It’s hard to believe the new ShareLunker season is right around the corner! With the numerous 15 pounders brought in this past season, several lake records were broken and we witnessed the highest average weight of the entries (14.05 pounds) in nearly two decades. Although the ShareLunker program has been around for quite some time, this year it welcomes a new sponsor.
Earlier this year, Budweiser dropped its long standing sponsorship after Anheuser Busch was purchased by Belgian brewing giant InBev. In June, when Texas Parks and Wildlife went shopping for a new sponsor, they found what they were looking for in Toyota. As of October 1, the official beginning of the 2009-10 ShareLunker season, the popular spawning and genetics research program for big bass will be called the Toyota ShareLunker Program. According to TP&W, Toyota made a three-year commitment to the big bass program that includes cash and a 2010 Toyota Tundra. The truck will be outfitted with a 200-gallon aerated fish tank and will be used to retrieve big bass donated to the program.
“Toyota has been a big supporter of the TPWD and its conservation projects for several years and we are very happy to have them on board with the Toyota ShareLunker program,” Davis said.
Beginning October 1 – April 30, any angler catching a largemouth bass in the state of Texas weighing 13 pounds or more is eligible to enter the fish into the program. Since the program began in 1986, more than 450 lunkers have been donated. Superior genetics from ShareLunker bass and their offspring are used to improve the quality of fish stocked in Texas waters. Ultimately, TPWD hopes to produce the next world record largemouth bass.
Toyota is really getting their name out there and is already involved in the competitive side of angling with their Toyota Trucks Bonus Bucks program. The program awards the highest eligible finisher in any BASS or FLW sanctioned tournament a cash bonus. The Japanese auto maker is also heavily involved on the professional side with the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year program and sponsors top pros like Mike Iconelli, Keven VanDam and Gerald Swindle.
