Kriet, who lives in Ardmore, was fishing for smallmouth, and though his party landed more than 50 that day, it was the largemouth that put him in the record books.

"That's the biggest bass I'd ever caught," said Kriet, who has been bass fishing full time for the past 15 years. 'I've fished all over the place."

Kriet has been fishing Lake Murray for about 35 years, and the lake has not only produced his best largemouth, but he also caught his best smallmouth out of the lake as well. However, unlike the smallmouth, which he said weighed 6 lbs. 12 oz., the largemouth was officially weighed and put in the books for good.

"I think it's a great deal," Kriet said about the lake record fish program.

When fishing a lake, he said he often finds himself curious to know what the record for that body of water might be, which is one reason he likes the lake record fish program. Endless stories are told about big fish from various lakes — and there is undoubtedly some truth to many of them — but with no official record, there is an element of legend to it that leaves room for skeptics.

But with the lake record fish program, fish get the recognition they deserve and prove to other anglers just what kind of fish Oklahoma lakes can produce, and Kriet’s Lake Murray largemouth is no exception. Kriet said the lake record program gives anglers an incentive to have big fish officially weighed, drawing attention to fish that deserve to be recognized and removing any doubt about what kind of fish swim in Oklahoma waters.

"It's on paper and it was let go," said Kriet about his fish. 'It's not a rumor anymore."

The information from Kriet’s bass is in the record books, but the actual fish is back in Lake Murray, only to grow and perhaps break its own record under the name of a future angler.

"It's a great lake," said Kriet about Lake Murray. "It's just full of fish."

The day Kriet caught his lake record largemouth, he went to a honey-hole on the lake where he knew fish spawned early, and it was there he landed his lake record.

The fish measured 26 inches in length and 20.5 inches in girth.

News Source: Oklahoma DWC - Apr. 30, 2010