First Legacy Lunker of the Season

Check out this 14.36 pound lunker, caught by Blake Cockrell at Lake Alan Henry this past weekend. This is the first Legacy Class ShareLunker of 2020.

If you catch a 13+ pound bass and loan it to Texas Parks & Wildlife Department (TPWD) during the spawning period (January-March), you will be supporting the fishery department's selective breeding program and will be recognized as a member of the Lunker Legacy Class. In 2019, anglers caught five Legacy Class bass over 13 pounds and loaned them to TPWD for the selective breeding and stocking program.

The year round ShareLunker program offers four levels of participation for bass over eight pounds caught in Texas. There were four Legend Class bass, fish over 13 pounds that were caught outside the spawning window, or were not loaned for spawning. In the Elite Class, 76 bass weighing 10 to 12.99 pounds were entered and in the Lunker Class 242 bass weighing between eight and 9.99 pounds or at least 24 inches were entered.

The top five ShareLunker producing lakes in 2019 included Lake Fork with 112 entries, Lake Conroe with 69 entries, Lake Athens with 48 entries, Sam Rayburn Reservoir with 32 entries, and O.H. Ivie Lak with 21 entries.

Lakes producing 13 pound or larger Legacy Class bass entries in 2019 included Lake Leon with 13.00 pound caught March 29; Lake Conroe with 13.36 pound caught March 9; Lake Fork with 13.73 pound caught March 8; a private research lake with 13.79 pound caught Feb. 8; and Marine Creek Lake with 14.57 pound caught Jan. 26.

All anglers who enter their big bass catches in the program receive special recognition and prizes, including an entry into a year-end drawing to win a $5,000 Bass Pro Shops shopping spree and an annual fishing license. Legacy class fish anglers receive a catch kit, a 13lb+ Legacy decal, VIP access to awards programming at the Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest and a replica of their fish.

Ryan Waguespack of McQueeney was randomly selected from the 2019 entries to win the coveted year-end $5,000 shopping spree to Bass Pro Shops.

Anglers can enter their big bass catches in all categories on the Toyota ShareLunker app – available for free download from the Apple App store and Google Play – or on the website for the program, texassharelunker.com. The mobile app and website entry forms also include simple instructions for anglers who would like to provide a sample of fish scales from their lunker bass to TPWD researchers for genetic analysis.

Anglers who catch a 13 pound or larger “Legacy Class” bass through March 31 can enter by calling the program directly – any time of day – at (903) 681-0550. For updates on the ShareLunker Program, see their website, or their Facebook page, ShareLunker Program.

Download the App
Download the free ShareLunker app to your phone before you head to the lake so you'll be ready to enter your lunker catch and stay up–to–date with the program. Available for iOS and Android devices.

Need help measuring the length and weight of your Lunker or help with holding it until TPWD staff arrive? Visit one of our weigh and holding stations closest to your location.

Be prepared to share your Lunker catch this year. If it's not in the Legacy class, fill out the required information and return it to the lake alive so it can grow up to be a Legacy.
Photo courtesy TPWD

Author: Tom Behrens

Tom Behrens has over 50 years experience in fishing and hunting across the United States. Much of this time was spent in Oklahoma and Texas where he became very familiar with the outdoor opportunities in these states. You may contact him by email at: [email protected]

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Fishing Report from TPWD (Sep. 24)

GOOD. normal stain; 85 degrees; 1.29 feet below pool. There is good topwater action early in the morning around pond weed with topwaters and frogs. Then use flukes and soft plastics stick baits along the edge of the pond weed most of the day. There are still a few groups of fish offshore, but bass are primarily scattered from 12-22 feet in roadbeds, humps and long points. Deep crankbaits are good over points and humps in 18-25 feet. Report by Marc Mitchell, Mitchell's Guide Service. Early and late topwater bites around grass lines and isolated cover on main lake and secondary points. Try frog and mouse patterns for topwater. Bass are schooling in creeks, so a hard-bodied popper should work. Bream are shallow, try small hoppers. Sand bass are schooling mid-lake. Report by Guide Alex Guthrie, Fly Fish Fork Guide Service. Lake Fork crappie fishing is heating back up as we begin to head into early fall. The black crappie are stacking up in huge numbers this week on brush piles and other structures. The bite for them is still a little finicky but small hand tied jigs swam over them or small jig heads tipped with minnows are working to get them in the boat. Still having to go thru numbers of fish to find the larger ones. The white crappie are also showing up on timber along creek channels in 18-28 feet. That bite has gotten stronger and the minnow tipped jig heads are working well on those fish. Have caught some fish on soft plastics the last few weeks. We should see the bite getting even better when water temps drop down as we begin to cool down more. Report by Jacky Wiggins, Jacky Wiggins Guide Service.

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