The 30th season of the Toyota ShareLunker program will begin October 1. If you catch a 13-pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, between October 1 and April 30, submit the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker program to help breed bigger bass. 

Call (903) 681-0550 if you land a Lunker! ShareLunker catches can be reported 24 hours a day, seven days a week during the season. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.

Tips for Entering a Lunker

Catching a 13-pound bass is possible almost anywhere you fish in Texas. To date, ShareLunkers have been caught from 65 public water bodies and more than a dozen private lakes. Be prepared with a few simple steps to help ensure the survival of your ShareLunker:

• Carry a landing net, preferably a rubber one or a net with unknotted mesh, to avoid damaging the fish’s slime coat.
• Fill your livewell before you begin fishing.
• Program the ShareLunker number into your phone before the season begins.
• Carry a scale and check its accuracy before the season begins.
• Locate a place near your fishing spot such as a feed store, grocery store or bait shop that has a certified scale and will weigh fish. Some reservoirs also have established official ShareLunker weigh and holding stations.

Why to Participate

Donating your fish to the Toyota ShareLunker Program helps TPWD breed bigger bass!

Entries that are pure Florida largemouth bass are used in a selective breeding program at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC) in Athens. Offspring from ShareLunkers that spawn are stocked into each waterbody that produces an entry during the season. Genetic testing shows that pure Florida largemouth bass have as much as 18 times greater chance of producing a 13-pound offspring as intergrades do. 

If you enter a fish into the Toyota ShareLunker program, you'll receive a free replica of your fish, a certificate, ShareLunker clothing and will be recognized at a banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center. If you catch the season’s largest entry, you'll be named Angler of the Year and receive a prize package from G. Loomis of a top-of-the-line rod, Shimano reel, PowerPro line and G. Loomis hat. If you're a Texas resident, you'll also receive a lifetime Texas fishing license.

Prizes and funding for the banquet are provided by Toyota, which also provides a Tundra pickup truck for use in picking up and returning the majority of lunkers and their offspring.

Follow the Toyota ShareLunker Program on Facebook to see notification and photos of each ShareLunker caught this season.

Images: Andrew Watson with ShareLunker 524 from Lake Fork, Jason Hanson with ShareLunker 551 from Lake Athens