ShareLunker program shows minimal results in three-lake test
Texas bass lakes and Texas bass continue to shock the imagination. You might say the same thing about the army of anglers who chase them 12 months a year on dozens of impoundments -- large and small -- that span every ecological region in the state.
Texas bass anglers come from all walks of life and they have rallied around their favorite fish in a way that has taken the sport to heights no one ever dreamed possible 30 years ago.
Think about it: In 1980, catch and release wasn't cool and an 8-pounder was considered a giant.
Today, Texas anglers are treating bass with kid gloves. An 8-pounder no longer raises eyebrows. In fact, a fish of that caliber may not even qualify as a legal-size "keeper" on lakes with a designated slot limit.
Double-digit fish are the ones that turn heads these days, especially those weighing 13 pounds or more. That's the minimum weight required to become a candidate for the Toyota ShareLunker program.
ShareLunker is a spawning and genetics research program run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department since 1987. Toyota took over as its title sponsor earlier this year after long-time sponsor Anheuser Busch reeled in Budweiser and headed in a different direction.
The main focus of the program, which runs Oct. 1 to April 30 annually, has changed with time. During the early days, the primary emphasis was to promote catch and release. More recently, the focus shifted to producing bigger and better bass and teaching anglers how to take better care of a large fish after they catch it.
Anglers who reel in Texas bass weighing 13 pounds or more are encouraged to donate their fish to the TPWD, so attempts can be made to get it to spawn in captivity.
The minimum limit was set at 13 pounds because fish of that size are believed to be genetically superior. Scientists theorize that they can significantly enhance the odds of winding up with super-charged progeny by crossing the big females with hand-picked males.
About five percent of the ShareLunker fingerlings from each season are used to upgrade the state's hatchery broodstock. Another 10 percent join the "Operation World Record" program. The remaining fingerlings from each lunker season are stocked back into qualifying lakes that produced the big females.
OWR is an ambitious program that got underway in 2005. It is aimed at selectively breeding a bass that will ultimately exceed the current world record of 22 pounds, 4 ounces.
Research studies are currently under way to determine for sure if ShareLunker offspring do indeed grow faster or larger than those produced by average bass reared in the wild.
The OWR study lab consists of six public lakes hand-picked based on a number of criteria conducive to producing big fish. The six lakes are Mill Creek, Pinkston, Meridian State Park, Raven, Purtis Creek and Marine Creek.
The lakes were stocked using OWR offspring. The 6- to 8-inch bass were marked with coded tags, so they can be identified during future electrofishing evaluations. The idea is to compare growth rates of 4-year-old OWR fish to growth rates of wild fish of the same age.
Initial evaluations took place last spring on three of the study lakes. Lake Raven near Huntsville showed the most promising results, though the margin of improvement was slight.
According to the collection data, the average 4-year-old wild fish weighed about 2.23 pounds. The average OWR fish weighed 2.88 pounds. Biologists did collect one OWR bass with an obvious thyroid problem. That fish weighed 7.23 pounds and measured 23 inches long.
The other three study lakes will be evaluated for the first time this spring. If those results are as insignificant as the results from the first three lakes, it may be time for program leaders to rethink their strategies or take the ShareLunker program in a different direction.
ShareLunker has taken in more than 470 bass from nearly 60 public reservoirs and more than a dozen private lakes during the last 22 years. Anglers who donate fish receive recognition through statewide media coverage, a free fiberglass replica and a ShareLunker cap, shirt and jacket. The angler who catches the biggest bass of each season also gets a lifetime fishing license valued at $1,000.
The TPWD does an excellent job of promoting the program by sending out regular updates and photos each time a ShareLunker is caught. The information is of particular value to guys like me, because it provides a valuable tool for monitoring the heartbeat of trophy bass fishing in Texas from one year to the next. Not only does it provide detailed information on each fish, it also is a good indicator of when the big ones start biting and where.
If that's the case, then Lake Falcon in deep South Texas may be a pretty good spot to wet a hook right now. Debbie Baker of Wartrace, Tenn., will be soaking her Zoom Brushhog in the 84,000-acre impoundment every chance she gets.
Baker was fishing an underwater river ledge at Falcon around noon on Dec. 20 when she caught a career best bass that weighed 13.26 pounds. The 25-inch beauty took a watermelon/gold Brushhog rigged Texas style in about 25 feet of water.
"My husband and I pulled up on this spot and we caught 30 fish between 3 and 8 pounds in less that 45 minutes," Baker said. "Then the big one bit. We hated to leave, but we had to so we could get her taken care of."
The Bakers took the big bass to Robert's Tackle Shop, an official ShareLunker receiving station in Zapata. The fish was placed in a large aerated vat to await transfer to the TPWD.
"It was a dream fish and a lifetime dream come true," said Baker, who plans to spend the winter at Falcon. "We've had some amazing fishing down here, and it's just going to get better."
Randy Myers agreed. Myers is the fisheries biologist who oversees the big lake for the TPWD. According to Myers, Baker's fish is probably the first of many giant bass to be kicked out by Falcon over the next couple of months.
"We had a major habitat improvement in 2003 and 2004 due to rains," Myers said. "It takes seven to 10 years for a bass to reach 13 pounds, and fish in that lake can do it in seven. Falcon is going to pump out a bunch of big ones in the next few years."
Todd Driscoll and John Lynch, both of Jasper, stumbled across a swarm of Falcon giants on Dec. 21. Together the anglers amassed more than 46 pounds on their heaviest five fish in a single day.
"We pulled up on this one spot and had 39 pounds in the boat in 12 minutes," Driscoll said. "It was truly the most amazing fishing day of my life."
Matt Williams' e-mail address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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