A fisherman at Inks Lake State Park in the Hill Country broke the waterbody record for largemouth bass with a 13.40-pound fish.
Darryl Hanson II of Round Rock reeled in the whopper on Sunday, giving Inks Lake its first Legacy Class fish.
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That means Inks Lake is the 78th public water body to produce a Legacy Class ShareLunker — a program from the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department that highlights the best lakes for bass fishing.
A news release from TPWD states Hanson was competing in the Tonkawa Bassmasters Club tournament.
He told TPWD that based on previous trips to the lake, he knew he wanted to fish in a particular area that included docks and cement structures.
As he was fishing parallel to a structure, the fish “slammed it,” he said.
“I set the hook, and she pulled back and ran out to open water,” Hanson said in the news release. “She came up out of the water and I knew this was a big fish. She made five or six runs with two of them going underneath the boat. She got to the point where I could get her closer to the boat and scooped her into the net. I lifted her in the boat and said that must be a double-digit.”
His bag for the day totaled 39 pounds, making him the winner of the tournament. The fish also beat his own personal best — an 11.40-pound largemouth bass caught at Choke Canyon.
Hanson said he weighed the fish on the tournament’s and state park’s scales before starting the process for the Toyota ShareLunker program.
According to TPWD, the previous record for largemouth bass at the lake was a 12.50-pound fish caught in February 2017. The lake is located about 20 miles northwest of Marble Falls.
The Toyota ShareLunker is a program from TPWD that runs year-round and aims to enhance bass fishing in Texas. Anglers who catch large bass in Texas lakes can submit data to the ShareLunker program to win prizes.
It has four levels of participation:
- Lunker Legacy Class, 13-plus pounds between the spawning period of January and March.
- Lew’s Legend Class, 13-plus pounds from April to December.
- Strike King Elite Class, 10-plus pounds.
- Bass Pro Shops Lunker Class, 8-plus pounds.
O. H. Ivie — a lake 55 miles east of San Angelo — leads the program this season with five legacy class, eight elite class, and three lunker class fish.
On Monday, Larry Walker of Irving landed a 13.83-pound largemouth bass at O.H. Ivie.
“In the Lone Star State, there are numerous water bodies capable of reaching an impressive 13 pounds or heavier,” Natalie Goldstrohm, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator, said in the release. “There are reservoirs that have historically produced bigger bass, like Lake Fork and O.H. Ivie, and those that are lesser known that have remarkable trophy bass fisheries. We are awaiting what the remainder of the season holds.”
From Jan. 1-March 31, anglers who reel in a 13-plus-pound bass can loan it to TPWD for the ShareLunker selective breeding and stocking program.
For more information on the program, click here.
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