Lake Austin Pumps out Another Toyota ShareLunker

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

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ATHENS—Lake Austin continued to solidify its ranking as one of the best trophy bass lakes in Texas with Toyota ShareLunker 548, caught March 27 by Round Rock angler Colin Pack while fishing in a Texas Tournament Zone tournament.

Pack caught the fish in 10 feet of water using a Carolina rig while fishing in hydrilla. The bass weighed 13.29 pounds and was 26.75 inches long and 20 inches in girth. It will be held at the A.E. Wood State Fish Hatchery in San Marcos until the results of DNA testing are known. If the fish is pure Florida largemouth bass, it will be moved to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens for spawning.

Lake Austin has now produced19 largemouth bass that have been entered into the ShareLunker program. It trails Lake Fork, with 253 entries; Lakes Alan Henry and O. H. Ivie, with 25 each; Sam Rayburn, with 23; and Falcon, with 20. Lake Conroe has 16 entries and Choke Canyon, 13.

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

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.

For complete information and rules of the ShareLunker program, tips on caring for big bass, a list of official Toyota ShareLunker weigh and holding stations and a recap of last year’s season, see http://tpwd.texas.gov/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 when available, 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.