Toyota ShareLunker changes time frame, adds new divisions

Published 12:33 am Saturday, January 13, 2018

After months in the shop undergoing repairs and upgrades, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department has rolled its Toyota ShareLunker Program out of the garage once again.

The biggest changes are that the program has gone year-round with a season running from Jan. 1-Dec. 31 and that there are four ways for fishermen to participate and earn prizes other than donating a bass weighing 13-pounds or larger to the hatchery program.

Like an old car, the ShareLunker program was starting to show its age and not attracting the participation it once did. Part of it is because of a soured reputation among some fishermen over fish that died while in TPWD’s hands. That number has probably been overblown, but the reputation exists.

It is also because fishing has gotten so good statewide that a 13-pound bass just isn’t that big of a deal anymore. Since 1986, 570 ShareLunkers have been donated from 68 public lakes and more than a dozen private lakes ranging from the Sabine River to as far north and west as Meredith Stilling Basin north of Amarillo and as far south as Lake Falcon.

The program took on new importance several years ago when TPWD announced its future hatchery brood fish would come from ShareLunker offspring, insuring the system would be using genetically the best of the best bass available from Texas public waters.

However, along with the science goal the program continues to be a venue to recognize bass fishermen, including those landing the last two state records.

“Angler recognition continues to be a primary goal of the Toyota ShareLunker program,” said Kyle Brookshear, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator. “This year for the first time ever, anglers who catch a largemouth bass 8 pounds or larger can participate simply by providing important catch information for us to use to improve bass fisheries science. We will be recognizing and rewarding these anglers as well as those anglers who loan their lunker bass weighing 13 pound or greater to our breeding program during the spawning season.”

And providing the information for those fish not taken into the hatchery for spawning is as easy as downloading a phone app the department released earlier this month or by going online. The Toyota ShareLunker app is available for either iPhone or Google Play. The website is https://texassharelunker.com. To use either, fishermen will be required to submit photos of the fish properly being measured, weighed and held.

Fishermen who participate will be helping the future of Texas fishing by providing the department with a scale from their catch. Information on how to pull the scale and deliver it to TPWD will be available on both the app and website.

“Monitoring the impact of ShareLunker stockings is critical to evaluating the success of the program. That’s why the citizen scientist piece is so important – we need anglers to help us better understand the populations of our biggest bass in Texas and we are excited to offer exciting prizes in exchange for providing us with the information and genetic material from their lunker catches,” Brookshear said.

Participation in the program was divided into four categories this year. The most important of the four is the Lunker Legacy Class in which fishermen catch and donate a bass to the hatchery system between Jan. 1 and March 31. This time frame is not only when the majority of the big bass are caught, but also statistically the best window of opportunity for the department to successfully spawn the big females.

“Our goal is for all hatchery-held Florida largemouth bass brood stock to eventually be the descendants of ShareLunkers. Increasing the percentage of ShareLunker offspring being introduced into Texas waters is an important part of increasing the lunker genetic potential in the state. We are incredibly grateful for anglers who choose to loan us these valuable fish and we are looking forward to continuing our efforts to make Texas fishing bigger and better with the selective breeding program,” Brookshear said

Those participating during this window of opportunity will receive a special ShareLunker Catch Kit of fishing tackle, a special commemorative program decal, a replica of their fish and entry into a year-end drawing for a $5,000 shopping spree and Texas 2018 fishing license.

The other divisions include the Lunker Legend class which is for fishermen who catch bass 13 pounds and larger, but don’t loan them to the program.

The two remaining divisions are for fishermen who catch bass weighing from 8 to 12.99 pounds this year.

The Lunker Elite Class is for catches from 10 to 12.99 pounds and the Lunker Class is for catches 8 to 10 pounds.

Those competing in the Lunker Legend Class, Lunker Elite Class and Lunker Class prizes will receive a ShareLunker Catch Kit of fishing tackle and a special commemorative program decal from their class.

Fishermen from the Legacy class who don’t win the grand prize drawing as well as those from the other three classes are also entered into a second drawing for the shopping spree and license.

Fishermen who catch a ShareLunker they would like to donate to the program should call 903-681-0550 to make arrangements to have the fish picked up by the department.