13+ pound bass caught at Big Country lake, West Texas angler catches same fish twice

BIG COUNTRY, Texas (KTAB/KRBC) – Bass weighing more than 13 pounds were caught in the Big Country, while an angler in west Texas caught the same fish twice.

The Texas Department of Wildlife and Parks (TDWP) states that a bass weighing at least 13 pounds is classified as a “ShareLunker fish,” and some of these fish are donated to the Texas ShareLunker program.

This year, Nicholas Guthrie broke his record by catching a 13.35-pound ShareLunker at O.H. Ivie Lake, marking the sixth Legacy Class ShareLunker of the season. Meanwhile, Ross Gomez made history by catching the same bass twice at Lake Alan Henry — initially weighing 13.22 pounds and later growing to 14.78 pounds.

According to Texas Parks & Wildlife, Guthrie caught the massive largemouth bass on Saturday, February 15, after missing the opportunity the day prior.

“I casted a hair jig out there, and the fish slammed it pretty good. From there, it was just a race to the surface, where we netted the fish and got her into the boat. We quickly put her in the livewell and booked it back to land to get her weighed,” said Guthrie.

The ShareLunker exceeded Guthrie’s personal record for largemouth bass by approximately eight pounds.

Ross Gomez from Post, Texas, caught a fish and entered it into the Toyota ShareLunker Program in 2023. Two years later, he made history as the first angler to catch the same fish twice from a public water body.

“I was actually standing in the same exact spot on the dock that I caught the first fish,” Gomez recalled.

The TDWP states that from January 1 through March 31, anglers who reel in a bass that weighs 13 pounds or more can loan it to the TPWD for the ShareLunker selective breeding and stocking program. Anglers can call the ShareLunker hotline at (903) 681-0550 to report their catch every day until March 31.