Benbrook Youth Reels in State Record with ShareLunker Catch

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

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ATHENS—Nathan Peña-Alfaro did not expect to catch a Toyota ShareLunker when he went fishing with his family at O.H. Ivie Reservoir New Year’s weekend, much less a fish that would garner him two junior angler records.

The 13.59-pound largemouth bass he landed became the new water body record for O.H. Ivie and the new junior angler state record for largemouth bass caught from public waters as well as Toyota ShareLunker 506.

A video interview with Peña-Alfaro is at www.facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram.

Peña-Alfaro’s catch was not the largest ever landed by a junior angler in Texas. In 1993, Chris Leslie, age 13, of Emory caught a 14.27-pound bass from Lake Fork, but at that time separate records were not kept for junior anglers.

In 2007 Jesse Roberson, age 9, of Goldthwaite caught the current junior angler record for private waters, a 15.54-pounder from Lake Merritt.

Peña-Alfaro, a student at Western Hills High School in Benbrook, attributes his catch to the fact that he did his research before going fishing. “We heard they were catching big fish from O.H. Ivie on live sunfish,” he said. Bobbie Gayle of Millersview used a live sunfish to catch the season’s first Toyota ShareLunker, also from O.H. Ivie, on December 15, 2010.

Both fish were caught from about 15 feet of water.

Researchers with rods and reels might want to take notice.

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.