Texas' big bass program looking to reel in donors as 26th season begins
The 2011-12 Toyota ShareLunker season began Saturday, opening another chapter in a 26-year-old program that has arguably spawned more hype for Texas lakes and Texas bass fishing than any other before it.
Fresh out of college in May 1986, I saw it begin to unfold the following November. That's when fishing guide Mark Stevenson caught a 17.67-pound largemouth bass from a robust new fishery called Lake Fork. It was the second Texas state record in less than a year and the first Texas bass to crack the 17-pound mark.
Stevenson's big bass became the poster child for a first-of-its-kind program launched by the Texas Parks and Wildlife inland fisheries division. They called it "Operation Share A Lone Star Lunker."
The program's original title defined the department's primary motive: to solicit anglers who catch Texas bass weighing 13 pounds or more to place the fish on temporary loan to the state. In exchange, the angler was promised a free replica of the catch, a ShareLunker jacket and widespread media coverage in newspapers and magazines across Texas and beyond.
The TPWD's objective was to use the big fish to illustrate to anglers that little bass can eventually can become big bass if they are set free after getting caught. Alas, a catch-and-release candle was lit that continues to burn in the heart of what may be the most passionate fraternity of bass anglers in the world.
Scientists also hoped they could entice some of the big female bass to breed with hand-picked males in captivity. The idea was to use prodigy from the trophy-sized fish for research to eventually unlock some of the mysteries of big bass genetics.
In looking back, the timing to start such an ambitious program couldn't have been better. A perfect storm already was brewing.
Fast-growing Florida bass stocked in habitat-rich Texas lakes during the late 1970s and early 80s were on the verge of taking Texas bass fishing to a level anglers had never witnessed before. Also, a fertile new fishery called Lake Fork was poised to perform like no other lake before it or since.
Evidence of the storm can be seen in the program archives dating back for a quarter of a century:
* Sixty-two different public reservoirs and more than a dozen private lakes have combined to produce 523 lunker bass in excess of 13 pounds for the program. In 1980, only one Texas lake had kicked out a fish over 13 pounds.
* Lake Fork, a 27,000-acre reservoir near Quitman, has served as the program's blood bank, yielding 247 of its total entries.
* While East Texas lakes dominated the program early on, lakes from West, Central and South Texas have become increasingly productive over the last decade.
* Texas anglers are more mindful of proper fish-handling tactics today than ever before.
* The program had a trio of sponsors during its formative years. Among them were Lone Star Beer, Cajun Boats and Jungle Labs. The title sponsor has since changed twice, including beer giant Anheuser Busch and the current sponsor Toyota.
Budweiser dumped about $2 million into the Bud ShareLunker program during its 15-year tenure. A-B donations also helped the program build a plump endowment fund worth more than $750,000. Interest earned on the fund can be used for purchasing hatchery equipment and other program necessities.
Toyota took over the torch in 2009 under an agreement to commit at least $75,000 annually for three years. The contract outlined a series of strategic goals aimed at improving the program and ultimately taking it to a different level. Here's a look at those goals, followed by some personal observations of how those goals are being met.
* Goal 1: Producing more big bass for anglers to catch and ultimately a world record bass from Texas.
Observation: The first half of the goal is legitimate, but the second is a very far stretch. More Florida bass available for stocking in public lakes will naturally improve angler odds of catching big bass. However, the chances of a Texas reservoir lake producing a world record to top the existing record of 22 pounds, 4 ounces, seem limited at best. Texas has not seen a new state record since 1992 when an 18.18-pounder was caught from Fork.
* Goal 2: Enhancing focus on genetics and selective breeding.
Observation: Science is there to support the idea that crossing two adults with superior genetics will boost the odds of producing offspring with similar traits. Research studies indicate ShareLunker offspring may grow at a slightly faster rate than wild-spawned fish. But is the difference significant enough to justify the amount of time and money being spent on this area of the project? I'm beginning to wonder, as are some fisheries biologists and other experts in the field.
* Goal 3: Increased production and stocking of lunker fingerlings, as many as 500,000 annually.
Observation: It is possible, but scientists are going to have to be more successful at getting ShareLunkers to spawn in captivity in order to achieve this goal. Only four of the 19 ShareLunkers from the 2010-11 season spawned successfully. This resulted in 255,503 fry, roughly half of the target goal.
* Goal 4: Increasing public awareness of the program and increase participation.
Observation: The TPWD does a great job of keeping the program in the public eye by providing regular updates and photos of the most recent lunker catches to dozens of media outlets. Still, there seems to be a growing contingent of anglers who are reluctant to turn over their fish because of health concerns.
The group is especially vocal at Lake Falcon on the Texas-Mexico border. Falcon produced six official ShareLunkers last season, half of which died. Several other bass over 13 pounds, including a 15.63-pound lake record caught by guide Tommy Law, were reported from Falcon last year but were not donated to the program.
* Goal 5: Increase the survival of donated ShareLunkers.
Observation: Although survival rates have never been 100 percent, not nearly as many ShareLunkers die in captivity today as in the past. This is because scientists have gotten consistently better at recognizing potential health problems and treating them. Four of the 19 ShareLunker entries from last year died.
* Goal 6: Increase the educational value of the ShareLunker program by developing a youth education program.
Observation: Toyota ShareLunker is headquarted at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. The $18 million facility houses a hatchery, laboratory, aquarium and education center that draws about 60,000 visitors each year. About one-third of those visitors are associated with schools and youth groups.
To learn more about the Toyota ShareLunker program, visit www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/tffc/sharelunker online. To donate a fish between now and April 30, call 903-681-0550.
Matt Williams' email address is mattwilliams@netdot.com.
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