ATHENS – Lake Alan Henry joined O.H. Ivie and Nacogdoches on the list of waterbodies to produce a Legacy Class fish during the 2023 Toyota ShareLunker collection season.

Ross Gomez of Lubbock reeled in a 13.22-pound largemouth bass Friday, netting ShareLunker 641 and the ninth overall fish submitted by anglers this season. But unlike many former ShareLunker participants, Gomez wasn’t angling for a trophy bass strike.

Gomez, an avid crappie angler, was jigging for that species on one of the docks Friday, not expecting to land a largemouth bass. Nothing was biting so he decided to change up his lure by tying a baby shad glow to the dark soft bait. After a few more tries with no results, he cast the bait out farther into the center of the crappie “house” and let it sink.

“As I was pulling up the bait, where it comes out of the darker part of the water, I saw the mouth of the fish coming up right behind the jig,” said Gomez. “She just grabbed it and immediately went down with it. I was using a 4-foot micro crappie fishing rod with 4-pound test line, so I just loosened the drag and let her take, take, take until she tired herself out and I could reel her in. I wasn’t even bass fishing; it was just the right place at the right time.”

Gomez usually brings a scale, but Friday night had left it at home. That omission proved fortunate, as Gomez said he would have taken some pictures and just put the bass back in the water.

“A guy was there on a boat and so I asked him if he had a scale,” said Gomez. “He saw that it was over 13 pounds and said, ‘This is a ShareLunker, do you want to enter it?’ I didn’t know about the program, so he told me about it and made a call up to Bubba’s Marina to say we had a Lunker.”

The lucky angler weighed his catch on Bubba’s official scale and then made the call to the ShareLunker program to submit the fish.

“They kept the fish in a holding tank and then Texas Parks and Wildlife Department staff arrived to get the fish,” said Gomez. “Everyone was great to work with — it’s exciting to be a part of the ShareLunker program.”

Alan Henry has a storied history when it comes to generating Legacy Class ShareLunkers, boasting 29 all-time entries into the program. The lake enjoyed a solid run of Lunkers in 2005 and 2006, delivering nine in back-to-back seasons. Bill Greason’s ShareLunker 414 caught March 31, 2006, still holds the waterbody record at 15 pounds. Gomez’s catch was the first since 2020 when Blake Cockrell of Lewisville boated two Legacy Class fish: 14.36-pound ShareLunker 582 on Feb. 9 and 13.28-pound ShareLunker 584 on March 1.

“While largemouth bass 13 pounds or larger are rare, Lake Alan Henry has regularly produced Legacy Class ShareLunkers,” said Natalie Goldstrohm, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator. “This catch is a great example that Legacy Class bass can be caught throughout the state. This season, ShareLunkers have been caught in West Texas and East Texas.”

During the first three months of the season (January through March), anglers who reel in a 13-plus pound bass can loan it to TPWD for the ShareLunker selective breeding and stocking program. These anglers call the ShareLunker hotline at (903) 681-0550 to report their catch 24/7 through March 31.

Anglers who catch and donate a 13-plus pound Lunker earn Legacy Class status, a catch kit filled with merchandise, a 13-plus pound Legacy decal for their vehicle or boat, VIP access to the Toyota ShareLunker Annual Awards event and a high-quality replica mount of their Lunker fish from Lake Fork Taxidermy. These anglers will also receive entries into two separate contests — a Legacy Class drawing and the year-end Grand Prize drawing. First place in either wins a $5,000 Bass Pro Shops shopping spree and a resident (or non-resident) annual fishing license.

The year-round Toyota ShareLunker program offers four levels of participation for catching bass over eight pounds or 24 inches in Texas. In addition to Legacy Class (13-plus pounds between January and March), ShareLunker entry classes include the Lunker Class (8-plus pounds), Elite Class (10-plus pounds), and Legend Class (13-plus pounds from April to December).

Anglers who enter data for any Lunker they catch (greater than eight pounds or 24 inches) during the calendar year 2023 also receive a catch kit, a decal for their vehicle or boat and an entry into the year-end Grand Prize drawing to win a $5,000 Bass Pro Shops shopping spree and annual fishing license.

Once a Lunker is reeled in, anglers need to enter the catch data on the Toyota ShareLunker mobile app – available for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play — or on the Toyota ShareLunker online app at TexasSharelunker.com. In addition to basic catch information, anglers can also provide a DNA scale sample from their Lunker bass to TPWD researchers for genetic analysis.

A new procedure is in effect for the 2023 season. Legend Class ShareLunkers no longer need to be weighed on a certified scale for entry. Anglers must include a photo of their Lunker on a digital scale to qualify for Legend Class.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible in part by the generous sponsorship of Toyota. Toyota is a longtime supporter of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation and TPWD, providing major funding for a wide variety of fisheries, state parks and wildlife projects.

Prize donors such as Bass Pro Shops, Lake Fork Taxidermy, American Fishing Tackle Company, Stanley Jigs and 6th Sense Fishing provide additional support for this program. For updates on the Toyota ShareLunker program, visit facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram/, @texassharelunker on Instagram and online at TexasSharelunker.com.