Athens, Texas -- O.H. Ivie is back on the board with its second Legacy Class ShareLunker of the 2026 Toyota ShareLunker program collection season Saturday evening. O.H. Ivie, the reigning lake champion for the most Legacy Class largemouth bass over the past six seasons, produced the first Legacy Class fish this year. The Toyota ShareLunker program is a cornerstone of Texas Parks and Wildlife’s (TPWD) efforts to grow bigger, better bass.
Josh Jones of Sapulpa, Oklahoma, reeled in his fifth overall Legacy Class largemouth bass with 13.51-pound ShareLunker 692 on Saturday. Jones’ fish is also a recapture, the third of the collection season, following Charles Roberts 13.75-pound ShareLunker 684 at O.H. Ivie and Ross Gomez’s 14.74-pound ShareLunker 685 from Alan Henry.
Similar to ShareLunker 684, Jones’ largemouth bass was also landed three times in the form of 13.13-pound ShareLunker 670 caught by Brady Standford of Millersview on Jan. 2, 2025, and as a 14.52-pound Lew’s Legend reeled in by Owen Harmon of Abilene on June 3, 2025. Harmon’s catch is the current Junior Waterbody record at O.H. Ivie.
“Recaptures like this are invaluable,” said Natalie Goldstrohm, TPWD coordinator for the Toyota ShareLunker program. “Each time one of these remarkable fish returns to the program, it gives our biologists a rare opportunity to track its growth, condition and overall health over time. That kind of long-term data is incredibly hard to obtain on these older fish, and it helps us better understand how quickly these bass can develop and how resilient they are in Texas waters. Every angler who chooses to participate plays a direct role in expanding that knowledge base. Their contributions strengthen our research, inform future management decisions, and ultimately help ensure that Texas fisheries continue to produce world class bass for generations to come.”
Jones was the very first angler to record four Legacy Class fish with two in 2021 followed by two more in 2022, all at O.H. Ivie. Jones also entered a 15.10-pound Lew’s Legend catch at O.H. Ivie on December 17, 2021. Jones was fishing for just the second time at O.H. Ivie this year when he dialed in on what would be his fifth Legacy Class ShareLunker.
“I got up and fished that morning and located some before heading into lunch,” said Jones. “I went back out around 4 p.m. and then caught her around 5 p.m. The middle of the day has been tough to get bites, and it seems like the evenings have been the best. I came back to O.H. Ivie to try and catch a ShareLunker. It’s been a while since I caught one although I’ve put about five other people on ShareLunkers since I caught my last one–10 overall. It’s cool watching other people catch one, but I really wanted to catch another one.”
O.H. Ivie has now produced 60 Legacy Class largemouth bass over the past six years. These achievements highlight the success of TPWD’s ongoing bass management efforts, which focus on habitat improvement, stocking programs, and genetic research to ensure anglers have opportunities to catch lunker-sized fish for years to come.
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 TPWD on the ShareLunker hotline at (903) 681-0550 to report their catch 24/7 through March 31, 2026.
Legacy Class ShareLunker weights are all verified using a certified scale, but anglers may use a digital scale to get an initial weight to inform the ShareLunker response team. Once the TPWD team arrives, they can take a certified weight on site.
A list of official weigh stations can be found on the ShareLunker Official Weigh and Holding Stations website. Elm Creek Marina at O. H. Ivie weighed in Jones’ catch.
Anglers who catch and loan a 13-plus pound lunker earn Legacy Class status, receive a catch kit filled with merchandise donated by program sponsors, a 13lb+ Legacy decal for their vehicle or boat, VIP access to the Toyota ShareLunker Annual Awards event, a high-quality replica mount of their fish from Lake Fork Taxidermy and ShareLunker branded apparel provided by AFTCO. Anglers also receive entries into two separate drawings – a Legacy Class Drawing and the year-end Grand Prize Drawing. Both drawings will award the winner a $5,000 Bass Pro Shops shopping spree.
The year-round Toyota ShareLunker Program offers anglers three additional levels of participation for catching bass over eight pounds or 24 inches in Texas public waters. Each of these levels provide vital data to TPWD fisheries biologists, helping them better manage bass in Texas.
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, a one-month subscription card to Bass University and an entry into the year-end Grand Prize Drawing to win a $5,000 Bass Pro Shops shopping spree. ShareLunker entry classes include the Bass Pro Shops Lunker Class (8 lb.+), Strike King Elite Class (10 lb.+) and Lew’s Legend Class (13 lb.+).
Once a qualified lunker is reeled in, anglers need to enter the catch data on the Toyota ShareLunker mobile app – available for free from the Apple App Store and Google Play – or at TexasSharelunker.com.
In addition to providing basic catch information, anglers have the option to send a DNA scale sample from their lunker bass to TPWD biologists for genetic analysis. Anglers who contribute a sample to the program will receive a Lew’s reel while supplies last, with a limit of one reel per angler. Instructions for submitting DNA samples are located on the Toyota ShareLunker website.
TPWD and the Toyota ShareLunker program are once again partnering with AFTCO on the AFTCO Guide of the Year award for the 2026 ShareLunker season. The AFTCO Guide of the Year award recognizes a fishing guide who contributes to conservation and enhancement of largemouth bass in Texas.
The Toyota ShareLunker Program is made possible in part by the generous title 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.
Additional vital program support comes from Legend Class category prize sponsor Lew’s, Elite Class category prize sponsor Strike King, Lunker Class category prize sponsor Bass Pro Shops, AFTCO, Bass Forecast, Bass University and Lake Fork Taxidermy.
For updates on the Toyota ShareLunker Program, visit facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram/, https://www.instagram.com/TexasShareLunker/ or TexasSharelunker.com.
