ATHENS, Texas - Teenager Kyle Nitschke of Willis caught Budweiser  ShareLunker No. 456 from Lake Conroe December 13.

The 13.07-pound largemouth bass should qualify as the new junior angler state record by 0.01 pound. Ironically, Nitschke was fishing in the Ignition Bass Tournament with his friend Tyler Goetzman, who caught the former record from Lake Conroe on January 13, 2008. We had a limit by 8:40 and started culling, Nitschke said. We caught 14 keepers. She [the ShareLunker] hit a crankbait in  six feet of water about 12:30. The fish was 21.5 inches in girth and 25 inches in length. Nitschke and Goetzman won the tournament with a bag of 32.85 pounds of fish.

Lake Conroe has now produced 13 Budweiser  ShareLunkers and ranks number four in the number produced, after Lakes Fork, Rayburn and Alan Henry.  For the past several years Lake Conroe has been  the site of intensive management of invasive aquatic vegetation by Texas Parks and Wildlife Department using triploid grass carp and chemicals. Local anglers,  homeowners and recreational users have cooperated in developing an action plan  that is reestablishing native vegetation in the lake.

The Budweiser ShareLunker program is made possible through support from Anheuser-Busch, Inc. Since 1991, Anheuser-Busch, in  partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Foundation, has contributed  millions of dollars in funding to support conservation causes and fishing,  hunting and outdoor recreation programs in Texas.

Now thats the kind of fish I need to catch! Sweet!

PIG! Great story

Great fish, isn't funny how everybody says that a crankbait isn't as good as a big fish lure as a jig. They seem to forget that the world record was caught on a crankbait

Holy cow!  Now that's a monster!!

Wow.....what a fish.  Seeing pictures of 13lbers like that make me really appreciate what monsters those Cali 20lbers must be.

WOW!!! What a fish!!!

Makes my 6lb-15oz smallmouth look like midget.

Falcon

What a hoss  

what a fish!

Man would I love to catch something like that.

WOW!!!!! What a PIG!!!!! Congrats!!!!