[bassman]

As you might know between Oct. 1 and April 30, Texas collects 13lb. largemouth bass for the purpose of spawning and study. The fish is then released back into the same waters that it was caught. The angler gets a replica of the fish and the angler who catchs the largest of the season get a lifetime huntin/fishing license from Texas. As to date there are 11 entries.
11/25/06 Eddie Horn 13.79
12/28/06 Parder Chambers 13.40
01/05/07 Jaret Latta 13.31
01/27/07 Richard Choate 13.20
02/18/07 David Reinarz 13.00
03/03/07 Stephen Carey 13.23
03/09/07 Jesse Roberson 15.54
03/10/07 Dennis Weaver 14.40
03/10/07 Michael Gray 15.32
03/10/07 David Reavis 13.24
03/20/07 David Maltsberger 14.04

JUST A NOTE.
Parker Chambers caught a 13.40. He became the youngest person to ever enter a fish. His age is 7
Jesse Roberson is leading the season with a 15.54. His age is 9

 

[Jared]

As you might know between Oct. 1 and April 30, Texas collects 13lb. largemouth bass for the purpose of spawning and study. The fish is then released back into the same waters that it was caught. The angler gets a replica of the fish and the angler who catchs the largest of the season get a lifetime huntin/fishing license from Texas. As to date there are 11 entries.
11/25/06 Eddie Horn 13.79
12/28/06 Parder Chambers 13.40
01/05/07 Jaret Latta 13.31
01/27/07 Richard Choate 13.20
02/18/07 David Reinarz 13.00
03/03/07 Stephen Carey 13.23
03/09/07 Jesse Roberson 15.54
03/10/07 Dennis Weaver 14.40
03/10/07 Michael Gray 15.32
03/10/07 David Reavis 13.24
03/20/07 David Maltsberger 14.04

JUST A NOTE.
Parker Chambers caught a 13.40. He became the youngest person to ever enter a fish. His age is 7
Jesse Roberson is leading the season with a 15.54. His age is 9

My God!! Texas has the MOST AWESOME fishery program! I dont care what anyone says! They do it right!

 

[bigdaddytowe]

wow :boingburn: I wish for a stringer that size not just one fish

 

[bassman]

Texas does it right. there were 32 entries last year. check out the web sight and the pics.
www.tpwd.state.tx.us/spdest/visitorcenters/tffc/budsharelunker/

 

[Guest]

How awesome must it be to catch a bass that weighs more then your age? I will never know the feeling. Congrats little anglers

 

[lsmith526]

I had wondered for years why they built the facility in Athens, I have donated 2 bass over the years I lived in Texas. After talking to the guys there I found out the soil in that area was the deciding factor. Something to do with Alkalinity, dunno, anyway, it is the best Big Bass facility in the country. My son has been on two field trips from his school and always comes home very excited after a trip.

These people do a great JOB!! Now if I could transplant a couple of those Pigs to Mississippi,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,hmmm

Cya on the Water

 

[bassman]

The State is now building a new plant on Sam Rayburn. Going there next weekend hope to add rayburn to the list.

 

[Jared]

Man someone needs to get SC to do that. Actually they need to get SC, FL, and GA to do that.

 

[Guest]

I wish they would in Florida.

 

[oldschool]

Texas is the only state that I know of raising largemouth bass specifically to become big bass or giant bass. California does this with rainbow trout, bass are on their own. To date the giant FLMB bass I posted in the NLMB vs FLMB is bigger than the Texas state record or any bass raised or genetically altered in Texas.
The only issue I have with the Texas program is gene engineering, bass are not cattle or tomatoes and should not be genetically engineered and released into environment in my opinion. Let nature take it's own course without interfence. The pure Florida strain LMB that started the Texas program is all thats needed.
The FLMB can't handle the colder water of most states and that is one reason for the genetic engineering, the others are FLMB prefer larger bait fish and are less aggressive than NLMB making them a little more difficult to catch on artificial lures.
I think we call this bass fishing, not bass catching, it's supposed to be a sport, not a science project. Sour grapes, not at all, just wished that Texas had continued with their original concept of share a lunker for it's eggs to be raised and released.
Tom
Ps; you can't grow giant bass without having the healthy ecosystems to support the growth. Thinking that the Texas genetic altered bass is the panacea to big bass everywhere is just a dream. Hope I'am wrong and everyone has big bass in their backyards.

