Feb. 26, 2026
Media Contact: TPWD News, Business Hours, 512-389-8030
ATHENS – Purtis Creek State Park Lake and Ellison Creek Reservoir (Lone Star Lake) combined for the first double lunker day of the 2026 Toyota ShareLunker collection season on Monday (Feb. 16). The day was made even more memorable with both Legacy Class fish setting new waterbody records while Ellison Creek produced its first ever Legacy Class fish to become the 81st public waterbody in Texas to etch its name on the elite list.
Austin Miles of Forney, reeled in 16.04-pound ShareLunker 690 on Monday afternoon at Purtis Creek State Park Lake. The fish ranked as the 27th heaviest fish recorded in Texas history and broke the waterbody record by nearly three pounds. Dan Fikes held the previous record largemouth bass at 13.73 which he set all the way back on Oct. 14, 1995. Miles also set a new personal best with his fish that eclipsed his pervious personal best of 10.75-pounds.
Meanwhile, Andrew Scott of Waskom put Ellison Creek Reservoir on the board with 13.62-pound ShareLunker 691 Monday evening, which also set a new waterbody record. Zachery Richardson held the previous largemouth bass waterbody record at 11.45 pounds, set on Feb. 25, 2017. Scott’s fish is the ninth Legacy-class fish to be entered overall this ShareLunker season. It also broke Scott’s previous personal best of 11.20 pounds.
These milestones don’t happen by chance—they’re the result of decades of work by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) fisheries biologists. Angler-driven data from the Toyota ShareLunker program supplements biologist efforts that consistently aim towards producing bigger, better bass across Texas.
“Days like this remind us why Texas is the premier destination for lunker bass fishing,” said Natalie Goldstrohm, TPWD coordinator for the Toyota ShareLunker program. “Two anglers, two lakes, and two record-breaking fish in one day—it’s the kind of story that inspires anglers across the country. These catches aren’t just numbers; they represent years of commitment to conservation and the passion of anglers who make it all possible. When someone lands a 16-pound bass or helps put a new lake on the map, it’s more than a personal best—it’s a milestone for Texas fisheries and a glimpse of what the future holds. We’re thrilled to see Purtis Creek State Park Lake and Ellison Creek Reservoir shine, and we can’t wait to see what the rest of the season brings.”
Miles found his ShareLunker in the standing timber.
“The standing timber is usually where the big ones are at Purtis Creek and as we were looking around, we found this one tree that appeared to have broken off and fell into the lake,” said Miles. “There were some limbs in the water and I saw a fish sitting on one of the limbs. I made a cast on her and with a couple of twitches on my jerk bait she came up and ate the bait. She got to the surface, I saw how big she was and knew she was over 10 pounds but didn’t know it was over 16 pounds. We got her in the boat and set her down on the front deck, and I looked at the fish and said, ‘man how big is this fish?’”
Miles proceeded to weigh the fish on his scale, and it registered at just under 16 pounds. He then made the call to the Toyota ShareLunker program to report the catch and get the official weight on a verified scale.
“The experience with the ShareLunker program was awesome,” said Miles. “Natalie is very nice, educated, and knows her stuff. My emotions were going crazy and she was very patient with me, walking me through everything with the process multiple times. Whether it was on the phone driving over there and when they arrived, she did an amazing job making sure I knew everything to keep the fish healthy and what not to do. My family was also able to make it in time to see the fish first. Hats off to TPWD, it was a great experience.”
Purtis Creek is no stranger to the Toyota ShareLunker program with a combined five Legacy Class fish on the ledger. The most recent Legacy Class Lunker was 13.60-pound ShareLunker 485 caught by Michael Banks of Jacksonville on March 9, 2010. Banks’ largemouth bass was the heaviest Legacy Class fish prior to Mile’s massive bass on Monday.
Over at Lone Star Lake, Scott and his son both had the day off from work so they decided to spend it fishing.
“I convinced my son to go out to Lone Star Lake because it’s one of my favorites to fish,” said Scott. “We got out there and we fished about four and a half hours and only caught four fish in all my other spots. There is a spot on the lake that I haven’t fished at in about seven years and normally don’t have success, but it’s only nine feet of water. My son went one direction, and I went the other and immediately started catching five pounders left and right and then I happened to see something on my screen that looked like a row of carp.”
Scott decided to go ahead and throw his bait at them, where three or four reacted and followed the bait.
“The bait got too close to the boat, so I just stopped it, felt a tick and when I set the hook it felt like a boulder, like setting it into a stump,” said Scott. “After about two minutes of having this thing hooked, I never saw the fish come up as it stayed on the bottom. I could not control the fish as she made me do two or three 360’s with my boat because she kept going underneath it. I thought at that point I was hooked into a big Buffalo or a 30–40-pound blue catfish because it didn’t fight like a bass and stayed on the bottom. Eventually she took me about 200 yards before I realized it was a bass when she came up the first time. It then came up to shake its head nearby and that’s when I put my hand in her mouth and pulled her in the boat.”
Scott weighed the fish on his boat, called his son and headed to the ramp to connect with the Toyota ShareLunker program.
“The ShareLunker program surprised me because I didn’t know how it worked,” said Scott. “I called Natalie and asked her what I needed to do and she walked me through everything while I was at the boat ramp. She tried to find a certified scale close to me but couldn’t, so Natalie said it would take two and half hours to get there and asked if I minded waiting. I said absolutely I’ll wait and that’s no problem at all. They arrived at the ramp, weighed it and she came out at 13.62 pounds. I appreciate the ShareLunker program and the way it gives back to keep our fisheries and habitat strong for our children, it’s a good deal.”
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.
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 for 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 baitcasting 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.
Author: TOR Poobah
Original Source: http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/newsmedia/releases/?req=20260226b
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