Two giant — not to mention rare — ‘ShareLunker’ bass caught on same day in Texas lake

TJ Macias
·1 min read

Two anglers in Texas snagged largemouth bass weighing 14-plus pounds from the same lake on Thursday in Ballinger, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced.

Brett Cannon of Willis reeled in a largemouth bass weighing 14.4 pounds and Casey Sobczak of Spring caught one weighing 14.2 pounds. ShareLunker’s are largemouth bass weighing at least 8 pounds or 24 inches in length.

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

The two catches were taken by biologists “and will be used as spawners to enhance state fisheries as part of the state’s long-running Toyota ShareLunker Program,” USA Today Sports reported.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program, which came about in 1986, partners with anglers to promote bass fishing in Texas and runs each season from Jan. 1 through Dec. 31.

The anglers’ catches fall into the Lunker Legacy Class level of achievement, reserved for fish weighing 13 pounds or more that are collected for use in the selective breeding program. With the two newest catches, the Legacy fish caught during the 2021 season (which runs through March) is up to six, USA Today reported.

It’s rare for anglers to snag largemouth bass of the larger size, 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.”