Written by TPWD
Blair Schwarz of McAllen caught the second largemouth bass more than 13 pounds this season from a private lake in Zapata County on February 19.
The fish weighed 14.30 pounds and was caught on a Jackall ASKA square-billed crankbait in about six feet of water. Length and girth were unavailable at the time of writing.
The fish is the twenty-second entry into Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s ShareLunker program from private waters. The first such caught by Dan Berg of Hilltop Lakes in 1987.
The largest entry from private waters weighed 15.74 pounds and was caught by Kenneth Morris of San Angelo in 1995. The second-largest private-waters entry was caught by Jesse Roberson of Goldthwaite, then 9 years old. That fish weighed 15.54 pounds and earned Roberson Angler of the Year honors.
Schwarz’s fish, as the largest entry of the season so far, leads the race for Angler of the Year. G. Loomis provides a prize package that includes a G. Loomis rod, a Shimano reel, and PowerPro line for the Angler of the Year. If a Texas resident catches the largest fish, that person also receives a lifetime fishing license.
The last private lake lunker prior to Schwarz’s fish, was caught by Paul Detwiler of Tyler in 2009. That fish weighed 14.43 pounds.
