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ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings #13655841 08/04/20 01:47 PM
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Monty Wright Offline OP
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BassFan: ShareLunker Article

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The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department announced recently that its Toyota ShareLunker Program is having another outstanding year in its goal to create, bigger, better bass in Texas. After obtaining two successful spawns from one of the four 13-pound or larger Legacy Class bass loaned to the selective-breeding program in 2020, the department’s hatchery staff produced more than 28,000 fingerlings to benefit Texas public waters.

“We are pleased with the number of ShareLunker offspring produced this year, and we couldn’t have done it without the anglers who generously loaned us their 13-pound and larger bass for our selective-breeding program,” said Kyle Brookshear, Toyota ShareLunker Program coordinator. “This generosity doesn’t just increase the lunker potential of the lakes where those fish were caught, it also helps us in our effort to convert our entire hatchery broodstock to ShareLunker offspring, which will benefit every lake in Texas.”

This year, fingerlings were produced and stocked in the 2020 Legacy Class donation lakes – including Alan Henry, Nacogdoches, and O.H. Ivie. A portion is also being held back to further the hatcheries' future broodfish creation so that TPWD can stock these big-bass offspring by the millions statewide in coming years. In addition, 14,203 advanced fingerlings (excess future broodfish from the 2019 Legacy Class Spawns) were stocked in 2020 into Gilmer Reservoir, Lake Pflugerville, Kurth, Lake Tyler, ponds within the future footprint of Bois d’Ark Lake, and Murval.

One of the Legacy Class fish, from which there were two successful spawns, was donated to the program and will be a part of the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center aquarium exhibits for visitors to enjoy. One fish did not spawn, but the angler has allowed TPWD to retain the fish in order to attempt to spawn it next spring. It will be returned to Lake Alan Henry at the conclusion of the spawning process.

Unfortunately, two of this year’s Legacy Class donations perished due to extenuating circumstances. However, in the last 5 years, the program has achieved an excellent overall fish survival success rate of 86 percent during that time span.

The anglers who loaned TPWD a Legacy Class fish through the entry cutoff date of March 31 will receive a large prize that includes a replica of their fish, which is planned to be presented on stage at Toyota Bassmaster Texas Fest in November, and entry into a separate $5,000 Bass Pro Shops shopping spree drawing.

Even though the donation season for Legacy Class fish has ended, anglers are still able to enter all largemouth bass 8 pounds or larger through the end of the year to help expand catch data for fisheries biologists. As of July, 200 such have been entered from 75 lakes across the state.

Anglers who reel in a bass eligible for the program can enter it using the Toyota ShareLunker app – available for free as a download from the Apple Store and Google Play – or by using a form online at https://texassharelunker.com/. Anglers can quickly and easily submit photos of the fish being properly measured, weighed, and held using the digital entry forms on both platforms. These forms also include simple instructions for anglers who would like to provide a sample of fish scales from their lunker bass to TPWD for genetic analysis.

“Anglers who enter catch data about their 8-pound and larger bass are giving our fisheries management biologists important information about which lakes are producing big bass in Texas,” Brookshear said. “Sending a scale sample with your entry gives TPWD even more information to use in the management of our world-class bass fisheries because it provides us with valuable genetic data and helps us monitor the impact of stockings.”



Read more: http://www.bassfan.com/docktalk_art...0-fingerlings#.XylKVyhKiUk#ixzz6U9oPOvjA


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Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13655869 08/04/20 02:21 PM
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I dont really interpret that as a good season.

Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13655871 08/04/20 02:24 PM
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Did I read that correct, 2 of the 4 thirteen pounders died?


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Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Chris B] #13655872 08/04/20 02:25 PM
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Originally Posted by Chris B
Did I read that correct, 2 of the 4 thirteen pounders died?



Broken jaw syndrome!


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Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13655893 08/04/20 02:51 PM
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Statistically, has this program actually improved the fisheries for lunker bass? Are there any data on that? I get the impression (perhaps wrong) that this isn’t the slam bang success everyone thought it would be back in the day.


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Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656030 08/04/20 04:45 PM
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I will never understand why bass fishermen are so negative toward this program. I often wonder why TPWD even messes with trying to manage Texas fisheries for bass. It certainly does not seem to be appreciated. Maybe they need to just convert all of the hatchery space to raising hybrids, striper, and trout. Those programs seem to be much more popular than any contributions they make to largemouth management.

Last edited by Tx Tree Grower; 08/04/20 04:45 PM.
Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656244 08/04/20 06:44 PM
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in all the years since this has started there have been occasional years where the results were not outstanding.

Most of the time the 13 LB + fish are not youngsters and will get stressed riding in the boats live well. Once TPWD takes possession they are transferred to a much larger tank on a trailer to be taken back to Athens. If the stress is anything like we see on the live release boat each will need to be fizzed. And even though we do our best with the overs sometimes they just die. This year we have had two die. That is real unusual.

