5 Straight Amazing Years and Getting Better!

For the fifth consecutive year, the Toyota ShareLunker program has produced an exceptional lunker collection season!

Highlights from the 2025 Toyota ShareLunker collection season

• Nine reservoirs delivered Legacy Class Lunkers (O. H. Ivie, Richland-Chambers, Lady Bird Lake, J.B. Thomas, Alan Henry, Lake Tawakoni, Sam Rayburn, Lake Tyler, and Toledo Bend)
• One new reservoir with a Legacy Class ShareLunker (Lake Tawakoni) brings the number of public reservoirs with a Legacy Class ShareLunker to 79.
• O.H. Ivie in west Texas was at the head of the class again this season with six entries.
• One new waterbody record set by Willie Pipkin on 2/5/2025 with his 14.05-pound bass at Lady Bird Lake.
• Four anglers caught their 2nd Legacy Class Lunker this season (Brady Stanford, Ross Gomez, Terry Scott, and Mechelda Criswell)
• Ross Gomez caught the same bass twice two years apart! This is the first time this has happened in public waters.

Enjoy these exciting Legacy Lunker-catching stories

Read the anglers’ own personal stories of the last 3 Legacy Lunkers caught this season:

Where do all the Lunkers go?

The collection season runs from January 1 through March 31 and accepts bass weighing 13+ pounds, which classifies them as Legacy Class ShareLunkers. Legacy lunkers (females) are spawned with the male offspring of other ShareLunkers. The female bass are returned to the home reservoir after spawning is complete. Most of the ShareLunker offspring are stocked in those public reservoirs where the Legacy lunkers were caught, but some are also incorporated into broodstock for future largemouth production or research.

While the Legacy class season has ended, the year-round Toyota ShareLunker program offers anglers 3 additional levels of participation for catching bass over eight pounds or 24 inches in Texas. Each of these levels still provide vital data to TPWD fisheries biologists, helping them to continue to create bigger, better bass in Texas.

Anglers have the option to send a DNA scale sample from their qualifying lunker bass to TPWD scientists for genetic analysis. Those who do will receive a free $200 Lew’s baitcast reel*, a three-month subscription to Bass University and an entry into the Bass Pro Shops $5,000 shopping spree. Instructions for submitting DNA samples: Toyota ShareLunker website. * Limit of 1 Lew’s Tournament Pro Baitcasting reel per angler, while supplies last. Specific model is subject to change and valued up to $200.

Grand Prize Winner Announced! Congratulations to Mason Merryman, a 14-year-old high school freshman, whose catch was randomly selected as the winner of the $5,000 Bass Pro Shops shopping spree! Mason caught a 9.34-pound Bass Pro Shops Lunker Class bass on Lake Granbury! “This fish was a blessing,” said Merryman. “We were in the middle of the tournament with only a two-pound bag on Lake Granbury. My partner Colton Elias and I decided to head back to a certain marina to try there one more time. We pulled between two docks and while he tossed a red shad power worm in, I rigged up my pole. As soon as I was done, he missed a fish, so he said, flip your worm I got a hit! Sure enough, the ShareLunker inhaled it, and I was lucky enough to bring it in.”

Elite Series Champion Lee Livesay shares insights on Texas fisheries

If you’re interested in learning more about Texas fisheries, understanding the nuances of pre-spawn bass fishing, or planning a trip to catch trophy largemouth bass, enjoy this short Bass University video seminar with Elite Series Champion, Lee Livesay.

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