The scuttlebutt is true, but no one should be surprised.
Falcon International Reservoir and Lake Fork, two very consistent big bass generators, both produced ShareLunker sover the weekend.
Falcon started the ball rolling March 16 with a 14.39-pounder, the biggest fish entered into the program so far this season.
Gary Wingate of Amarillo caught the fish in 12 feet of water using a plastic worm. The fish was 26.5 inches long and 20.75 inches in girth. It was weighed at Robert’s Fish ‘n Tackle in Zapata.
Wingate’s catch boosted him into the front-runner spot for Angler of the Year. The person who catches the season’s largest entry will be named Angler of the Year and will receive a prize package valued at $818.
If a Texas angler catches the largest entry of the season, that person also receives a lifetime fishing license.
Lake Fork chimed in Sunday with a 13.1-pounder caught in a JC Outdoors individual tournament.
Michael Justus of Garland was fishing alone when the big bass took his finesse worm on a dropshot rig in six to seven feet of water.
This weekend’s fish are the eighth and ninth entries of the season.
“It was a battle,” Justus said. “I got the net after her five times before I finally netted her. Then I realized how big she was. It was awesome. It’s something I’ll cherish forever, that’s for sure.”
ShareLunker entries are used in a selective breeding program at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) in Athens. Some of the offspring from these fish are stocked back into the water body from which they were caught.
To submit a 13-pound or bigger largemouth to the ShareLunker program, call (903) 681-0550 or page (888) 784-0600. The current season ends April 30.
— TPWD
