TYLER, Texas (KLTV) – Catching the fish of a lifetime is every angler’s dream, but a program right here in East Texas is working to make that dream more likely by breeding bigger bass for future generations.
The Toyota Sharelunker Program is changing the game for bass fishing in Texas.
“Big old beautiful bass,” says Natalie Goldstrohm. “I’m an angler myself.”
She is no stranger to these big fish.
“I love to go bass fishing,” says Goldstrohm.
More specifically, when it comes to Sharelunkers.
“If you just look at them, there’s something really special about the way that they look at you.”
Goldstrohm runs the Toyota Sharelunker Program in Athens and her mission is simple: breed bigger, better bass for Texas anglers.
“We wouldn’t be able to do this program without angler support,” says Goldstrom.
Jack York, a Bassmaster angler from Emory, caught a nearly 14-pound Sharelunker bass at Lake Tyler a week ago.
Goldstrohm shared that victory with him.
“Being able to meet anglers on their very best day when they caught probably their personal best fish is the thing that keeps me going,” says Goldstrohm.
And it’s giant Sharelunkers like these that play such a huge role in conservation efforts.
For York’ Sharelunker bass, she is now in the selective spawning program inside the lunker bunker.
“Whenever someone submits a fish to our program, each fish gets their own bunker, and we wait until the timing is right and we bring them out into the raceway to spawn,” says Goldstrohm.
Although these sharelunkers don’t have names, they are recognized by a number- and his catch is Number 693.
As the weather warms, female bass develop eggs and become heavier.
“We’ll put several spawning mats in there similar to these so that the bass can lay their eggs on here,” says Goldstrohm.
The program has also shown that the genetics are working.
“We take DNA from them, and we determine whether or not… they’re related to any of the other share lunkers that have been submitted to the program,” says Goldstrohm.
In one case, biologists traced a giant bass caught in 2020 by angler Joe Castle—back six generations to Sharelunker number 9; one of the earliest fish ever entered into the program.
“Those offsprings are sucked back into those reservoirs that produce legacy class fish that year, and then they grow up to be other legacy class for anglers to catch,” says Goldstrohm.
And that’s what it’s all about, creating generations of giant bass and giving more anglers the chance to catch the fish of a lifetime.
“That’s how I would describe them…big old beautiful bass,” says Goldstrohm.
If you catch a 13-pound bass before April, you could be part of the legacy class program. Click here to learn more.
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