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Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation pays $6,670 for big bass from O.H. Ivie Reservoir

ATHENS — So far this season O.H. Ivie Reservoir has produced nine largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more that have been entered into the Toyota ShareLunker program. All were special fish to the anglers who caught them, but the ninth was a little more special than the others: Sam Callaway of Corpus Christi will collect $500 a pound for his catch, a total of $6,670.

Callaway caught Toyota ShareLunker No. 500 at 9:20 a.m. April 9 using a Zoom Magnum eight-inch lizard in watermelon/red. The 13.34-pound fish was immediately taken to an official ShareLunker weigh and holding station, Concho Park Marina, where it was held for pickup by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) ShareLunker program manager David Campbell. The fish, which is 20.5 inches in girth and 26.25 inches long, now rests in the Lunker Bunker at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center.

Callaway caught his big bass on the first day of the Permian Basin Oilman’s Bass Invitational, an annual event that raises money for the Make-a-Wish Foundation. The sixteen tournaments held to date have raised more than $1.5 million for the cause.

All participants in the tournament are subject to a polygraph test. Participation is limited to 250 two-person teams and is by invitation only. Callaway placed eighth in the tournament.

"Since the tournament is held to benefit the Make-a-Wish Foundation, the payouts are not huge," Callaway said. "Mine will amount to a couple of thousand dollars. Catching the fish was a huge piece of luck-a blessing. It’s one of the greatest things that’s ever happened to me as a fisherman, and I’ve been fishing for 29 years."

Callaway’s $500 per pound reward continues the practice of rewarding centennial catches of entries into the ShareLunker program that began with Jason Baird’s catch of ShareLunker 400 from Lake Amistad on February 28, 2006. That fish paid the Gypsum, Kansas, angler $400 a pound. Callaway will also receive a rod and reel package valued at $650 from G. Loomis and Shimano.

With almost three weeks to go in the current ShareLunker season, speculation now turns to how many fish will be entered into the program this season. Callaway’s fish brought the total to 29, which is well above the program’s 23-year average of 20.

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 program manager David Campbell at (903) 681-0550 or paging him at (888) 784-0600 and leaving a phone number including area code. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.

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. Other ShareLunker offspring are stocked in public waters around the state in an attempt to increase the overall size and growth rate of largemouth bass in Texas.

Anglers entering fish into the Toyota ShareLunker program receive a free replica of their fish, a certificate and ShareLunker clothing and are recognized at a banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. In addition, if a Texas angler catches the largest entry of the year, that person receives a lifetime fishing license.

For complete information and rules of the ShareLunker program, tips on caring for big bass and a recap of last year’s season, see http://tamus.pr-optout.com/Url.aspx?513992x818173x-744357. 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, is posted on 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.

The 2010 KYKX Big Bass Bonanza will be held May 1st & 2nd at Lake O' the Pines - Sandy Beach

1st Place is guaranteed $105,000 in cash and prizes including a Skeeter 21 I Series from Plano Marine. Don't miss out on the fun! For all the details and to register pleas visit http://www.kyxkbigbassbonanza.com.

Catch information to be blacked out until No. 500 is caught

ATHENS — Raymond Ivy of Brownwood caught Toyota ShareLunker 498 from O.H. Ivie April 5. It weighed 13.06 pounds and was caught in seven feet of water on a Strike King swim bait.

Unless you just arrived from another planet, by now you know that the Texas Parks & Wildlife Foundation will pay $500 per pound to the angler who catches Toyota ShareLunker 500.

No further announcements will be made of ShareLunker catches until No. 500 has been officially accepted into the program by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD). That fish will be X-rayed, and the angler will be given a polygraph test to verify the fish was legally caught and entered according to program rules, which require that the fish be turned over to TPWD within 12 hours of being caught.

Ivy’s fish was weighed and cared for until pickup at Elm Creek Village Marina, an official Toyota ShareLunker weigh and holding station.

O.H. Ivie Reservoir has now produced seven ShareLunkers during the current season.

