State Rep. Lyle Larson, an avid bass fisherman and freshman member of the Texas House of Representatives, has requested a hearing on the Toyota ShareLunker Program on Wednesday, March 23. This hearing will be during the regularly scheduled House Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee hearing, of which Rep. Larson is a member. Representatives from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) will attend in order to address concerns about the mortality rates of bass in Texas, as well as discuss the successes, failures, and evolution of the program.

Rep. Larson would like to invite you to attend the Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee hearing on Wednesday, March 23 at 2:00pm in E1.026 of the State Capitol. In addition, if there are any questions you would like him to ask TPWD about the ShareLunker Program call his office at (512) 463-0646 or email lyle.larson@house.state.tx.us and let them know.

I'm very interested to see if the ShareLunker folks can bring "facts" to the table. I think that's what is hurting this program: the lack of data made available to the public. Bring that and it might sway some doubters. Probably not me...but some.

It would be nice since not everyone can drive to the capital if there was a way to podcast it or a live internet feed.

Why would they be asking the TPWD/sharelunker program folks about the mortality rates for bass in Texas? Maybe they should have tournament anglers there talking about how they do not take care of fish in their care all day...

while I like the idea of more info becoming available on the success and failures of the SAL program, going down this path is a very slippery slope...just ask those states in the NE where tournaments are banned due to mortality during those tourneys.....I will be honest and say I am not in favor of SAL simply because I want to see this great State of ours break the world record and if we keep taking all the 13-16 pound fish out of the lakes to breed in a pond somewhere (yes I know they try to release them back) then we won't ever get there. And JR, you are dead on...one things i wish all tourney trails would do is require a mandatory attendance of a fish care seminar prior to getting the membership for the year. I fished the Fun-n-Sun Squaw Creek opener last year and at the mandatory meeting they went over fish care in a VERY detailed fashion which including ice in live wells, usage of live well additives and H2O2 and fizzing instructions along with passing out the needles to do it.

You couldn't be more dead on with this statement.

Email your reps with this, couldn't hurt.

Amen to that.

Besides, do we really want our State Reps poking around much into bass fishing?

We all know how well they have managed Texas' state budget over the last few years.

In 2009 and 20010 50 SALs were entered into the program and 9 of those actually spawned. 5 of them died, there is no data that says how many died after being released into their hoke water, although I'm sure some did. 2 of them were put on exhibit. About 152,000 fingerlings were stocked, 90,000 of them into a lake that, to my knowledge, isn't even open to public fishing yet.

I'm pretty sure that these bass would have spawned much more healthily in their home water than at the TFFC. Don't get me wrong, props to the program for trying, but IMO I just don't see the results to make it worth stressing the fish.

Although I wouldnt mind having a $350 replica, and all the other stuff for free, I think I'd rather increase Texas's chances of pushing out a world record.

I think the whole program is a joke. And the state rep surely has bigger issues than to question tpwd about the program.

Rep Larson sits on the Culture, Recreation and Tourism Committee. This committee has jurisdiction over the TP&W. With funding limited and agencies facing cuts across the board, I think he and the rest of the committee are interested to see if additional funding is necessary for this SAL program or if these already limited funds could be spent somewhere else within the TP&W.

It's not a waste of time...it's due diligence and I appreciate what he and the rest of the folks on this committee are doing with the TP&W. Trust me, he's only trying to help the dedicated men and women who make up the TP&W.

When they say Rep. Larson is an "avid" outdoorsman/fisherman...they should say "obsessed". He's one of "us" in every sense of the word.

I though the Funding for SAL comes from sponsorship.

1000+

Imagine the State looking into something that they don't actually control. Sound familiar.

Here's one for u. The 16.17 caught on Caddo last spring was given to the sal program and later released back into Caddo. The fish was caught again last week and weighed 16.07. What r the odds?