The Budweiser ShareLunker program is now accepting 13-pound-plus largemouth bass for its 21st season.
Last season's 32 entries included new water-body records for lakes Amistad, Lewisville, Ratcliff, San Augustine City and Alan Henry. Amistad also produced Budweiser ShareLunker No. 400, a 13.1-pound fish caught Feb. 28, 2006, by Kansas resident Jason Baird.
Two fish from last season made the list of the 50 biggest largemouth bass ever caught in Texas, and three new public lakes were added to the list of those producing ShareLunkers, bringing the total to 54.
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department uses the big fish in a selective breeding program aimed at improving the genetic makeup of largemouth bass in selected Texas public waters. The ShareLunkers, which are all female, are spawned with males that are descendants of ShareLunkers.
The resulting fry and fingerlings are then stocked into public waters in Texas. Last season ShareLunkers produced 168,000 fry as well as 43,700 fingerlings 1 1/2 inches long for stocking into 10 public lakes and 60,000 fingerlings now being reared to 6-inch size as part of Operation World Record.
Anyone legally catching a 13-pound or bigger largemouth from Texas waters, public or private, between Oct. 1 and April 30 can submit the fish to the Budweiser 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. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.
Anglers entering fish into the program receive a free replica of their fish, a certificate and ShareLunker clothing and are recognized at a banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens following the close of the season. If a Texas angler catches the largest entry, he or she receives a lifetime fishing license.
For complete information and rules of the ShareLunker program and tips on caring for big bass, click here.
