ShareLunker – Syndication Server

Texas lake yields four monstrous bass in four days

The largest of the catches at O.H. Ivie Lake, weighing 15.82 pounds, is the 37th heaviest bass caught in state history.

A Texas reservoir this week yielded an astonishing four largemouth bass topping 13 pounds in four days.

The bass were caught at O.H. Ivie Lake and the largest – weighing 15.82 pounds – was landed March 18 by Kyle Hall of Granbury.

“I got on the water around 8 or 8:30 a.m. and really didn’t catch much until around 4 p.m.,” Hall said. “I reeled in a 10.20-pound fish and then about an hour later I did something random and ran up the river where I caught an 11-pounder.

“I then ran back down and by the dam I came across this fish. She about ripped the rod out of my hand.”

All four bass were kept alive and “loaned” to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for a hatchery spawning and stocking effort designed to enhance fisheries across the state.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program, as it’s called, accepts only “Legacy Class” bass weighing at least 13 pounds for the spawning portion. So far this year, 17 Legacy Class bass have been donated to the program.

Hall’s bass was the heaviest caught this year in Texas, and the 37th heaviest in state history.

According to the TPWD, Hall has donated Legacy Class bass in three consecutive seasons – all three of his catches coming at O.H. Ivie.

Said Natalie Goldstrohm, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator: “This reservoir has established itself as a top destination for many trophy largemouth bass anglers and it is no surprise that Kyle Hall and others target these giants at O.H. Ivie year after year.”

The other Legacy bass caught at O.H. Ivie this past week included a 14.18-pounder by Bud Robey on March 17; a 13.62-pounder by Larry Walker on March 20, and a 13.22-pounder by Scott Hines on March 20.

O.H. Ivie is on the Colorado and Concho Rivers east of San Angelo.

The 2024 Toyota ShareLunker Program will run through March 31.

Boy, 11, lands record bass that will help enhance Texas fisheries

Stetson Davis set out with his father hoping to catch his first double-digit largemouth bass. He achieved that goal and then some.

An 11-year-old boy shattered a junior angler waterbody record in Texas on Wednesday with the catch of a 13.31-pound largemouth bass at J.B. Thomas Reservoir.

Stetson Davis of Tuttle, Oklahoma, broke the record by more than five pounds and joined a small number of anglers of any age to have caught bass topping 13 pounds this year in Texas.

The massive fish was donated alive to the state-run Toyota ShareLunker Program, which accepts only “Legacy Class” bass weighing at least 13 pounds for its long-running hatchery spawning effort designed to enhance fisheries statewide.

“We are excited to recognize Stetson’s accomplishments through the Toyota ShareLunker Program and Angler Recognition Program,” Natalie Goldstrohm, program coordinator, stated Friday in a news release. “Getting young people hooked on fishing through these programs is important to creating a lifelong love of the sport.”

Stetson was in Texas with his father, Brodey Davis, with the goal of catching his first double-digit largemouth bass.

The kid had a good teacher; Brodey caught the seventh-largest “Legacy Class” bass in Texas history (17.06 pounds) in 2022 at O.H. Ivie Reservoir.

Stetson recalled his Wednesday outing to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department:

“We didn’t have much luck at the start but around 9:20 a.m. we spotted her. I made multiple casts her way, but she wouldn’t bite, and it was a little frustrating. I finally placed the bait close enough to where she saw and then she bit.

“I set the hook and instantly my dad went to go and grab the net. When the fish came to the surface, we knew it was a double-digit. It was a fairly quick fight, and we were able to secure it in the net and get it into the boat.”

Stetson is the 11th angler this year to donate a Legacy Class bass to the ShareLunker Program. Since 1986, Texas anglers have donated 611 Legacy Class fish to the program.

Texas lake continues to yield enormous largemouth bass

O.H. Ivie Lake in Texas this week yielded two largemouth bass topping 13 pounds – rare catches that are eligible for a selective breeding program designed to enhance state fisheries

*Update: Texas Parks and Wildlife reported another Legacy bass catch on Friday, bringing the number to six this year – five from O.H. Ivie

O.H. Ivie Lake in Texas this week yielded two largemouth bass topping 13 pounds – rare catches to be used in a selective breeding program designed to enhance state fisheries.

