Outdoors

By STEVE KNIGHT
Outdoor Editor

Tyler angler Brett Harris set a new lake record and became the clubhouse leader in this season's ShareLunker program when he caught a 14-pound, 5-ounce bass Monday on Tyler State Park Lake.

Harris said he had only been fishing the lake for about 20 minutes when he landed the big fish on a watermelon-colored lizard in shallow water. The bass measured 27.75 inches in length and 20.25 inches in girth.

The bass, the 450th all-time in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's ShareLunker program, is the largest from the lake since a 13.28-pounder was caught by Tyler's Brad Sharp in March 2000. Sharp became the record-holder just three months after a 12.66-pound bass was caught on the 64-acre lake.

The lake is better known for its winter trout fishery. TPWD has stocked rainbow trout on the lake annually since 1983, including approximately 6,000 this year. The trout are high in protein and make an excellent diet for the lake's largemouth bass.

Although fishing the banks for spawning fish, Harris said he had not seen the fish because of choppy water caused by winds gusting to 30 miles per hour.

At this point Harris' bass is the largest of the nine ShareLunkers this season. The next on the list is a 13.87-pound fish caught March 9 on Lake Waco.

With two ShareLunker entries, Tyler State Park is one behind Purtis Creek, which with three fish has produced the most of any state park for the hatchery program.

Harris' fish was taken to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center where if it is determined that the bass is a pure Florida it will be placed in the hatchery's program for spawning.

BIG ‘UN: Brett Harris holds up the 14-pound, 5-ounce bass he caught on Monday in the Tyler State Park lake. Harris’ catch set a new lake record and pushed him to the top of the leaderboard for this season’s ShareLunker program.
(TPWD Photo By Larry D. Hodge)