The Texas ShareLunker season, which runs from Oct. 1 through April 30 ended with the third lowest season in the catch of 13 plus pound largemouth bass – nine fish. The 2000-01 season holds the distinction of having only five fish donated to the program. In a normal year, 20 or more fish are caught.

The Texas ShareLunker Program, now in its 28th year, asks anglers who catch a 13 pound or bigger largemouth bass to keep the fish alive and lend it to the program. The fish, if it is found to be of the Florida strain, is paired with a male Florida bass and any resulting offspring are stocked into public waters or used in other hatchery research aimed at improving the state’s bass fishery.

So, why the low numbers this year?

Allen Forshage, director of Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center believes that it’s the result of the cold winter and drought conditions over much of Texas.

It’s debatable whether a cold winter affected more the fish or the fishermen. Cold water temperatures extending longer into spring may have delayed the spawning urge of the bass. Colder temperatures may have kept a lot of anglers close to the hearth.

A study of ShareLunker records, finds that March invariably accounts for the largest number of ShareLunker entries, 236 of the 557 entries. This year March produced only two entries. April didn’t produce a single entry.

The drought, now almost a decade long, may have had the biggest impact in the reduction of catches. Reservoirs in the western half of the state continue shriveling. “There are lakes that are so low you can’t launch a boat in them,” says Foshage. “The result is less fishing pressure and deteriorating fishery.”

O.H. Ivie, Alan Henry, Falcon, Possum Kingdom and Choke Canyon in the past years produced dozens of ShareLunkers.

Lake Fork, the state’s perennial trophy bass fishery, and producer of almost half of all ShareLunker entries over the past 28 years came through the most entries this season, three. The biggest bass caught at Fork, and the biggest fish for 2013-14 season, weighed 13.86 pounds. It was caught in January.

While this year’s ShareLunker program didn’t draw many entries, it has resulted in production of tens of thousands of potential trophy largemouth bass. Resulting fingerlings will be stocked in Texas lakes over the coming months.

Photo: Randall Claybourne’s 13.86 lb bass ended up being the big bass of the recently completed ShareLunker season. The fish was caught from Lake Fork.

Photo credit: TPWD