Five fish have thus far been entered into Texas' Toyota ShareLunker program for the 2011-2012 season, and Lake Austin has produced three of them.
Wesley Hayden of Round Rock caught Toyota ShareLunker 527 from Lake Austin Feb 11. Landon Glass of Jarrell (pictured) caught No. 528 from the lake on Feb. 14. Brett Ketchum caught No. 526 from Lake Austin on Jan. 29, starting the three-fish streak.
Hayden was fishing in four feet of 57-degree water about 2 p.m. using a jig when he hooked the 13.22-pound fish. It was 26 inches long and 21.25 inches in girth. Glass caught his 13.03-pound ShareLunker while fishing in 10 feet of 58-degree water with a Sixth Sense football jig. A scan of the fish revealed it is the same fish caught Feb. 27, 2010, by Carl Adkins of Austin, at which time it became Toyota ShareLunker 481. At that time the fish weighed 13.10 pounds. DNA testing at the time revealed the fish to be a pure Florida-strain largemouth.
The explosion of big fish from Lake Austin has its roots in years past.
“I believe a combination of our Florida bass stocking program and good habitat have led to great production over the years,” said Marcos DeJesus, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s fisheries biologist in charge of managing the lake’s fishery. “There were probably a couple of good year-classes several years ago, and some of those individuals are now breaking that ShareLunker barrier.”
Anyone legally catching a 13-pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, between Oct. 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. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.
Anglers entering fish into the Toyota ShareLunker 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.
The person who catches the season’s largest entry will be named Angler of the Year and will receive a prize package from G. Loomis valued at $818. If a Texas angler catches the largest entry of the season, that person also receives a lifetime fishing license valued at $1,000.
For more about the program, click here.
