Lake Austin has received plenty of attention in recent years as the 1,600-acre body of water has become among the top largemouth bass fishing locales in Texas.
The lake produced Toyota ShareLunker 548 on Wednesday when Round Rock angler Colin Pack landed the bass while fishing in a Texas Tournament Zone event.
Pack caught the fish in 10 feet of water using a Carolina rig while fishing in hydrilla, according to a news release. The bass weighed 13.29 pounds and was 26.75 inches long and 20 inches in girth.
The lake has reaped the reward of Texas Parks and Wildlife Department stocking efforts, with regular stockings of young and adult fish during the the past decade. Since 2005, the lake has received more than 1 million fry and fingerlings.
Austin has produced 19 largemouth bass that have been entered into the ShareLunker program. It trails Lake Fork, with 253 entries; Lakes Alan Henry and O. H. Ivie, with 25 each; Sam Rayburn, with 23; and Falcon, with 20. Lake Conroe has 16 entries and Choke Canyon 13.
Anyone legally catching a 13-pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, through April 30 may submit the fish to the ShareLunker program by calling the ShareLunker hotline at 903-681-0550 or paging 888-784-0600 and leaving a phone number including area code. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.
Anglers entering fish into the program receive a free replica of their fish, a certificate and ShareLunker clothing and are recognized at a banquet at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens.
