Feature Report by TF&G STAFF
LISTEN: ( 8 minutes, 19 seconds )
https://fishgame.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Fea-2-ShareLunker.mp3
The 2024 TOYOTA SHARELUNKER plan was moving forward at a high rate and ended up with a stellar collection season for the fifth year in a row.
19 Legacy Group ShareLunkers from seven different lakes in Texas were brought in by anglers. The first Legacy Class fish was reported by three fresh water bodies, but West Texas ‘ O. H. Ivie led the charge once more this year with 12 comments.
” Thank you to all involved in making another great Toyota ShareLunker set time”, said Natalie Goldstrohm, Toyota ShareLunker plan representative. We’re appreciative that so many fishermen made the decision to promote their ShareLunker to help Texas’s fishing community grow bigger and better in the future.
To wrap up the 2024 set season, O. H. Ivie produced seven consecutive Legacy Lunkers. In the last four months, it has produced an extraordinary amount of ShareLunkers, accounting for the most recent set time for the 2020 set, before producing 12 Legacy Class Lunkers in 2021, 2022, and 2024. With 15 ShareLunkers in 2023, it then proceeded to break the single-season set history for that waterbody. Over the past four choices seasons, O. H. Ivie has produced 51 combined Tradition Lunkers and numerous Legend Class collections.
Highlights of the 2024 series period for the Toyota ShareLunker:
• Seven reservoirs delivered Legacy Class Lunkers ( Fort Phantom Hill, Inks Lake, J. B. Thomas, Naconiche, O. H. Ivie, Sam Rayburn, Toledo Bend )
• Three fresh reservoirs with Legacy Group ShareLunkers ( Fort Phantom Hill, Inks Lake, J. B. Thomas )
• Three brand-new waterbody data ( J. B. Thomas, Inks Lake, Fort Phantom Hill ) and one new junior waterbody record ( J. B. Thomas )
• Angler Kyle Hall’s ShareLunker 665 ( 15.82- weight ) made the Texas Top 50 as the 37th heaviest all- day Texas largemouth bass
• In three times, angler Kyle Hall recorded a Legacy Lunker.
• Six out- of- express anglers etched their brand into the project’s record guide. The fish hailed from Kansas, New York, Ohio, Oklahoma and Washington.
• In 2024, angler Larry R. Walker reeled in two Legacy Class Lunkers.
The Legacy Lunkers were the subject of an extraordinary genetic research conducted by TPWD scientists this year. For example, they determined ShareLunker 666, reeled in by Larry R. Walker from O. H. Ivie, was a recapture of ShareLunker 646 actually caught by Mechelda Criswell on Feb. 27, 2023.
A 13.20- ounce fish from Lake Athens proved to be the offspring of ShareLunker 552 which was caught by Randall E. Claybourne on Jan. 12, 2014 at Lake Fork. This is the first day a Legacy Class ancestor from this particular family tree has been found in the ShareLunker system.
13 of the 19 Legacy Class ShareLunkers had extra associations to either prior Legacy Class tuna or other ShareLunkers that fishermen sent scale samples for genetic analysis. Through the ShareLunker software, Criswell submitted the tissues of two of Oak Creek’s complete siblings. One of these fish was caught in 2023, and the other in 2024. These findings highlight the important collaboration that the ShareLunker system fosters with anglers all over the world.
However, one of this year’s 19 Legacy Class fish, the 13.42- pound ShareLunker 662 from Inks Lake, perished according to extenuating circumstances. However, in the last five years, the program has achieved an exceptional overall bass life success rate of 94 percent. More than three years ago, in 2021, a Legacy Lunker perished in TPWD treatment.
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The TPWD facility teams work diligently to provide each and every ShareLunker bass with the best possible fish healthcare, according to Goldstrohm. ” We continue to learn from these activities and improve large bass care and life-supporting therapies.”
Anglers who caught and loaned one of these 13- plus pound lunkers earn Legacy Group reputation, get a get kit filled with merchandise, a 13 lb. A high-quality replica mount of their fish from Lake Fork Taxidermy, a swag pack, and annual subscription to Bass University will be provided for their vehicle or boat, as well as a VIP access to the Toyota ShareLunker Annual Awards event. Additionally, these anglers are eligible for entries in two distinct drawings, the year-end Grand Prize Drawing and the Legacy Class Drawing. The winner will receive a$ 5, 000 shopping spree from Bass Pro Shops through both drawings.
The year-round Toyota ShareLunker program offers anglers three additional levels of participation for bass over eight pounds or 24 inches in Texas, even though the Legacy class season has ended. These data levels continue to be important to TPWD fisheries biologists, allowing them to continue producing bigger, better bass in Texas.
Anglers who enter information for any lunker they catch in excess of eight pounds or 24 inches during the 2024 calendar year also receive a catch kit, a decal for their boat, a one-month Bass University subscription, and a chance to win a$ 5, 000 Grand Prize Drawing. The Bass Pro Shops Lunker Class ( 8 lb. ) is included in ShareLunker’s entry classes. + ), Strike King Elite Class ( 10 lb. + ) and Lew’s Legend Class ( 13 lb. + ).
Anglers must enter the catch information on the Toyota ShareLunker mobile app, which is free to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play, or on the Texas ShareLunker.com online app.
Anglers have the option of sending a DNA scale sample from their lunker bass to TPWD researchers for genetic analysis in addition to providing basic catch information. While supplies last, anglers who submit a sample to the program in 2024 will receive a Lew’s baitcast reel valued at up to$ 200, with a maximum of one reel per angler. A three-month subscription to Bass University will also be provided to anglers who send in a genetic sample. On the Toyota ShareLunker website, instructions for submitting DNA samples are available.
SIDEBAR
Will Forward-Faced Sonar Create a New State Record?
Forward-facing sonar is a revolutionary technology that has created unheard of buzz in the fishing industry.
Anglers can cast more accurately and accurately with forward-facing sonar, increasing their chances of success.
In light of the Sharelunker program, the potential of forward-facing sonar has already been demonstrated in some impressive ways. Take, for example, the case of O. H. Ivie, where the use of this technology led to the capture of a lake record bass that weighed 17.06 pounds.
This breakthrough has left many anglers wondering: could forward- facing sonar be the key to breaking long- standing records, such as Barry St. Clair’s legendary 18.18- pound Texas state record caught at Lake Fork in 1992?
On the one hand, forward-facing sonar gives anglers unprecedented precision and accuracy.
On the other hand, fishing records are not just about technology, they are also about skill, knowledge, and experience. Forward-facing sonar may be advantageous for anglers, but it ultimately is up to the angler to make the most of it.
Do you believe that the next state record bass will be produced by forward-facing sonar? We would love to hear your comments. Email cmoore@fishgame .com.
—report by TF&G STAFF
