ATHENS J.B. Thomas Reservoir claimed on Wednesday the first Legacy Class ShareLunker largemouth bass of the 2024 Toyota ShareLunker collection season and the waterbody’s first Legacy Class entry.
Lawrence Lee of Temple reeled in ShareLunker 651, registering 13.79 pounds and measuring 24.25 inches. J.B. Thomas is now the 76th public reservoir to produce a Legacy Class ShareLunker.
“What a great way to kick off the 2024 collection season with a Legacy Class ShareLunker from J.B. Thomas” said Natalie Goldstrohm, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator, in a news release. “J.B. Thomas has never produced a Legacy Class ShareLunker before, and this catch adds to the already impressive number of public reservoirs in Texas that produced Legacy Lunkers. We are very grateful that Lawrence Lee decided to share his catch with the Toyota ShareLunker program so TPWD can continue making bigger, better bass in Texas.”
Lee fished J.B. Thomas the entire day and was about to head back to the dock but decided to check one last spot where he had seen some big fish the past couple of weeks. The fish was there on the scope when he pulled up.
“I made a perfect cast and presented the lure the way she wanted it,” said Lee in the release. “She bit on a crappie-colored swim jig with a swim bait trailer. It was a very subtle bite, and I wasn’t sure if she had it or not. I was fortunate to catch the fish since she was slack most of the way through the fight. I set the hook, she ran straight at the boat and when she was about five feet away, I came tight, and the fish went into the net. We fished all that day and the day before and located a lot of solid fish, but then we found the Legacy Lunker we’d been searching for.”
Lee’s catch was a personal best for largemouth bass. His previous personal best was a 12-pound fish that he caught at O.H. Ivie.
“Honestly I was in shock when I caught her and when she went in the net, I didn’t know how big she was,” added Lee. “I turned to my fishing guide Christian and said she’s definitely over 11 pounds. The adrenaline dump was intense, and we put her on the scale. The wind was blowing hard so the scale we had was fluctuating between 13.5 and 14.5 pounds. We were both elated and yelling in the boat.”
Once the official weight was registered, Lee made the call to report his catch to the Toyota ShareLunker program.
“The Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) staff was great to work with,” said Lee. “I talked to Natalie, and she was really helpful throughout the whole process. I could hear the excitement in her voice too. The Abilene Inland Fisheries Division District arrived quickly to take care of the fish and it was an excellent experience overall. I really appreciate the ShareLunker program, the premise behind it and what it’s doing to make fishing even better here in Texas.”
Prior to Wednesday, J.B. Thomas had 17 entries into the program since 2021, including one Legend Class fish caught Sept. 1, 2023. Nine of those entries were in 2023 alone and the new year is off to a hot start with the lake’s first Legacy Class lunker and two Strike King Elite class fish. Lee’s ShareLunker 651 is also the new waterbody record for J.B. Thomas.
