CONROE, Texas – Major League Fishing is known for its catch, weigh, and immediate-release format. However, while the pros are on Lake Conroe for the MLF Bass Pro Tour Huk Stage Two presented by Favorite Fishing, the anglers will put their livewells to good use if they catch a monster bass.
Any fish weighing 13 pounds or more this week will be donated to Texas Parks and Wildlife Division’s Toyota ShareLunker program. Created in 1986, the ShareLunker program is aimed at retaining the big-fish genetics of the Lone Star State’s biggest largemouth bass.
“It’s a conservation measure,” MLF NOW! analyst Marty Stone said. “The history of the program shows us that it works. It helps stock the great Texas lakes with not only fish, but big fish.”
If a fish larger than 13 pounds is caught this week, the ShareLunker process begins rather quickly. The angler who caught the fish will put it into the livewell while a district biologist from TPWD heads out to that angler’s boat. The biologist will then certify the weight – if it’s greater than 13 pounds, TPWD then takes possession of the bass. The fish is transported to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens, Tex., where it will be DNA tested and spawn with another Florida-strain largemouth.
Once the fish is finished spawning in the TFFC hatchery, she and a portion of her offspring are returned to the lake where the female was caught, in this case Lake Conroe.
“It gives us great data,” said TPWD fish hatchery director Tony Owens. “With the help of the anglers, we’re able to breed bigger and better fish for Texas lakes.”
The ShareLunker history
In 2018, the program lowered the weight requirement and began accepting fish that weigh 8 pounds and up. The TPWD does not breed those largemouth bass under 13 pounds, but they do allow them to be registered in the ShareLunker program.
From 1986 to 2017, Lake Conroe ranked seventh in the state for the amount of 13-plus pounders that were caught and turned into the ShareLunker program. After the weight limit was lowered in 2018, Lake Conroe ranked second in the state behind the famed Lake Fork for the number of bass contributed to the ShareLunker program.
“You hear, ‘everything is bigger in Texas,’ and this is one of the reasons why,” Stone expressed. “Texas has been 25 years ahead of other states in terms of their fisheries management. If they see an opportunity to make these lakes and fish better then they do that.”
“We’re very excited about it because we’re starting to really see the number of lunkers grow in these lakes,” Owens explained. “It all depends on angler education and angler participation and we’re happy MLF is helping with that.”
While watching the MLF NOW! live stream this week, don’t be alarmed if you see an angler place a lunker into his livewell. Lake Conroe’s giant bass won’t only give anglers a boost during competition, they’ll be helping conserve the great fisheries in the state of Texas.