Toledo Bend Produces Second Budweiser ShareLunker of the Season

Larry Hodge, 903-676-2277, larry.hodge@tpwd.texas.gov

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ATHENS, Texas — The long-awaited second Budweiser ShareLunker of the season is now in the Lunker Bunker at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center courtesy of James Manasco of Hemphill.

Manasco was catching a lot of small fish Sunday, Feb. 24, in four feet of water in the back of a cove when a 13.75-pound largemouth took his green six-inch ZOOM stick worm.

The big female appeared to have already spawned yet still measured 20.5 inches in girth and 27.5 inches in length. She became the fourth Budweiser ShareLunker to come from Toledo Bend Reservoir and number 443 in the program.

Despite coming more than a month after the first entry on Jan. 13, Manasco’s fish is not the latest second fish in a season. That distinction belongs to ShareLunker No. 10, caught by Bill Lynn on February 26, 1988, following a fish caught by Troy Johnson on January 15.

The Budweiser ShareLunker program is made possible through support from Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Since 1991, Anheuser-Busch, in partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, has contributed millions of dollars in funding to support conservation causes and fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation programs in Texas.