I really cannot remember a year in the past 17 where we lost two overs that came to us in fair condition or better. Hot water has to be a factor and holding big tournaments when the water temps are above 85 may be a key. Had one come in a little on the pink side (gills) and managed to get them almost purple by holding her over the oxygen diffuser for about 30 minutes with the bubbles going right thru her gills. She swam for a while upright and then just died. ?? Temps in our tank was 80.5.

However in death they are still revealing info that is useful to the biologists because we freeze them and send them back for an autopsy.


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Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656256 08/04/20 06:51 PM
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I would think that they would have gotten mo than 28k fingerings , but I really don’t know.

Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656269 08/04/20 06:59 PM
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How about grow hydrilla in lakes and use the money that this program burns controlling it in all lakes. Look at Chickamauga. They aren't releasing fingerlings, they allow great cover and develop habitat for forage. Texas needs Tennessee to bail them out again.......

Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656274 08/04/20 07:02 PM
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That sounds low to me too.

I would like to bring up or change the discussion a little just to see what others think or know.
The largest fish, the potential record breakers that the state stocked that was largely responsible for making Texas records go up were almost if not all pure Florida strain.
If these Sharealunker fish are not pure strain Florida bass, our chances of ever breaking records goes way down.

Am I right?



Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656297 08/04/20 07:20 PM
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Probably the people who think this program is a waste of motion (myself included) are results oriented folks. And to us those results need to be positive to be deemed beneficial.

After thirty years no gains have been made in the quest to grow bigger fish faster.
Why is that?

Because Sharelunker fish are not a new species of fish. They are just Florida largemouth bass..

I did not say that the SL program was not good at attracting fishermen to Texas. It is one of the best publicity programs ever conceived.

Breeding and stocking pure Florida bass in Texas has been a huge success, when it comes to growing fish that are capable of growing to much larger proportions than our native bass here in Texas.

Stocking Floridas is good, most folks think, but there is a group of folks that think they are harder to catch.. I don't.. And most people fishing today never really fished when there were no Florida genetics in our Texas fish. So I think it is a hard comparison to make..

I fished a lot in the sixties and seventies and there were plenty of days when it sucked.. Pre Floridas.

Without going in to too much detail, as I have many times before, it is safe to say that the program killed many fish that might have had the chance to grow to state record size.. The odds of a fish getting to thirteen pounds are staggering.. And all data indicates that fish that are turned into the program, and survive, do not increase in size once they are released. Yes, I have hashed all the results..

The biggest factor in growing giant bass is Habitat and Food. And providing it for the fish for long periods of time. Many lakes go thru dramatic habitat and water level changes, and with the cyclical changes that Texas is famous for, it makes it very unusual for long periods of perfect conditions.

Yes, having good genetics in place is a great thing. For those infrequent times that the perfect storm occurs. And as PAW finally derives all its brood fish from the progeny of SL fish, (I can't believe they don't already) they will be able to say that these thirteen pound fish of the future are all because of the SL program..

But I promise to remind them that we have had them for a long time..

The state record is almost thirty years old.. About the same age as the SL program..

If it was gonna work.. It woulda by now..

And if I was Barry St Clair, I'd just get her repainted every ten years..


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Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656485 08/04/20 09:16 PM
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If half the money was spent on establishing and preserving habitat that has been spent on this genetics experiment in the last 30 years, we would probably have a new state record by now.

Stable lakes with deep hydrilla, florida genetics, and abundant large prey species produce trophy bass. Lets get some more lakes with those criteria. It's not rocket science. You can dump all the frankenstein fingerlings you want into 30-50 year old lakes with declining habitat and it's not going to make any difference.

Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Fishinfellow] #13656494 08/04/20 09:26 PM
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Originally Posted by Fishinfellow
Originally Posted by Chris B
Did I read that correct, 2 of the 4 thirteen pounders died?



Broken jaw syndrome!


The 14 lber from Alan Henry was received in good shape.

I was told the Biologist said when he was feeding her one day she bolted and ran into the side of the tank and stopped eating after that.

Pretty sure she did well for over a month before she sustained injury and died.

Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656523 08/04/20 09:39 PM
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Why can't they grow their own 13 pounders to breed and leave the 13 pounders being caught in the lakes, in the lakes to get bigger?


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Re: ShareLunker program produces 28,000 fingerlings [Re: Monty Wright] #13656532 08/04/20 09:44 PM
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the fish they are spawning, whether pure Floridas or not, are all at least 13 LB. Seeing that, a non pure fish can grow that large is indicative that they can probably grow to record size as well. That is what they believe now based on the study we did over the last three years on overs at Lake Fork.

however 26,000 seems low since we generally stock 4 to 8 times that many at Fork each year.

Last edited by Bruce Allen; 08/04/20 09:47 PM.

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