Texas Fisherman Makes History with Three Massive Bass

Tolar, Texas, is located just northeast of Stephenville. It's the home of Lawrence Lee, who has become the first angler to catch three 13-pound or heavier Legacy Class fish in a single season. In fact, Lee caught these three monster bass in one month...two on the same day!

J.B. Thomas Reservoir in West Texas has produced four Legacy Class ShareLunkers this season, three of which have been reeled in by Lee. On March 24, Lee kicked off a day of fishing by catching 13.10-pound ShareLunker 699 in the morning.

Then, Lee followed that up with ShareLunker 700 that he caught later on Tuesday evening. That bass tipped the scales at 13.57 pounds.

Previously, Lee caught a 13.12-pound bass on March 8 at J.B. Thomas. That was registered as ShareLunker 696.

The biggest Legacy Class bass that Lee has caught on J.B. Thomas happened on Jan. 17, 2024, when he hauled in a 13.79-pound bass, good for ShareLunker 651. That fish remains the largest bass caught on this reservoir.

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What Lure Did Lee Use?

“I went to the Bassmaster Classic last week and picked up a new lure made by KGB Swimbaits; a small six-inch crappie,” said Lee. “Out here at J.B. Thomas, they ate crappie really well and just as the sun was peeking up, I saw this fish swimming out on the scope. There wasn’t much to it and didn’t think she was very big, maybe 10 to 11 pounds, but the first cast over there, she looked right up at it and inhaled it right after a couple of glides. It was a pretty uneventful fight and went straight into the net.”

Little did Lee know he would make a second call to the ShareLunker program later that day, but another massive largemouth bass made it into his boat that evening. As the sun was about to set, Lee checked one other spot where he knew fish would probably be staging.

“I chased three or four fish that I’m pretty confident were over 12 pounds, and all of them rejected everything,” said Lee. “As I was following the other fish, I saw this one pop into my screen, so I casted my DC swimbait over there. On the first cast, she ate it. I set the hook and she immediately bolted to the surface and jumped probably 20 feet from the boat. From there she dived straight under the boat.”

The battle was on at that point, with the fish making multiple dives and maneuvers before Lee was able to get her in the net.

About the Toyota ShareLunker Program

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 the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the Toyota ShareLunker selective breeding and stocking program. These anglers can call Texas Parks and Wildlife Department 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.