National Sand Bass Festival 2021




If you are on the west side of Lake Texoma this weekend, don’t miss the National Sand Bass Festival in Madill, Oklahoma, this weekend. It began Monday, June 7, and runs through Saturday, June 12.

This festival attracts 15,000 people every year from all over the U.S. It is a mostly free, weeklong event featuring food vendors, craft vendors, lots of activities, a variety of live entertainment, and a carnival in Chickasaw Country. It is held during the first full week of June, and ends with free concerts on Tuesday through Saturday nights.

In the spring, white bass, also called sand bass, begin the annual sand bass run or their migration because of spring rains and water temperature in Lake Texoma rising. Madill, Oklahoma, celebrates the sand bass migration with its annual National Sand Bass Festival in Madill.

The National Sand Bass Festival in Madill began in 1963. Sand Bass Planning Committee Chairman, Donny Raley, says the committee works hard to make sure it’s family friendly and fun for everyone. Mr. Raley’s father was an original founder of the event in 1961, and it first ran from 1963 until 1976. Then it took eleven years off, and returned in 1987.

Madill, Oklahoma was founded in 1886 and known for its mineral springs. Madill is located at the junction of U.S. Highway 70, U.S. Highway 177/State Highway 199, and U.S. Highway 377/State Highway 99 in Marshall County Oklahoma, twenty-five miles southeast of Ardmore and seventeen miles north of the Red River’s Willis, Oklahoma, bridge over Lake Texoma.

Judge George A. Madill of St. Louis, Missouri is Madill’s namesake, because Madill was situated on the St. Louis and San Francisco Railway (Frisco). Madill established a post office in 1901 and received its town charter in 1902. The first Madill public school in 1903 was a four-room wood frame house on the south side of town. With the discovery of oil, Madill experienced a couple of oil booms in 1904 and 1924.

The late 1930s saw the Pure Oil Company move into Marshall County. Then, with the construction of the Denison Dam that began the impoundment of Lake Texoma in 1944, built in part by WWII German prisoners of war, Madill saw another boom with tourism because of the many miles of Lake Texoma shoreline in Marshall County, Oklahoma.


National Sand Bass Schedule June 10 -12

The Sand Bass Planning Committee built the festival around family fun for people to enjoy fellowship with each other. Everything is free except the vendors and the carnival rides. The concerts and activities have no admission fees. All you need to bring is your friends and family and lawn chairs. You can even bring your own ice chest with drinks and a picnic.

 

Thursday, June 10

9:00am –   Madill Library Book Sale @ William Ray Park

11:00am – Food Vendors Open

5:00pm –   Art & Crafts Vendors Open

5:00pm –   Carnival Opens – Arm Band Night

5:30pm –   Turtle Races

On the Woody Ford Concert Stage

6:30pm –   Trent Fletcher Band

8:00pm –   3rd Place Talent Contest Winners

8:30pm –   Ned Ledoux

 

Friday, June 11

9:00am –   Madill Library Book Sale @ William Ray Park

11:00am – Food Vendors Open

5:00pm –   Art & Crafts Vendors Open

5:00pm –   Carnival Opens – Arm Band Night

5:30pm –   Turtle Races

On the Woody Ford Concert Stage

6:30pm –   C7 Band

8:00pm –   2nd Place Talent Contest Winners

8:30pm –   Triston Marez

 

Saturday, June 12

6:00am –   Car, Truck, Motorcycle Show @ Lillie Blvd

7:30am –   3K & 5K King Sandie Fun Run @ Madill High School

9:00am –   Madill Library Book Sale @ William Ray Park

9:00am –   Cornhole Tournament @ Courthouse Lawn

9:30am –   3 on 3 Basketball Tournament @ Madill High School Gym

10:00am – Turtle Races

10:00am – Food Vendors Open

10:00am – Art & Crafts Vendors Open

12 noon –  Carnival Opens – Arm Band (good all day, slightly higher rate)

On the Woody Ford Concert Stage

6:30pm –   Logan Russell and the Young Guns

8:00pm –   1st Place Talent Contest Winners

8:30pm –   Neal Mccoy

 

Terrapin Races at National Sand Bass Festival




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Lake Texoma Current Weather Alerts

There are no active watches, warnings or advisories.

 

Lake Texoma Weather Forecast

Tuesday

Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 89

Tuesday Night

Chance Thunderstorms

Lo: 75

Wednesday

Slight Chance Thunderstorms

Hi: 89

Wednesday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 75

Thursday

Mostly Sunny

Hi: 91

Thursday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 78

Friday

Mostly Sunny

Hi: 93

Friday Night

Mostly Clear

Lo: 77


Lake Texoma Water Level (last 30 days)


Water Level on 7/8: 618.88 (+1.88)



Lake Texoma

Fishing Report from TPWD (Jul. 2)

FAIR. Water stained; 84 degrees; 2.44 feet above pool. Striper fishing is good on ledges and humps. Fish are moving quickly on contour in 15-20 feet of water, or suspended 30 feet down on deep humps in 50-70 feet of water on live shad. Topwater baits will be hit-and-miss in the mornings and late evenings before dark. Channel and blue catfish are great on points and ledges in 25-30 feet of water using punch bait. Bigger blues are roaming deeper water flats in 50-70 feet of water, cut shad and whole gizzard shad are working. Bass fishing is good near docks and rocks on crankbaits and quick moving baits. Look for pockets of clearer water and fish to be suspended. Report by Jacob Orr, Lake Texoma, Guaranteed Guide Service. Striped bass are tough with an inconsistent bite. The flood gates have been closed and the bite should improve as the water settles. Best bite has been with live bait or trolling 20-30 feet of water. Some reports of catches anchored in deep water. Still waiting for the small threadfin shad to run midlake. Report by John Blasingame, Adventure Texoma Outdoors. Anticipate increased boater traffic this weekend as we celebrate our Nation’s Independence Day.

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