By Texas Parks and Wildlife
For the third time in less than two weeks, Lake Fork has delivered what many anglers dream about for a lifetime – a 13-pound-plus largemouth bass. Alex Finch, who landed the 13.06 pound largemouth bass during a solo fishing trip March 11, the catch checked off a “bucket list” item he’s been aiming at for years.
“This was one thing in my lifetime I said I wanted to do – catch a ShareLunker,” said Finch, of North Richland Hills. “I’ve accomplished a lot in the sport of fishing and I’ve caught a lot of big bass by most people’s standards, but I’ve never put one on the scale and had it read like that. My initial reaction was like “finally!”
After landing the fish on a bait he built himself – a Finch Nasty Thumper Gizzard Shad – Finch took the fish to be weighed and held at the Minnow Bucket Marina until Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Inland Fisheries staff arrived to verify the catch.
Although Lake Fork is well known as a big bass hotspot, to have three caught and entered in less than two weeks was surprising to many local anglers, including Finch.
“I’ve been fishing at Lake Fork for 5 years and I’ve seen it cycle,” Finch said. “Last year we really started to see the population of fish coming back. We knew there were going to be some big fish caught here this year, but we had no idea we would be seeing three ShareLunkers in nine days – that’s incredible.”
Michael Terrebonne caught this 13.00 pound largemouth bass March 8. Photo by TPWD
The other two huge fish were a 13.00 pound largemouth bass caught by angler Michael Terrebonne March 8; and a 15.48 pound largemouth bass caught by angler John LaBove March 2.