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 program manager David Campbell at (903) 681-0550 or paging him at (888) 784-0600 and leaving a phone number including area code. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.

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. Other ShareLunker offspring are stocked in public waters around the state in an attempt to increase the overall size and growth rate of largemouth bass in Texas.

Anglers entering fish into the Toyota ShareLunker program receive a free replica of their fish, a certificate and ShareLunker clothing and are recognized at a banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. In addition, if a Texas angler catches the largest entry of the year, that person receives a lifetime fishing license.

For complete information and rules of the ShareLunker program, tips on caring for big bass and a recap of last year’s season, see www.tpwd.state.tx.us/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, is posted on 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.

ATHENS — James Hollis held the Lake O’ the Pines record for largemouth bass just six days before Carl Clark of Marshall went fishing there.

The ink was still wet on Hollis’s record when Clark bested it by nearly two pounds with a fish weighing 15.13 pounds caught March 26. Clark was fishing with a red Rat-L-Trap in five feet of water. His catch was 22 inches in girth and 25.25 inches long; she is now Toyota ShareLunker 491.

The March flurry of ShareLunker entries continued the next day at O.H. Ivie Reservoir, where Brian Hall of Bronte weighed in a tournament-caught 14.22-pounder that narrowly missed becoming a new lake record there. Hall was using a Zoom Brush Hog in nine feet of water.

"Lake O’ the Pines was way overdue to produce a ShareLunker," said Tim Bister, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Inland Fisheries biologist who manages the fishery on the lake. "One of the reasons we’re seeing these fish is the prey fish present in  the reservoir. Largemouth bass have an abundance of threadfin shad, gizzard shad and various sunfish species as forage. The reservoir also has a lot of submersed aquatic vegetation. Largemouth bass grow fast in Lake O’ the Pines."

Lake O’ the Pines has also been stocked with Florida largemouth bass since the 1980s. "Recognizing the potential of Lake O’ the Pines to produce trophy-sized bass, we began stocking Florida largemouth bass again last year," Bister said. The lake will also receive a portion of the spawn from this season’s Toyota ShareLunkers.

"I grew up around Lake O’ the Pines and have been fishing it since I was 15 or 16 years old," Clark said. "I love it. The fish are getting bigger every year."

In the case of the two ShareLunkers caught from the lake so far this season, make that every week.

Brian Hall was fishing in a Bassin’ Bunch tournament on a very windy day in West Texas when Toyota ShareLunker 492 picked up his bait. "I’ve caught a lot of big fish out of Ivie-it’s really coming on for big fish," he said. "I’ve caught a couple of 10s, but this is my biggest fish by far. When I got her in the boat, I could hardly stand up. My nerves were pretty much shot."

Hall’s fish was 21 inches in girth and 26.5 inches long. It missed becoming the new lake record by about a third of a pound.

O.H. Ivie now leads in the number of ShareLunkers this season with four. Hall’s fish is the second of the season from the lake to weigh more than 14 pounds.

Nine fish have now been entered into the ShareLunker program during March 2010. That list includes four 13-pound-class fish, four that weighed more than 14 pounds, two in the 15-pound class, and the current leader for big fish of the season, a 16.17-pound fish from Caddo Lake.

The race to Toyota ShareLunker 500 is now eight fish away from the finish line. In addition to all the usual prizes of a fiberglass replica of the fish and ShareLunker clothing, the angler who catches No. 500 will receive $500 per pound plus a G. Loomis BCR854 GLX jig and worm rod and a Shimano Curado 200E7 casting reel loaded with Power Pro 30-pound braided line. "It’s every angler’s dream and every fish’s nightmare," said Bruce Holt, former G. Loomis president.

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 program manager David Campbell at (903) 681-0550 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (903) 681-0550 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or paging him at (888) 784-0600 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (888) 784-0600 end_of_the_skype_highlighting 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 and a recap of last year’s season, see www.tpwd.state.tx.us/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, is posted on 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.