“The lake is 14 to 15 feet high and there are no ramps available at that water level,” said Mark Jones, who coordinates the Oakley Big Bass tournaments across the country. Jones said the flooding, caused by the recent severe weather across the Midwest, had caused Fort Gibson Lake to swell from it’s normal 19,900 acres to 51,000 acres.

“All the parks and the boat ramps around the lake are underwater. We could not get on the lake if we wanted to,” he said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which built the dam and controls the lake, reported the pool elevation at 569.70 feet and still rising on Wednesday. The Corps estimates the lake will rise to at least 571-572 feet by the weekend.

“We’ve already got a new date for the tournament and rescheduled it for Oct 26-27,” Jones said. “We’ve moved all the entrants forward and already notified everybody of the change in schedule.”

On the Oakley Big Bass website, Jones asked that anglers email and not call so a response can be made in writing.

“For those of you who qualified to received a free rod (anyone who registered on or before May 5th) you may still come to Bass Pro Shops Friday in Broken Arrow and pick up your rod.” the notice said. “We will be at the store from 12 to 7 p.m. If you can’t make it to the store you can pick up your rod prior to the event in October.

The new dates for Fort Gibson Lake will fall one month after the next tournament on the Oakley Big Bass schedule for this year, the Jason Williamson Big Bass Classic on South Carolina’s Lake Murray Sept. 28-29.

OAKLEY BIG BASS TOUR – QUANTUM BIG BASS CLASSIC

Jun 8-9, 2013

Fort Gibson Lake

Call Mark Jones 214-605-4600

www.oakleybigbass.com