East Texas Angler Travels West to Land Massive 13-Pound Bass

When it comes to monster bass, Lake O.H. Ivie is tops in Texas. The lake located south of Abilene stepped back on stage Saturday, February 15 with its second Legacy Class largemouth bass of the 2025 Toyota ShareLunker collection season.

Nicholas Guthrie of Livingston, Texas reeled in 13.35-pound ShareLunker 675 and in the process bumped the overall collection season total to six Legacy Class Lunkers. Five different waterbodies have contributed to this year’s total through the halfway point of the collection season. O.H. Ivie boasts an incredible 55 Legacy Class ShareLunker’s over the past five collection seasons.

Guthrie traveled to O.H. Ivie to specifically target a big largemouth bass. Guthrie went out Friday and lost out on one good fish, but Saturday he locked in his fish of a lifetime.

“About 20 minutes before 10 a.m., we were sitting above a river channel and fishing on the edge of it in roughly 40 feet of water,” said Guthrie. “I cast a hair jig out there and the fish slammed it pretty good. From there it was just a race to the surface where we netted the fish and got her into the boat. We quickly put her in the livewell and booked it back to land to get her weighed.”

ShareLunker 675 eclipsed Guthrie’s personal best for a largemouth bass by about eight pounds and he did it on his first trip to O.H. Ivie.

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 Texas Parks and Wildlife Department for the ShareLunker selective breeding and stocking program. These anglers can call the ShareLunker hotline at (903) 681-0550 to report their catch 24/7 through March 31, 2025.

Anglers that catch and loan a 13-plus pound lunker earn Legacy Class status, receive a catch kit filled with merchandise, 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, ShareLunker branded apparel provided by AFTCO, and Bass University will provide a swag pack and annual subscription.

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.

For updates on the Toyota ShareLunker Program, visit facebook.com/sharelunkerprogram/, https://www.instagram.com/TexasShareLunker/ or TexasSharelunker.com.