O.H. Ivie
This Texas lake produced a record number of big bass in 2023.
IT’S NO SECRET that O.H. Ivie Lake has produced an unprecedented run of largemouth bass fishing success over the last three years. It’s garnered the attention of anglers far and wide; people are flocking to Texas from across the nation and the world, hoping to land the catch of a lifetime.
During the past three collections seasons of the Toyota ShareLunker program managed by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Inland Fisheries Division, O.H. Ivie has amassed 39 combined Legacy Lunkers (largemouth bass weighing 13 pounds or more, caught January to March) and multiple Legend Class entries (bass of 13-plus pounds caught April to December). During the 2023 collection season, the lake generated a record total of 15 Legacy Class ShareLunkers. O.H. Ivie’s 15 fish made up the vast majority of the 18 total Legacy Class ShareLunkers caught in 2023. These big bass are donated to the program for breeding and stocking with the goal of producing quality fish around the state.
Bassmaster named O.H. Ivie, on the Concho and Colorado rivers east of San Angelo, the top bass fishing lake in the nation for 2023.
The run started in 2021, when the lake delivered 12 Legacy Class Lunkers, but some could argue the spark was actually lit in 2020. That’s when, on the final day of the collection season, James Maupin of Cypress landed the first Legacy Class fish from O.H. Ivie since 2012. That fish, incidentally, was one of only four Legacy Class fish submitted to the ShareLunker program across the state that year.
Little did anyone know at the time that the O.H. Ivie entry would be the first of many to follow over the next three years.
Except maybe for Kyle Brookshear, who was the ShareLunker program coordinator at the time. His statement announcing Maupin’s catch proved to be a foreshadowing of things to come.
“We have been patiently waiting for O.H. Ivie to produce another ShareLunker Legacy Class bass and are extremely excited to receive this fish to cap off the collection season,” Brookshear said in 2020. “The lake produced multiple bass weighing more than 13 pounds from 2010-2012. That was also the last time their selectively bred offspring were stocked into the reservoir. There is good probability that this fish is one of those offspring stocked eight to 10 years ago.”
MAKING IT ALL WORK
SO, WHAT HAPPENED from 2010-12? Well, anglers donated 20 Legacy Class fish during that time. Now, a little more than a decade later, the offspring of those fish have given rise to another incredible stock of giant largemouth bass. Great genetics are a huge factor in making these 13-pound fish, but good habitat and even water level changes also contribute to these exceptional classes.
Lynn Wright, TPWD’s Inland Fisheries Division San Angelo District supervisor, sheds further light on how multiple factors came together to make for an excellent fishery. Wright leads the fish management efforts for several lakes in the area, including O.H. Ivie.
“There are always things that a biologist can control and other things they can’t control,” Wright says. “One of the things under our control is stocking and genetics, and we’ve stocked a lot of Florida-strain largemouth bass genetics into this lake. This lake contains a large proportion of largemouth bass that we know can grow to trophy size.”
Wright estimates the percentage of Florida-strain largemouth bass in O.H. Ivie to be around 75-80 percent. Those genetics play a big role. Nature does too, however.
“The other main thing that made this lake so impressive over the last three years was the rapid rise of the water level in the lake,” Wright says. “The lake was very low during the drought period, but then we had substantial rain in the fall of 2018 that brought the lake up over 30 feet. This expansion gave the bass pretty much unlimited food and space to grow, producing a lot of ShareLunker-sized bass.”
One key aspect of the ShareLunker program is that anglers get to play a leading role in making all this great fishing happen. Without the anglers who contribute to the ShareLunker program, largemouth bass fishing in Texas wouldn’t be where it is today. I caught up with Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator Natalie Goldstrohm to talk about what this run at O.H. Ivie has meant for the program.
“I think it’s made a big impact for us and the program,” Goldstrohm says. “Many of the anglers who come here have a lot of social media attention, which is really highlighting our management of largemouth bass here in the state. It’s showcasing the outstanding fisheries management of our biologists, genetics work and our hatcheries teams who care for the fish.”
It’s not just Texas anglers who are getting in on the action. Anglers representing six other states reeled in Legacy Class ShareLunkers in 2023. Mechelda Criswell of Hobbs, New Mexico, was one of those anglers who landed her catch of a lifetime with 14.08-pound ShareLunker 646 at O.H. Ivie. Criswell’s late-February catch came during an incredible run in which O.H. Ivie produced three Legacy Lunkers in four days.
