bass ever caught in Kansas.
Paul Bahr says he was trolling with live shad in about three feet of water at
Wilson Lake Friday when he reeled in the 44-pound beast. The fish was weighed on
certified scales witnessed by a state park ranger and others.
This is not the first time members of Bahr's family have caught huge fish at
Wilson lake.
His eleven-year-old daughter last month caught and released a striper that
weighed just over 40 pounds. Last May, his 15-year-old son hauled one in that
weighed 34 pounds.
Striped Bass in Kansas have been stocked in Cheney Reservoir, Milford and Wilson
Reservoir hatched at the Farlington Hatchery
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