Tag: sharelunker

O.H. Ivie Bass Fishing Sets Record!

My money was on Ivie or Lake Fork. However, it just had to be O.H. Ivie Reservoir! The lake has produced nine largemouth bass weighing 13-plus pounds that have been entered into the Toyota ShareLunker program this spring, and now the 500th bass entered into big bass program has been delivered from the same lake. All the fish were special fish to the anglers who caught them, but the ninth was a little more special: Sam Callaway of Corpus Christi will collect $500 a pound for his catch, a total of $6,670!

Callaway caught Toyota ShareLunker number 500 at 9:20 a.m. April 9 using a Zoom Magnum eight-inch lizard in watermelon/red. The 13.34 pound fish was immediately taken to an official ShareLunker weigh and holding station, Concho Park Marina, where it was held for pickup by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) ShareLunker program manager David Campbell. The fish, 20.5 inches in girth and 26.25 inches long, now swims in the Lunker Bunker at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. Continue reading O.H. Ivie Bass Fishing Sets Record!

Choke Canyon Yields Big Largemouth Bass

Choke Canyon became the latest Texas reservoir to yield a big largemouth bass for the Toyota ShareLunker program. Not only has the ShareLunker program helped Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) with fish and lake management throughout the state, it’s allowed lucky anglers to put their catch on display. On February 6, Richard Flores of Seguin caught Toyota ShareLunker 478, a 15.09-pound largemouth bass while flipping a 10-inch plastic worm in 12 feet of 57-degree water.

Of the seven fish entered into the Toyota ShareLunker program so far in 2010, three have weighed 14 pounds or more and one more bass larger than 15 pounds. Anyone legally catching a 13-pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, from October 1 through April 30 may submit the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program by calling program manager David Campbell at (903) 681-0550 or paging him at (888) 784-0600. Continue reading Choke Canyon Yields Big Largemouth Bass

Choke Canyon Fishing: A Big Bass Bonanza!

 Choke Canyon produces another big bass

Choke Canyon Reservoir continued its big bass bonanza March 20 with another ShareLunker, a 13.12-pounder caught by Joseph B. Thoman, Jr., of Farmersville, Louisiana. The angler was fishing in the Texas Bass Club for the Deaf tournament when he caught the bass, which was 25.25 inches long and 21.25 inches in girth. At the same time, the Bass Champs South Region team tournament, also taking place on Choke Canyon on Saturday, weighed in two potential ShareLunkers at the Calliham Store. Store owner Brian W. Loy certified the weights as 14.47 and 15.27 pounds. Unfortunately, neither of those two fish survived.

No tournament has ever weighed in more than one 13-pound-plus fish, and the fact that two tournaments on the same lake produced three in two days is extremely good news for Texas fishing, especially Choke Canyon anglers. Big bass are there! However, the deaths of the two big fish has generated quite a bit of discussion both within Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and the tournament industry about ways to avoid similar tragedies in the future. Continue reading Choke Canyon Fishing: A Big Bass Bonanza!

Lake Fork Anglers Stumble Into a 14.68 lb ShareLunker Bass!

A 14.68 Largemouth Bass found on Lake Fork 

Guide James Caldemeyer was fishing with clients Brian Ketterer and Shannon Spear of Conroe on March 7, and they were looking forward to catching some big fish on Lake Fork. However, the anglers had no idea what they were about to get into when they pulled into a small cove with nearly a dozen other boats. Lake Fork is known for it’s lake management program that produces big largemouth, but what would the day bring? “With my polarized sunglasses I could see a fish swimming slowly near the surface, and it looked like she was struggling,” said Caldemeyer. “I caught her with my net. I could see she was a gigantic fish and that she was in trouble. My concern was for the welfare of the fish, so I netted her and put her into the livewell and told my clients that we needed to take her in so her air bladder could be punctured—I didn’t have a needle with me.”

Asking paying clients to give up hours of fishing time on Lake Fork during the peak lunker season in March might seem like a risky thing to do, but Ketterer and Spear shared Caldemeyer’s concern for the fish. “They couldn’t have been happier if they had caught her,” Caldemeyer said. “They were just thrilled to be part of the experience of helping this big fish.”

Caldemeyer immediately called Cameron Burnett at Lake Fork Marina, an official ShareLunker holding station, and told him they were on their way in with a fish that tipped his scale at 14.5 pounds. Burnett contacted David Campbell, and when the fish arrived, Burnett met Caldemeyer at the ramp with a bag to transport the fish to a holding tank. Burnett is experienced at “fizzing” bass, or puncturing the air bladder to release air so the fish is able to submerge and swim upright. Continue reading Lake Fork Anglers Stumble Into a 14.68 lb ShareLunker Bass!

Sharelunker Caught at Toledo Bend Reservoir

Thirteen pound bass
Example of a 13-pound bass.

The second lunker bass of the current Budweiser ShareLunker season was caught Sunday on Toledo Bend Reservoir on the Texas-Louisiana border. Angler James Manasco of Hemphill caught the 13.75-pound largemouth bass and donated it alive to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the program, which uses big “lunker” bass caught by anglers as a source of genetic material for fish hatchery and stocking programs.

An interesting aspect about the big bass — state fisheries biologists say it appeared Sunday’s lunker may have already spawned, a little unusual for this early in the year when waters are typically still cold. If spawning has taken place, it’s likely the result of recent up and down temperatures.

Texas ShareLunker Program

The ShareLunker program is a selective largemouth bass breeding program that is housed at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) in Athens. To participate, anyone legally catching a 13 pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, between October 1 and April 30 may submit the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program by calling program manager David Campbell at (903) 681-0550 or paging him at (888) 784-0600 and leaving a phone number including area code.

Some of the offspring from these large fish are stocked back into the water body from which they were caught. This, in turn, increases the genetics of the remaining bass population. Other ShareLunker offspring are stocked in public waters around the state in an attempt to increase the overall size and growth rate of largemouth bass in Texas. Continue reading Texas ShareLunker Program