SHARELUNKER PROGRAM2: Bass that aren't in the mood for 
love ... details on Passport to Texas.

This is Passport to Texas

The Sharelunker program takes largemouth bass -- 13-
pounds or more -- and uses them to breed even bigger 
bass. By placing the males and females in the same tank, 
you'd think nature would take its course. It's not that 
easy, says David Campbell.

04 -- It's very hard to get these older fish to spawn in a strange 
environment.
 
Campbell retired from TPW in 2012, after 46 years with 
the agency, and 26 years managing the ShareLunker 
program. The bass donated to the program are ten years 
old or more, making their journey to the spawning tanks 
more stressful.

08 -- When you catch a thirteen-pound bass with a rod and reel, 
that's not something you just reel in real quick and get it out of 
the water and put it in a live well -- it usually takes some time, and 
it stresses the fish.

Music and dim lights work to calm humans and put them 
in the mood for romance. I asked, in jest, whether 
Campbell tried such mood enhancers with the bass.

11 -- (laughter) We haven't tried it, but we have thought about it. 
(chuckles) We thought about a lot of this in the first few years of 
the program because we found it was extremely difficult to get 
them to spawn.

They're doing something right, because they've stocked 
nearly a million fry in lakes from the Sharelunker 
program. Donating your catch to the program ... that's 
tomorrow.

The Sport Fish Restoration Program supports our series 
and provides funding for the Texas Freshwater Fisheries 
Center.

For Texas Parks and Wildlife ... I'm Cecilia Nasti

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