© Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
April 11, 2018
By Scott Bernarde
Stacy Spriggs, of Huntsville, caught this 13.06-pound bass on March 31 at Sam Rayburn Reservoir (© Texas Parks and Wildlife Department)
Sam Rayburn Reservoir continued an amazing run of trophy Texas bass this spring, fulfilling an angler's dream of a double-digit hook-up and adding another entry to the state's popular ShareLunker program .
Avid tournament angler Stacy Spriggs, of Huntsville, caught the 13.06-pound bass on March 31, during the annual Stanley Burgay Memorial Bass Tournament. She used a Carolina rig in eight feet of water, according to the Texas Parks & Wildlife Department , which recorded the catch as the sixth Legacy Class catch of the season.
As part of the Toyota ShareLunker program, bass weighing 13 pounds or more that are donated to the state during the spawn (Jan. 1-March 31) are designated as Legacy Class, which earns the angler an award and other special perks.
More Big Texas Bass
"When I set the hook I knew it was a big fish — but I didn't know how big," Spriggs told the TPWD. "It never crossed my mind that it was a ShareLunker until we got to the [tournament] scale. When they put her on the scale and she weighed over 13 pounds I was shocked. This is way bigger than anything I've ever caught before."
Her previous best catch was a 9.7-pounder caught in a tournament the week before.
"We have a lakehouse on Sam Rayburn and fish the lake 90 percent of the time," she said. "Neither my boyfriend or I had ever caught a double digit on Sam Rayburn. I did it by three pounds — it was pretty crazy."
Though initially donated, Spriggs' bass was released due to concerns about the fish's health. Still, it qualifies as a Legacy Class fish, and is named "ShareLunker 576."
2018 ShareLunker Legacy Class Catches
Stacy Spriggs' recent catch at Sam Rayburn was the sixth Legacy Class catch in the Toyota ShareLunker program. Here are the five others:
Toyota ShareLunker 575 , 13.34 pounds, angler Pablo Torres Jr., Kurth Reservoir, March 25
Toyota ShareLunker 574 , 13.40 pounds, Austin Terry, Twin Buttes Reservoir, March 14
Toyota ShareLunker 573 , 13.06 pounds, Alex Finch, Lake Fork, March 11
Toyota ShareLunker 572 , 13.0 pounds, Michael Terrebonne, Lake Fork, March 8
Toyota ShareLunker 571 , a 15.48 pounds, John LaBove, Lake Fork, March 2.
Although the Legacy Class donation season has ended, anglers can still enter their 8 pound or larger largemouth bass catches into the Toyota ShareLunker program through Dec. 31. Entries can be made online or through a free app available to download from the Apple App Store and Google Play .
The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible by a grant to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation from Gulf States Toyota. For updates on the Toyota ShareLunker program and to view photos of all of the 13-pound-plus largemouth bass caught this season, visit https://www.facebook.com/ShareLunkerprogram or https://texassharelunker.com/ .
Pablo Torres Jr. caught this 13.34-pound largemouth bass at Kurth Reservoir, on March 25. (© Texas Parks and Wildlife Department)
