Tecomate’s Famed La Perla Ranch Produces 14 lbs. 5 oz. TPWD “ShareLunker” Largemouth

imageFebruary 20, 2015
Laredo, TX – Toyota ShareLunker entry #559 was picked up at 2:00 a.m. this morning from the famed Tecomate Headquarters, La Perla Ranch, which has been the talk of the bass fishing world the past couple of months. The behemoth largemouth was caught by Blair Schwarz late yesterday afternoon and weighed soon thereafter on certified scales kept at the ranch. Sharelunker #553 weighed in at an incredible 14.3 pounds, which equates to 14 pounds 5 ounces, and is the largest ShareLunker caught since 2013.

Blair was working a Jackall squarebill crankbait around a brush pile on what is known as Star Island in La Perla Lake when the massive bass engulfed the lure. A subsequent call was made to TPWD, and when they arrived in the wee hours of the night, the fish appeared to be healthy and in great condition.

The La Perla lunker is the second submission of the season to Texas Parks and Wildlife’s ShareLunker program. It is not yet known whether the fish is a pure Florida largemouth. If she is not pure Florida, she will be returned to La Perla Lake as soon as possible. However, if DNA testing at the San Marcos Fish Hatchery shows that she is pure Florida, she will be held in Athens through the spring so that any fry she produces can be grown and then distributed. A portion of any fry produced will be released into water bodies producing ShareLunkers during the current season. Some will go back to La Perla Ranch, and some will be used for research.

Tecomate’s La Perla Ranch and lake projects on the ranch are the brainchild of Blair’s father, Dr. Gary Schwarz, who first became famous for his pioneering work on nutritional food plots along with biologist and whitetail legend David Morris. That work led to the formation of Tecomate Seed Company and eventually to the “The Bucks of Tecomate” TV show, one of the highest-watched shows in outdoor TV history.

Seven years ago, Schwarz turned his attention to bass and began a quest to grow largemouth bass to mega proportions using the same high-nutrition “food plot” concept he pioneered for deer.

The recent catch and submission of the giant La Perla bass to Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s Toyota ShareLunker program is the latest in a long list of recent headlines about La Perla in the bass world. A week ago, Mark Zona, MC of the Bassmaster Elite series and host of “Zona’s Awesome Fishing Show,” aired an episode that featured his incredible introduction to fishing La Perla Lake. The previous week, fishing juggernauts Shimano and G. Loomis hosted 16 outdoor writers at La Perla to test new products on several of the La Perla Ranch lakes, which was fitting since the most recent La Perla lunker was caught on a Shimano Curado reel and G. Loomis IMX rod.

imageThree bass over 10 pounds were caught in one day during the Shimano event, and several articles documenting the trip and the incredible fishery ensued. Blair’s bass tops the previous La Perla Lake record, caught by Matt Carter of Austin, Texas, by almost two full pounds.

For more information, visit www.laperlaranchresort.com and www.tecomate.com and follow Tecomate’s La Perla Ranch and Tecomate Wildlife Systems under the following social media accounts:

Twitter:
image @Tecomatelaperla (Tecomate’s La Perla Ranch)
image @TecomateWS (Tecomate Wildlife Systems and “The Bucks of Tecomate” TV show)

Instagram:
image tecomatelaperla (Tecomate’s La Perla Ranch)
image Tecomate_WS (Tecomate Wildlife Systems and “The Bucks of Tecomate” TV show)

Facebook:
imagehttps://www.facebook.com/LaPerlaRanch
imagehttps://www.facebook.com/tecomate

Posted by Tecomate Wildlife Systems 


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