(Mar 1, 2010 TPWD News Release) Three lakes, Austin, Amistad and O.H. Ivie, spit out Toyota ShareLunkers February 27, the day before the full moon.
Carl Adkins of San Marcos led off the action with Toyota ShareLunker 481, a 13.1 pounder from Lake Austin. Adkins was fishing near the Loop 360 bridge in seven to 12 feet of 51 degree water with a soft plastic lure. The catch came at 6:45 a.m.
ShareLunker program manager and Texas Parks and Wildlife Department information specialist Larry Hodge were on their way to pick up the fish when the phone rang at mid-morning with news of the Lake Amistad catch. Teddy Silcox of Del Rio landed a 13.02 pounder, Toyota ShareLunker 482, from 28 feet of 52 degree water. He was using a Boudreaux bait.
Fish lightning struck a third time while Campbell was charging the hauling tank with water from Lake Austin. Randy Jackson of Mineral Wells caught a 13.03 pound ShareLunker, No. 483, from O.H. Ivie Reservoir. He was fishing in three feet of 43-degree water with a black and blue Easy Jig.
“At that point David Campbell and I were hoping the phone would ring again and hoping it wouldn’t,” Hodge said. Three fish to be picked up hundreds of miles apart presented a problem, but other TPWD staff from the A.E. Wood Fish Hatchery and the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center volunteered to help. By the time the day ended at midnight, the three crews had logged about 1,200 miles.
And no matter what your opinion is on the influence of moon phases on fish catches, ShareLunker records clearly show that the biggest factor in when fish are caught is not the moon phase. Most fish are caught on weekends, because that’s when most people go fishing.
Three or more ShareLunker catches on the same day have come in February only once before, in 1995. All three fish came from Lake Fork. From three to five fish have been caught on the same day seven other times, all in March.
The catches bring the number of entries into the Toyota ShareLunker program for the current season to 12. Since the program’s inception, Lake Austin and O.H. Ivie have produced eight lunkers each. Amistad has now gone double-digit with 10 entries.
Because of the number of entries expected in the coming years from Amistad and O.H. Ivie, official ShareLunker weigh and receiving stations have been set up at those lakes. Angler’s Lodge serves Lake Amistad and Elm Creek Village serves O.H. Ivie. Additional stations are being sought; interested parties should contact David Campbell for details. A list of the current stations is available here.
