Lake Austin ShareLunker Streak Continues; O.H. Ivie Joins In

Larry Hodge, 903-676-2277, larry.hodge@tpwd.texas.gov

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ATHENS—Lake Austin has produced two more Toyota ShareLunkers, bringing its season total to five. The last two were caught on the same day, March 21.

Lake O.H. Ivie, which had a hot streak the past two seasons, produced its first entry of the current season March 25.

O.H. Ivie now ranks number 3 in total number of ShareLunkers produced, with 24. Lake Austin ranks sixth with 17.

Other reservoirs that have produced double-digit numbers of ShareLunker entries include Lake Fork with 249; Alan Henry, 25; Sam Rayburn, 23; Falcon, 19; Conroe, 16; Choke Canyon, 13; and Amistad, 12.

Corey Johnson of Cedar Park started the latest big-bass flurry shortly after noon March 21 with a 13.18-pound fish from Lake Austin. It was caught on a white jig in four to five feet of water. The fish was 26.5 inches long and 20 inches in girth. It is Toyota ShareLunker 533.

Just after 6:00 p.m. that same day Charles Whited of San Marcos hooked Toyota ShareLunker 534, a 13.59-pounder in Lake Austin with a Senko in eight feet of water. Whited caught his fish in a Texas Tournament Zone tournament. The fish was 26.125 inches long and 20 inches in girth.

Stacy Brookings of Midland was fishing O.H. Ivie with a spinner bait when a 13.22-pound bass ate it in eight feet of water. The fish, now Toyota ShareLunker 535, was 26.5 inches long and 20 inches in girth.

DNA testing at the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department laboratory at the A.E. Wood State Fish Hatchery in San Marcos showed Toyota ShareLunker 534 to be an intergrade, a mixture of Florida and northern largemouth bass. It was returned to Lake Austin March 23. Test results on the other two fish are not yet available.

Anyone legally catching a 13-pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, between October 1 and April 30 may submit the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program by calling the ShareLunker hotline at (903) 681-0550 or paging (888) 784-0600 and leaving a phone number including area code. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.

For complete information and rules of the ShareLunker program, tips on caring for big bass, a list of official Toyota ShareLunker weigh and holding stations and a recap of last year’s season, see http://tpwd.texas.gov/sharelunker. The site also includes a searchable database of all fish entered into the program along with pictures where available.

Information on current catches, including short videos of interviews with anglers when available, is posted on http://www.facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible by a grant to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. Toyota is a long-time supporter of the Foundation and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, providing major funding for a wide variety of education, fish, parks and wildlife projects.

Editors Note: Photos of Nos. 533 and 534 are not available at this time.