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Join us for the 2023 Purcell Carp Classic Fishing Tournament at Purcell Lake! This tournament is a joint effort between the City of Purcell Parks and Recreation Department, The Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation, and local fishing enthusiast to control the invasive common carp population and help restore vegetation, habitat, and sport fish numbers in the lake.
Entry is $10.00 per person. Participants will be divided into conventional rod & reel and fly-fishing divisions. Proceeds from the tournament will go towards future conservation efforts at Purcell City Lake.
September, 2023
Purcell Lake - Chandler Pavilion
1401A Lake Road
Purcell, OK 73080
(405) 527-7227
parks@purcellok.gov
Follow the link below for registration and more information:
Link: 2023 Purcell Carp Classic Registration Website
In 2018, the City of Purcell Parks & Recreation Department began efforts to control the common carp in Purcell Lake. Carp are notorious for altering natural ecosystems. They uproot and disturb submerged vegetation while searching for insect larvae to eat. Carp reduce water clarity and stir up bottom phosphorus-containing sediments, which contributes to algae blooms.
As their population has grown, the condition of the vegetation and habitat for other species in the lake began to slowly deteriorate. Crappie, Bass, and Catfish numbers have dropped steadily as a result.
For this reason, the tournament was established to control the invasive species in our lake to allow vegetation and sport fish populations to increase. This is not a catch-and-release tournament, as any carp that are caught are not to be returned to Purcell Lake.
Please follow the links below to read more about the invasive nature of common carp, and how they effect lake ecosystems:
Link: Noble Research Institute - Controlling Aquatic Vegetation with Grass Carp
Link: Clean Lakes Alliance - Carp and Lake Ecology
Link: Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, Common Carp
Link: Wetlands Research Inc. - The Common Carp Threat
Link: Oklahoma Academy of Sciences - Common Carp Population Size and Characteristics in Lake Carl Etling, Oklahoma
Link: OK Fish Finder - Common Carp