THE BASS THAT KEEPS ON BITING

Just call it the big bass that keeps right on biting.

An 11.21 pound largemouth caught in late August on Toledo Bend Reservoir by Henry Boudreoux of Baton Rouge, La., has been caught and released at least two other times over the last 26 months.

Officials with the Toledo Bend Lake Association are certain of the bass’ history because it was wearing a plastic T-bar tag identifying it as the same fish that was entered in TBLA’s Lunker Bass Program by two other anglers in 2023. The tag is clearly visible on the right side of its back, next to the soft rayed dorsal fin.

The popular program solicits anglers to document bass weighing 10 plus pounds on an certified scale at a participating marina prior to releasing it. In exchange, individuals are recognized at an annual banquet and receive a free replica of their trophy fish.

The bass weighed 10.80 pounds when it was weighed, photographed and released in June 2023 at Holley Park Marina by Bernard Fruge and 10.84 pounds when it was caught by Brett Pruitt in October 2023 and re-entered in the program by Keith’s Toledo Bend Tackle . Boudreaux checked in the fish on Aug. 1 at Buckeye Landing.

The tag isn’t the only possible identifying mark on the fish.

In each photograph, the bass’ tail is clearly deformed looking. It has a significant chunk missing on the top side of the caudal fin. It remains a mystery as to what caused the disfigurement.

The fish could have been struck by boat propeller and healed naturally, or escaped the jaws of a snapping turtle at a young age. Perhaps it was born that way.

Interestingly, the fish may have been caught another time, long before it was first entered in the lunker program in 2023. Josh Worth of Grand Junction, Colo., was on Toledo Bend in Jan. 2018 when he caught a bass that weighed about 9 1/2 pounds on an uncertified digital scale. He did not attempt enter the fish in the TBLA lunker bass program.

“I knew she wasn’t 10 pounds so I released her back into Hausen Bay after we took a few pictures,” Worth said. “It’s still my personal best. One thing I’ll always remember about that fish was its tail. It was deformed looking. It was definitely a defining characteristic.”

I’ve seen photographs of Worth holding the bass. The fish’s tail looks remarkably similar to the bass documented three times in the TBLA program.

Whether or not it is the same fish remains a mystery. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department largemouth bass program leader Jake Norman says it is impossible to say for certain by looking at the photo if the undocumented nine pounder and the official TBLA entries are indeed the same fish, but he wouldn’t be surprised if it is.

“We’ve had some of our 13 pound ShareLunkers get caught more than once,” Norman said. “Knowing that, and with some of the studies that have been done in the past, it wouldn’t surprise me at all. Studies have shown that aggressiveness is an individual trait and it does get passed on to offspring sometimes. We need more of those out there. Some fish are just cool like that.”

Ned Goodeaux of Many, La., coordinates the TLBA’s lunker bass program. He said this isn’t the first time the same fish has been officially entered in the program three times.

“We’ve had multiple fish that have been caught three times,” Goodeaux said. “It would be neat to know if this one has for sure been caught four times, but we’ll never know that for certain just by looking at the pictures. But there is a good possibility the nine pounder is the same fish.”

As earlier mentioned, several Legacy Lunkers been entered in the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Toyota ShareLunker Program more than once. Legacy Lunkers are bass weighing 13 pounds or more that are caught between Jan. 1 and March 31. The fish are used for captive spawning and restocking in Texas lakes.

ShareLunker Program coordinator Natalie Goldstrohm says there have been a total nine Legacy Lunkers caught more than once from five different lakes — Fork, O.H. Ivie, Alan Henry, Austin and Caddo.

Here’s a little trivia about the heavyweights: * The fish range in weight from 13.03 pounds to 16.17 pounds. The 16.17 pounder caught in 2010 by Keith Burns of Jefferson weighed 16.07 pounds nearly a year later when it was boated by Sean Swank of DeBerry. Both fish rank among the Top 25 biggest bass ever reported in Texas.

* Seven of the fish have been caught twice by different anglers and one has been caught twice by the same angler, Ross Gomez of Lubbock. Gomez was fishing from the public boat dock at the Sam Wahl Recreation Area at Lake Alan Henry when he caught the fish in 2023 and 2025.

* One of the fish was caught three times by different anglers in consecutive years by between 2005 and 2007, also at Lake Alan Henry.

A Legacy Lunker recapture is identifiable by an internal PIT tag (Passive Integrated Transponder). PIT tags are installed beneath the skin of each fish during their stay at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. The tags transmit a unique identification code easily detected by scientists using a scanning device.

There’s plenty of cool stuff to be gleaned from all of this. Among the most obvious are that some fish are naturally more aggressive than others, and that catch and release works when fish are cared for with kid gloves.

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by email, mattwillwrite4u@yahoo. com.

Recaptured Toyota Legacy Lunkers

1) ShareLunkers 366 (2004) and 343 (2002 Fork) 2) ShareLunkers 389 (2005), 423 (2006), 439 (2007) from Alan Henry 3) ShareLunkers 487 (2010) and 522 (2011) from Caddo 4) ShareLunkers 503 (2010) and 523 (2011) from O.H. Ivie 5) ShareLunkers 481 (2010) and 528 (2012) from Lake Austin 6) ShareLunkers 518 (2011) and 538 (2013) from Lake Fork 7) ShareLunkers 601 (2021) and 644 (2023) from O.H. Ivie 8) ShareLunkers 641 (2023) and 674 (2025) from Alan Henry 9) ShareLunkers 666 (2024) and 646 from (2023) O.H. Ivie — TPWD