Dalton Smith and Caden Cowan, pictured left-to-right atop this post, landed bass weighing 14.76 pounds and 13.31 pounds, respectively.

“Do not adjust your screens, you are seeing double double-digits bass!” the Toyota ShareLunker Program boasted Thursday via social media.

The “Legacy Lunkers” were donated to the state’s ShareLunker hatchery program to be used as spawners for Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocking programs.

Do not adjust your screens, you are seeing double double-digits bass! Congrats to Dalton Smith (left), who caught Legacy Lunker 636 at 14.76 lbs and Caden Cowan (right), who caught Legacy Lunker 637 at 13.31 lbs. Both at O.H. Ivie. Thanks Dalton and Caden for your contributions! pic.twitter.com/NWO1rplSMl

— TPWD Fishing (@TPWDfish) February 3, 2023

Legacy bass must weigh at least 13 pounds. The bass caught by Smith is the largest of four Legacy bass caught since the program began its 37th season on Jan. 1.

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O.H. Ivie, on the Colorado and Concho rivers, has produced four of the five catches; the other was that of a 13.51-pound largemouth bass by Jack York at Lake Nacogdoches.

Jack York displays 13.51-pound ShareLunker Legacy bass caught at Lake Nacogdoches

The ShareLunker Program, which runs through March, is off to another impressive start.

Last year, 24 Legacy bass were caught from nine water bodies and collected for hatchery spawning. That was the most since 27 were caught in 1995.

Since the program began, 75 Texas water bodies have yielded Legacy bass.

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Texas angler lands giant bass, but is the photo misleading?

A Texas fishermen is being congratulated for catching a giant bass, but people are joking about the photo.

A Texas angler landed one heck of a largemouth bass this week while fishing at Lake Nacogdoches.

It was so massive that biologists borrowed the bass for use in a selective breeding program to benefit statewide fisheries.

But before anyone gets too excited, the bass caught by Jack York is not as large as it appears to be in an image shared Monday by the Toyota ShareLunker Program – Texas Parks and Wildlife.

Top comment: “Camera man… ‘HOLD IT AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN TO ME! THIS FISH LOOKS AS BIG AS A GROWN MAN! PERFECT!’ ”

Another observation: “I’m gonna need this photographer to take my fish pics! That is a giant but geeze in this pic it looks bigger than Jack. Good job!”

Ribbing aside, the bass weighed 13.51 pounds, certainly worthy of Legacy Class ShareLunker designation.

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Legacy bass must weigh at least 13 pounds to become part of the breeding program, conducted January through March each year. The fish are encouraged to spawn at a hatchery and their offspring are stocked around the state.

Tom Nilssen with 13.52-pound largemouth bass. Photo: TPWD

This is the 37th season of the ShareLunker Program and York’s catch is the second Legacy bass caught this year.

The first, by Tom Nilssen last week at Lake O.H. Ivie, weighed 13.51 pounds.

While Nilssen’s bass was slightly larger, it looks smaller in the photo because there seems to have been less of an attempt at forced perspective.

Last year, 24 Legacy bass were caught from nine water bodies and collected for the ShareLunker program. That was the most since 27 were caught in 1995.

Overall, 75 Texas public lakes have yielded Legacy Class largemouth bass.

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Texas catch of enormous bass described as ‘historic’

An Oklahoma man who drove in snow with his son to fish in Texas has landed one of the largest bass ever caught in the Lone Star State.

The 17.06-pound largemouth bass, caught Thursday by Brodey Davis at O.H. Ivie Lake, is a pending lake record and one of the top-10 heaviest bass weighed in Texas.

“It’s been an unbelievable day,” Davis, who lives in Tuttle, Okla., told FTW Outdoors late Thursday. “We drove from Oklahoma to specifically fish O.H. Ivie for a double-digit bass. My son Stetson, who is 9, was out of school due to the winter storm that went through Oklahoma earlier this week.”

Brodey Davis and son Stetson pose with 17.06-pound largemouth bass

The Toyota ShareLunker Program, run by Texas Parks and Wildlife, announced the catch Thursday on Facebook:

“Historic day! Angler Brodey Davis just weighed one of the largest Texas ShareLunkers to hit the scales in the past 30 years!!”

