Lone Star State Does It Again: Huge West Texas Bass Reported

Texas bass fishing is on a hot streak for lunker largemouths.

For the fourth time this month, a bass weighing 13 pounds or more has been reported through the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department's Toyota ShareLunker program, which recognizes outstanding catches in the state.

On March 14, Austin Terry of San Angelo, Texas, logged the most recent hawg, a 13.40-pound largemouth he caught out of Twin Buttes Reservoir.

The fish hit a Santone spinnerbait (1/2-ounce Red River Special) in less than four feet of water, according to a TPWD news release. It was the first time in 28 years that a 13-pounder was caught in Twin Buttes.

"The lake is fishing really good and there are a lot of big ones biting right now," Terry said in he news release. "To catch a ShareLunker is pretty cool — especially for a lake where there was only 2 to 4 feet of water in there a few years ago. It's hard to believe that there are fish that big in there."

The bass was the fourth Legacy Class (bass over 13 pounds) entry in the ShareLunker program this year. The first three came in a nine-day period earlier this month at Lake Fork.

"Lake Fork has been whipping everybody this year with Legacy Class entries," said John Ingle, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) Senior Fisheries Technician.  "So we are pretty excited for a lake in our (San Angelo) district to produce the first 13 pound or larger ShareLunker entry outside of Lake Fork. We know these fish are out there but the anglers just have to catch them."

Terry's bass was donated and taken to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens where it will be monitored in the "Lunker Bunker" as a prospective spawner.

For updates on the program and to view photos of all of the 13-pound-plus largemouth bass caught this season, visit https://www.facebook.com/ShareLunkerprogram.

• More on the TPWD Toyota ShareLunker program