“I just love and have been fascinated with fishing my whole life,” Criswell says. “I caught white bass, catfish and crappie and then I started catching largemouth bass. I began getting more interested in largemouth bass, and before I knew it, I was standing in the boat drifting and casting for bass. Bob Dennis was my boat mechanic and he really taught me how to bass fish. Four years ago, on my birthday he gave me some spinner baits and told me to learn how to use a bait caster. Once I did, he took me fishing and taught me ‘old school’ — how to read the land, how to visualize — and I started catching bass, so I went and got a bass boat.”
Criswell drives to Texas every Friday to fish for the weekend. She read about the ShareLunker program in 2022 and made a goal to be a part of it.
“My experience with the program was phenomenal,” Criswell says. “I learned a lot from Brady Stanford — and, of course, the TPWD staff — on how to take care of the fish. TPWD does an excellent job; I know the fish is going to ‘spa heaven.’ It was really neat to see the whole process firsthand. I hope this encourages anybody to go out and try to chase their dream because my goal last year was to catch a ShareLunker and I did it. I’ve had wonderful support from many people and my husband on the journey. I’m very grateful for the opportunity to be a part of this.”
HOME OF THE LUNKERS
THE LEGACY LUNKERS caught at O.H. Ivie along with the others from
around the state are taken to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center (TFFC), home of the Toyota ShareLunker program and where the spawning takes place each spring.
TFFC houses one of five state fish hatcheries, this one focused primarily on largemouth bass production, spawning up to 4 million Florida largemouth bass fingerlings annually. Starting in 2022, all Florida largemouth bass fingerlings stocked in Texas waters have been the direct offspring of ShareLunker fish.
A very special part of the indoor hatchery is called the Lunker Bunker. Twenty-two circular tanks, visible through a bay window at the end of the hatchery gallery in the visitor center, hold largemouth bass entered into the ShareLunker program, though they can also serve as quarantine or treatment areas for new or sick fish. The Lunker Bunker is officially known as the Intensive Care Unit because of the work that goes on there.
Every angler who donates a fish to the program is invited to return the fish to the lake once the spawning process is complete at TFFC. We got a chance to talk with Criswell again after she released her fish.
“I was so excited just to share this with everybody and let people know about the program, the great conservation work that happens to produce more bass for everyone to share and have an experience like me,” Criswell says.
So, what does the future look like for O.H. Ivie, and can this unprecedented run continue? Wright says they are doing everything they can to keep O.H. Ivie full of largemouth bass that can grow to trophy size through stockings of these ShareLunker offspring and other largemouth bass, but lake conditions and weather are always going to be a factor.
“We have to live and die with the drought and wet years,” Wright says. “The lake is on the declining trend in terms of water level, so the fishing might get tougher, but the next time the reservoir comes up we know the genetics are in good shape to keep producing a lot of ShareLunkers.”
How Does the
Toyota Sharelunker Program Work?
During the first three months of the season (Jan. 1 through March 31), anglers who reel in a 13-plus-pound bass can loan it to TPWD for the ShareLunker selective breeding and stocking program. These anglers can 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 during the collection earn Legacy Class status. They receive a catch kit filled with merchandise, a 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 from Lake Fork Taxidermy. These anglers 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) also receive a catch kit, a decal for their vehicle or boat and an entry into the year-end grand prize drawing.
Once a lunker is reeled in, anglers need to enter the catch data on the Toyota ShareLunker mobile app or online app. In addition to basic catch information, anglers can also provide a DNA scale sample from their lunker bass to TPWD researchers for genetic analysis.
The Toyota ShareLunker program conducts research and selectively breeds largemouth bass. Anglers donate their big bass for breeding, and the fish born in this program are stocked in lakes across the state, giving anglers the chance to catch bigger and better bass.
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.
A lunker is transferred to the ShareLunker truck
Mike Matthews, AE Wood State Fish Hatchery manager, analyzes bass embryos and fry under a microscope
Young fish grow in a safe environment before they are released into the lake
Circular tanks house fish at TFFC's "Lunker Bunker"
The "Lunker Bunker" provides a spa-like experience for the fish
Anglers release fish back into Coleman City Lake.
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