Texas Parks and Wildlife’s Toyota ShareLunker program archives are bustling with big bass records dating back nearly four decades. Through mid-December, the popular spawning and genetics research program had taken in 3,856 entries between 8 and 18.18 pounds. It’s an impressive list representing 175 different public reservoirs, several private lakes and an army of anglers who have participated since the program’s inception in 1986.
Lawrence Lee of Tolar knows his way around the Toyota ShareLunker mobile entry app way better than most. The electronic app allows anglers to use a Smart Phone to enter qualifying fish weighing at least eight pounds or 24 inches in multiple categories over the course of the year. Fish also can be entered online at texassharelunker.com.
Lee has entered 69 bass weighing upwards of eight pounds in the program during 2024 alone. His single year total is more than twice the number fish entered by the program’s No. 2 contributor, Deric Miller of Southlake. Miller has registered 35 entries spanning 201823 from three different lakes — Fairfield, Mill Creek and Purtis Creek, according to Natalie Goldstrohm, Toyota ShareLunker program coordinator.
Miller’s list is an impressive one, but Lee is on a different level. His resume includes 36 eight pounders, 15 nine pounders 10 10 pounders, two 11 pounders, one 12 pounder and four heavyweights over 13 pounds.
Sixty-eight of Lee’s fish were caught from Lake J.B. Thomas since last January, including a 13.79 Legacy Lunker that ranks as the official lake record. The remaining trio of teeners were Legend Class lunkers caught outside the program’s Jan. 1 - March 31 collection season for spawning fish.
Lee’s remarkable track record lands him in pretty tall cotton. Not only has he recorded more ShareLunker entries than anyone. He is also the first angler in the history of the program to enter four fish over 13 pounds during the same calendar year.
Mr. Big Fish
“Mr Big Fish” might be a befitting title for the 33-year-old angler.
Clayton Gladfelter called him an animal.
“Some people like fishing and some people love fishing, but Lawrence Lee lives fishing, Gladfelter chuckled. “He eats, lives and breathes fishing more than any angler I have ever met. I guess that’s why we hit it off so well and became such good friends. He’s got a fish brain, just like me.”
Gladfelter is a fishing guide and foward-facing sonar expert from Albuquerque, N.M., who first discovered big bass nirvana at J.B. Thomas during spring 2023. He has since relocated to Abilene to be closer to the remote West Texas fishery 12 miles southwest of Snyder.
The 28-year-old angler has steered dozens of clients to their personal bests over the last 18 months. Lee’s Legacy Lunker is among them.
Gladfelter said he first met Lee at a bass tournament in 2020. One thing lead to another and the two men eventually went fishing together on Lake O.H. Ivie, where Gladfelter was guiding at the time. Lee landed a 12 pounder on the first cast of the morning.
“We hit it off right then,” Gladfelter said. “We’ve fished quite a bit since. He’s one of most skilled anglers I have ever had in the boat. He’s a fishing machine.”
Lunkers Galore
The guide believes Lee’s ShareLunker entry resume represents only a small fraction of the eight pounders he has caught this year.
“He’s caught hundreds of them,” Gladfelter said. “We fun fish a lot together and we don’t weigh or submit (to ShareLunker) half of the eight pounders we catch. And we catch a bunch of ‘em.”
Lee agreed. He claims he has logged numerous days fishing alone when 20 or more fish over eight pounds hit the deck. Most were caught at J.B. Thomas using forward-facing sonar to single out individual fish amid dense clouds of bait fish, small carp, catfish and crappie. He has also reeled in scads of big ones at other lakes he had rather not name or advertise for fear of attracting boat traffic.
“We’re spoiled out there at J.B. Thomas — an 8-9 pounder doesn’t mean much to us anymore,” Lee said. “If it’s not at least a 10 pounder, I usually just throw it back without bothering to weigh it. I don’t know the exact numbers, but I would guess I’ve caught close to 500600 bass over eight pounds this year.”
A Sleepless Angler
If it sounds like Lee is obsessed with chasing the big bite, that’s because he is. The angler claims he fishes 2-3 days a week and still holds down a full-time job doing rotating shift work at the Comanche Peak Nuclear Power Plant in Glen Rose. The job typically demands about 5570 hours per week.
Lee says it is not uncommon for him to pull a 12 hour night shift, drive four hours to the lake and fish well into the night before taking time for a short nap. Then he’ll fish more and head back to work for another 12 hour shift.
“I’m addicted,” he said. “I don’t do much sleeping at all. Twice a week I’ll stay up for 24 hours. Instead of wasting time sleeping when I’m off work I just stay up and go fishing. A lot of times I’ll show up at the lake after I’ve been awake for 15-17 hours. That’s pretty much my routine.”
It’s a mindset that has paid off with bounty of big bass.