 

[bassman]

Add a 14.50 from Lake Amistad caught on the 23rd.. A 13.25 was caught on Sam Rayburn but the guy admitted he caught it on a Jugg line while catfishing. He had to return it to the lake.

 

[Ouachita]

Tom, I agree. I am not impressed yet, not seeing proof there are significant advantages. Where's the genetic data? Well, that's very expensive to obtain. So far it appears the project is based on factors of large size that could simply be a result of luck and big bass able to claim the best parts of a fishery.

Whatever man does like that can't possibly compete with nature. What the big bass in a fishery need is spawning habitat and stable pool levels during and immediately after spawn. Many fishery pool levels are strictly managed for flood control, drinking water or power generation, or a combination of those. There might be a perfect spawn but a week later the pool drops 3 feet and puts fry out in unprotected deeper water, for one of many possible scenarios.

Given good conditions for recruitment it could be assumed bass with superior genetics would simply win out over time, their offspring better able to compete for food, avoid capture and resist disease, among the many things that affect longivity.

I think the program is a good one politically and socially, adding interest in Texas fisheries and teaching conservation.

Jim

 

[bass]

As a johnny-come-lately to this thread, I apologize but I can add some information to the topic. Unless there have been changes I am not aware of, the following points are still current and correct;

1. Bass donated to the program must be alive. Texas is SO VERY BIG that bass from west Texas must be alive the next day or David Campbell or his staff won't leave east Texas (it can be a 12 hour drive - one way.)

2. AFAIK there is no "gene engineering" in the ShareLunker program. They are not changing any genes, re-engineering anything, not cloning anything nor micky-mousing down at the gene level trying to create anything.

3, The ShareLunker program extensively uses DNA analysis to know specifically what they are dealing with. They also maintain extensive DNA records of ShareLunker brood stock.

4. Intergrade hybrids (any Northern interbred with FL) are not accepted into the breeding part of the program.

5. The ShareLunker program at this time is in the 3rd to 4th generation of a 7 to 9 generation program where a "generation" is roughly equal to about 10 years.

6. Only pure FL strain bass 13+ females whose mother is also from 13+ female bass are mated with FL strain males from 13+ female mothers. This simple process of successive selection is used to create fingerlings with the highest chance of success.

7. There are at least three measures of success for the ShareLunker program
a. Education value for Texas - Wildly successful.
b. World Record Size bass - To Be Determined
c. Texas bass that grow bigger faster - To Be Determined

8. If the donor requests, his/her bass will be returned after spawning to its natal waters. However there is no assurance that progeny fingerlings from his/her donated bass will be returned to his bass' natal waters.

9. The ShareLunker program does not discriminate in public vs. private water. If bass are 13+ they are equally accepted from either source. Private water is being used for test and R & D experiments from a controlled environment. It will be interesting to see what they discover in the next 2-3 decades.

10. There have been public misunderstandings in the past about the program, (taxpayer funds used to provide fingerlings for private water, etc.). In my opinion a more consistent, outgoing public relations program would help reduce some of the miscommunication.

Hope this info was/is useful.
John

 

[Guest]

As much as I enjoy the Share Lunker program it apparently is not producing the giant bass originally intended. When is the last time a 17lb bass was caught in Texas? 18lb? Yet, California pumps those out multiple times every year.

Whatever California does is what is working and other states should emulate them.

Seems Trout plus catch and release trump genetics on this one. If Texas was an fanatical about Catch and release as California is, then it might have a chance. Many of those lunkers are returned to the angler who caught it and that fish never gets to continue growing in it's natural waters. Some end up in the BPS tank in Dallas, others end up in various marina fish tanks and or private stock tanks. Worse yet some end up under a filet knife or are donated back to the TP&W to live out there days in the Athens facility. Point is, that every year 13+lb bass are being removed from lakes that never go back thus thinning out the potential for bass to grow to 18lb size or larger.