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State biologists collect live bass weighing 13 pounds or more as part of the ShareLunker Program. These “Legacy Class” bass become part of a selective breeding operation designed to enhance fisheries statewide.

Davis’ catch, on a 6th Sense Divine Swimbait, is the largest of 12 Legacy bass caught so far this year. The fish measures 27-1/4 inches with a girth of 23-1/4 inches.

According to Josh Jones of Josh Jones Fishing, Davis’ catch ranks No. 7 all-time in Texas. The state record, an 18.18-pound largemouth bass caught at Lake Fork, has stood since 1992.

Jones on Thursday shared video footage showing Davis’ bass being weighed and the reactions of those who were present.

O.H. Ivie routinely produces trophy-size bass during the winter-spring spawning season.

On Wednesday, Jones landed a 14.79-pound largemouth bass at O.H. Ivie to become the first angler to submit four Legacy bass to the ShareLunker Program, which began in 1986.

–Images courtesy of Toyota ShareLunker Program and Brodey Davis

15-year-old latest Texas angler to land record largemouth bass

A 15-year-old angler on Sunday landed the heaviest largemouth bass ever caught at Lake Travis in central Texas.

Trace Jansen’s catch of a 15.32-pound bass breaks a lake record that had stood since 1993. But Jansen also joins a small group of Texas anglers who have caught bass weighing 13 pounds or more this year.

These spawning-size “Legacy Class” bass have been donated live to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for its long-running Toyota ShareLunker selective-breeding program.

The program, designed to enhance state fisheries, began in 1986. The program record – also the current state record – is an 18.18-pound largemouth bass caught at Lake Fork in 1992.

https://www.facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram/posts/10158805731020901

Jansen’s catch is the 12th Legacy Class largemouth bass to have been landed in 2021. The heaviest was a 16.40-pound bass caught Feb. 19 at O.H. Ivie Lake.

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That fish, landed by Joe McKay of Bussey, Iowa, is an O.H. Ivie Lake record and the largest bass caught in Texas in 22 years, according to the Runnels County Register.

Jansen told For The Win Outdoors that he was casting a Wacky Worm at about 3 p.m. when the giant Lake Travis bass dashed from its spawning bed and struck the lure.

“She was tired from spawning but she fought good for about 10 seconds, then I got her to the boat,” Jansen said.

Late February and March comprise the spawning season at most Texas fisheries and is the period when the heaviest female bass are typically caught.

The ShareLunker season, which also features lower divisions in which anglers receive recognition for catch-and-release efforts, runs through March 31.

–Image courtesy of Trace Jansen

Texas lake yields two giant ‘ShareLunker” bass in one day

Two anglers reeled in largemouth bass weighing 14-plus pounds Thursday at O.H. Ivie Lake in Ballinger, Texas.

Both fish were collected by biologists and will be used as spawners to enhance state fisheries as part of the state’s long-running Toyota ShareLunker Program.

The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department used social media to announce the catches by Brett Cannon of Willis (14.4 pounds; top photo) and Casey Sobczak of Spring (14.2 pounds).

“You get one guess for what Lake produced two ShareLunkers today! Oh yes, that’s right, O.H. Ivie,” the agency asked on Facebook. “SL#593 (14.4lbs) and SL#594 (14.2lbs) are headed to Athens.”

Only fish weighing 13 pounds or more are designated “Legacy” catches and collected for use in the selective breeding program. Thursday’s catches bring to six the number of Legacy fish caught during the 2021 season, which began in January and runs through March.

Only four Legacy-class bass were caught in 2020.

How rare are these catches?

According to the ShareLunker website, “Out of the millions of bass anglers in Texas, only a select few have ever crossed the 13-pound threshold.”

O.H. Ivie is a sprawling reservoir on the Colorado and Concho rivers, and famous for producing trophy-size largemouth bass.

Texas lakes yield two more giant bass, a plus for all anglers

Texas bass anglers fishing in different tournaments over the weekend won their respective events based on extraordinary catches.

Texas bass anglers fishing in different tournaments over the weekend won their respective events based on extraordinary single catches.

