Bud ShareLunker program officials are hanging out “Help” signs statewide. It is hoped they will generate some bites from marinas, bait shops and other lakeside businesses where bass fishermen are prone to congegrate. The ultimate goal is to recruit a few qualified babysitters to watch over big, Texas-caught bass until daddy can get there.

Bud ShareLunker is a spawning and genetics research program run by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department since 1986. The popular program is open to any bass weighing 13 pounds or more. Fish must be caught between Oct. 1 and April 30 in order to qualify. Additionally, a bass must be deemed healthy enough to survive before it can be accepted into the program.

ShareLunkers are placed in hatchery raceways and paired with male suitors that possess superior genetics. The idea is to spark a love affair that will produce a big batch of little bass.

If a fish spawns successfully, a portion of the prodigy are retained for hatchery research aimed a producing bigger and better bass for Texas anglers to catch. The rest are returned to the lake of origin.

It seems logical to assume a 13-pound bass would be tough as nails physically, but experience has taught scientists just the opposite. The female heavyweights are very fragile. They are particularly vulnerable to stresses incurred when caught and handled incorrectly by fishermen. Some bass develop health problems they cannot overcome and die.

For years, Bud ShareLunker has suggested that anglers who catch a potential ShareLunker care for the fish with kid gloves. That means limited handling of the bass, prompt transfer of the fish to a large, aerated minnow vat and leaving it alone until trained fish handlers from TPWD arrive.

To date, ShareLunker has taken in more than 450 bass from dozens of lakes around the state. The survival rate thus far has been around 70 percent, but program officials believe it could be higher if there were more marinas, tackle shops, etc... set up to care for the big fish properly until TPWD staffers can retrieve them. That is the main reason ShareLunker officials are looking to bring more receiving sites into the system.

“A 70 percent survival rate is really pretty good, but it is that 30 percent mortality rate that we get a lot of criticism about, “ said TPWD’s Allen Forshage, facility director at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. “A lot of the mortalities go back to how the fish is handled before we are able to get to them. We believe we can improve on that.”

Recruiting more ShareLunker receiving sites into the game is a good place to start. Even more important is making sure the facilities are properly equipped to provide temporary housing for heavyweight bass. It also helps if employees know a little bit about playing nursemaid to big bass.

The department is serious enough about the improving the program that it will dispatch a fisheries biologist to consult with any business interested in becoming an official ShareLunker receiving station.

The biologist can offer advice on setting up a holding tank with proper aeration, fish handling procedures and provide salt solutions for treating the water to help reduce the risk of the fish developing skin infections.

“There are a lot of other fish care tips that people might overlook unless they are told, “ Forshage said. “Things as simple as putting a lid over the tank to prevent a fish from jumping out, having a certified scale handy or using a water-filled plastic bag instead of a landing net to transport the fish from a boat livewell to holding tank. The more measures taken to prevent a fish from becoming stressed, the better the chances are that fish will survive.”

Forshage said there is a good chance state biologists eventually will be able to provide receiving station curators with instruction on the art of “fizzing.”

Fizzing is a technique used to relieve hyperbuoyancy in fish. Hyperbuoyancy is the scientific term for an overinflated air bladder. It often occurs in fish that are reeled in quickly from deep water.

A bass’ air bladder gradually deflates as it swims shallow and inflates when it goes deep. This allows the fish to maintain neutral buoyancy as it changes depths.

A fish caught from deep water that is released immediately can usually regain neutral buoyancy on its own. Conversely, a deep caught fish that is placed in a livewell may exhaust itself trying to adjust. In severe cases, hyperbuoyancy can cause the fish to die.

Fizzing involves using a hypodermic needle to puncture the air bladder so excess air can escape. It can be performed by inserting the needle into the air bladder through the side of the fish or through its mouth.

TPWD fisheries biologist Randy Myers of San Antonio is orchestrating an extensive study using Lake Amistad bass to determine which fizzing method works best. Preliminary results indicate fizzing through the mouth may be the best method, Forshage said.

Myers was recently involved in certifying three businesses as part of the new ShareLunker receiving station program. Two of the stations are at Lake Falcon - Robert’s Fish n’ Tackle and Falcon State Park. A third station was established at Angler’s Lodge at Lake Amistad.

Myers said there is more to becoming an official ShareLunker receiving station than hanging a sign in the window. The facility must be outfitted with the proper equipment to provide temporary housing to large fish. Plus, but business owners must sign a “Memoradum of Understanding “ with the department. Part of the agreement involves providing a phone number where they can be reached 24/7 by an angler who wants to enter a fish in the ShareLunker program.

Robert Amaya, owner of Robert’s Fish ‘n Tackle in Zapata, said he is excited his business has become a certified ShareLunker receiving site.

“We want everyone to know that my wife or I will be here at seven o’clock in the morning, four o’clock in the morning or at 10 o’clock at night to help them out if they catch a fish over 13 pounds, “ Amaya said. “The ShareLunker program is a great program. “

Businesses interested in joining the list of official Bud ShareLunker receiving sites should contact David Campbell, 903-670-2230.

Matt Williams is a freelance writer based in Nacogdoches. He can be reached by e-mail, mattwilliams@netdot.com.