News Releases

Lake Fork, Texas

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 11, 2007
Media Contact: Larry Hodge, (903) 670-2255

ATHENS, Texas—When does 1 + 1 = 3?
When one of the two Budweiser ShareLunkers caught from Lake Fork April 10 is a repeat.
Dale Washington of Godley, Texas, was fishing in 20 feet of water with a DD-22 when he caught a 13.05-pound largemouth bass that became Budweiser ShareLunker No. 436. That same fish had been caught April 5, 2006, by Robert Jones of Clute, Texas, entered into the program as ShareLunker No. 415 and returned to the lake.

Jeff Kirwood of Royse City, Texas, had a memorable day on Lake Fork as well, reeling in a 13.07-pound lunker that became Budweiser ShareLunker No. 437. Kirwood’s fish was 25.5 inches long and 20 inches in girth. Bait type was not reported.

Each ShareLunker has a passive integrated transponder (PIT) tag inserted into its abdomen when it is received at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center, and when Budweiser ShareLunker program manager David Campbell scanned Washington’s fish, its hidden history was revealed.

The fish was only 0.04 pound heavier the second time around. Its length was constant at 25.5 inches, and its girth was slightly less, 20.5 inches as compared to 21 inches the first time it was caught.

The fish’s taste in lures had changed somewhat, too. When Jones caught it a year ago, it took a watermelon seed Brush Hog.

The dual catches will no doubt heighten expectations of the 160 professional anglers who will fish in the Toyota Texas Bass Classic this coming weekend. The first place team prize is $250,000, and the angler who catches the biggest bass of the tournament will win a 2007 Toyota Tundra pickup. Any angler who beats the current state record — an 18.18-pound fish caught on Lake Fork in 1992 — will also win $100,000 and a new boat.

The Budweiser ShareLunker program is made possible through support from Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Since 1991, Anheuser-Busch, in partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, has contributed millions of dollars in funding to support conservation causes and fishing, hunting and outdoor recreation programs in Texas.