Derek Mundy’s Friday catch of a 13.62-pound largemouth bass helped him win the Toyota Series Southwest Division Tournament on Sam Rayburn Reservoir, with an overall limit totaling 39 pounds.

Daniel Ramsey’s Saturday catch of a 13.07-pound bass at Lake Palestine buoyed his triumph at the Media Bass Tournament.

In Texas, 13 pounds is the magic number for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Toyota ShareLunker Program.

The program features several divisions to recognize noteworthy catches, but only the larger “Legacy Class” bass are collected for a selective breeding program that runs during the spawning period from January through March.

Biologists encourage the spawning of these fish in aquariums for future stocking opportunities around the state.

The bass caught by Mundy and Ramsey were the third and fourth Legacy Class fish collected so far in 2021. That equals the number caught throughout the entire 2020 season.

“It was a really neat experience being able to donate the fish to the incredible ShareLunker program,” Mundy told KTLV. “It’s great that Texas Parks and Wildlife works this hard to put high quality fish in the lakes.”

Mundy said the 13.62-pound bass struck his crankbait on his third cast. He landed two bass weighing 7.5 pounds on subsequent casts to help seal his victory.

Mundy was so quick to place the larger fish into his live well that he didn’t realize it was such an extraordinary catch until taking a closer look after his day of fishing.

Ramsey hooked his large bass while casting an M-pack jig beneath a dock structure that yielded a 12.65-pound bass last year.

“I was within five feet of where I caught the 12.65-pounder,” he told KTLV. “I set the hook and got her to the boat and couldn’t believe what I had just done.”

The first two Legacy Class bass of 2021 were caught in mid-January by Travis Moore (13.44 pounds at Sam Rayburn Reservoir) and CJ Oates (13.02 pounds at Lake Austin).

After Oates’ nighttime catch, which he described as “madness,” he told For The Win Outdoors: “She was so massive that I could barely reel to get her in. She was built like a mini school bus.”

How rare are these catches?

According to the ShareLunker website, “Out of the millions of bass anglers in Texas, only a select few have ever crossed the 13-pound threshold.”

–Images showing Derek Mundy, Daniel Ramsey, CJ Oates and Travis Moore (top to bottom) are courtesy of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department

Twist of fate leads to catch of a lifetime for bass angler

Fate was on James Maupin’s side when he became one of an elite few Texas anglers to have caught a largemouth bass weighing 13-plus pounds.

Fate was on James Maupin’s side last Sunday when he became one of an elite few Texas anglers to have caught a largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more.

Maupin, from Cypress, intended to fish several days with his dad at Lake Amistad. But after their first day the lake was ordered closed because of concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic.

“So we packed up and headed to the nearest lake – O.H. Ivie,” Maupin said in a news release issued by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.

O.H. Ivie, east of San Angelo, is a four-hour drive from Lake Amistad and Maupin had never fished there. But chances are strong that he’ll visit again.

He and his dad spent three days at O.H. Ivie and on Sunday, their last day, Maupin caught a largemouth bass that weighed 13.15 pounds and measured 27 inches.

The fish was donated to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department as part of its Toyota ShareLunker Program, which places giant bass in a selective breeding program designed to enhance Texas bass fisheries.

The ShareLunker program has three divisions beginning with the Lunker division for bass weighing eight-plus pounds.

Maupin’s bass earned a spot in the more prestigious Lunker Legacy Class division, for bass weighing at least 13 pounds caught during the spawning season from January through March.

According to the ShareLunker website, “Out of the millions of bass anglers in Texas, only a select few have ever crossed the 13-pound threshold.”

Maupin, who caught his bass on a Texas rig in seven feet of water, said he thought it would top the 13-pound mark at first glance.

“I put her in the live well and called the marina immediately,” he said. “They had an official scale, so we got her weighed and measured, and the ShareLunker guys came out to get her.”

The bass is cataloged as ShareLunker 585. It’s the fourth and final Legacy Class entry of the 2020 donation season, which ended Sunday.

The largest was a 15.34-pound largemouth bass caught by Joe Castle at Nacogdoches Lake on Feb. 29.

–Images show James Maupin with his 13.15-pound largemouth bass (top), and Joe Castle with a 15.34-pound bass caught on Feb. 29. Credit: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department