The fish would have spawned in the lake anyway so it is not like anything is gained. The one thing I like about the program is that without it sadly many of those 13lbers would be destroyed never to see water of any kind again. People just are callous when it comes to trophy sized bass and they would rather a skin mount be on their wall then a fiberglass one. So at least with this program Texas will buy them a fiberglass replica so that means most of these fish will remain alive at least. For that, I am thankful of the program.

 

[bass]

It is way too early to presume the ShareLunker program is working or not. Half way is not all the way.

I have not heard post ShareLunker whether or not bass are growing bigger faster nowadays in Texas. Others will have to comment on this since it's not my interest. But I did read several years ago that weights of bass limits in Tennessee are on the decline. My guess is that if stringer limit weights were declining noticeably in Texas, we'd have heard about it loudly by now

Whatever California has done has NOT produced a World Record either. No state should emulate anything California F&G does. Texans may eat more caught bass than Californians do but the ShareLunker program handles that through restocking recruitment which California no longer does. There is no evidence that i know of where Californians are more fanatical in catch and release than Texans. There is evidence that in California there is a much higher probability that witnesses will see anglers attempt to fowl hook big bass on spawning beds especially on the small San Diego lakes where fishing pressure is astounding.

The number of 13+ ShareLunker bass that do not go back into their natal waters is less than 10 per year. Many intergrade hybrids are released the following year back into their water or to their owners for disposition. In any event in no year never was more that 50 13+ bass handled so the effect of Sharelunker bass is totally inconsequential compared to non ShareLunker bass in Texas! Each year the pure strain 13+ and holdovers from previous years generate the millions of fingerling recruitment for all Texas lakes. There is no evidence whatsoever that the ShareLunker program is thinning bass of any significant size - just the reverse is in fact happening!

It is very easy to see what Texas would be like without their ShareLunker program - look at Oklahoma, Louisiana and New Mexico. No statewide Florida strain stocking program means no 13+ pounders anywhere, except for occasional exceptions.

Personally I am not sure if the ShareLunker program will produce a 23+ pound bass in the next 3-4 decades. But if they keep stocking millions of Florida strain per year, you can bet their intergrade hybrids will reach much bigger weights than in adjoining states and all other states without Florida strain programs.

Furthermore if the size of bass limits continue to decline as in other states, You can bet in 30-40 years the ShareLunker program will be the shining star of the bass fishing world - but that should be the topic of another thread <G>

John

 

[knapperhead]

it seems funny to me that the people who don't agree with the share a lunker program don't live in Texas. i would like to thank the state of Texas, the fresh water fishery center in athens, all the private donors and budweiser for making this possible.
matt :tbh_flag:

 

[oldschool]

The Texas management of the bass fisheries is exemplary and a model for every state. Where the Share a Lunker program crossed the line over from fishery management is when they started to genetically engineer bass for optimum growth, thereby creating a new bass specie.
Tom

 

[bass]

Where the Share a Lunker program crossed the line over from fishery management is when they started to genetically engineer bass for optimum growth, thereby creating a new bass specie.

Can you cite any evidence that the ShareLunker program has genetically altered bass in any way?

Since the ShareLunker program is very careful to keep FL and Northern strain separate, what evidence can you state that shows how they are creating a new specie?

ShareLunker biologists are using the same successive selection techniques botanists and biologists have used for centuries in selecting plants and animals to breed for optimum growth and size.

 

[oldschool]

BASS did a special a few years ago on the Share a Lunker program and the detailed the procedure of genetic engineering being developed and the university grants backing the development. I would suggest you contact Share a Lunker and inquire about their current state of the art, its publick record. The issue with NLMB and FLMB intergrating (not hybrids) becoming what was known as F1, F2, F3 as generations of intergrates mixed in with the native LMB in a fishery showed that the intergrates become more difficult to catch with rates per man hour starting to fall off. The pure Florida LMB are still the largest bass where ever they have been introduced, with the F1's second.
Tom

 

[Guest]

Knapperhead, I lived in Texas for 22 years. Just so you know.