The MeatEater

They say everything is bigger in Texas, and that couldn’t be more true for Ross Gomez of Post, Texas, who reeled in a 14.74 lb. largemouth bass on the evening of January 22, 2026. But the real story isn’t just the size of the fish; it’s the fact that Gomez had already caught the same bass twice before.

Back in 2023, Gomez was targeting crappie of a public dock at Lake Alan Henry when he hooked into the then 13.22 lb. fish. A fellow angler helped him weigh the bass and then told him he should consider donating the fish to the Toyota ShareLunker Program, a program Gomez was unaware of at the time.

The Toyota ShareLunker Program is a Texas Parks and Wildlife (TPWD) initiative that partners with anglers in hopes of creating bigger, better bass in Texas. Any largemouth caught in the state from January 1st to March 31st can be donated to the program. Donated fish are marked via a small electronic identifier, similar to a pet microchip, and safely transported to the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center(TFFC) where they undergo a selective breeding process. The program’s goal is to strengthen trophy bass genetics in Texas lakes and increase anglers' odds of landing the bass of their dreams.

Once the fish spawns, it is returned to the lake where it was originally caught, in this case, the fish was released approximately 3.3 miles from the dock where Gomez caught her. Meanwhile, her offspring are raised at the TFFC, and once they reach the fingerling stage, they’re released into lakes across the state.

In 2025, while fishing the same public dock at Lake Alan Henry, Gomez hooked into an even bigger fish. The bass weighed in at 14.78 lbs., and unlike the first time, Gomez didn’t hesitate. He knew the drill—a quick call to the Toyota ShareLunker Program set the process in motion once again.

Once in the hands of the TPWD and the ShareLunker Program, the fish was scanned to see if it had been previously caught and submitted, and not only had she been caught, but it was the same fish caught by Gomez in 2023.

At this time, program coordinator Natalie Goldstrohm said “This catch is a testament to the great fish care TPWD provides at our hatchery, ensuring these Legacy bass remain healthy so they can be returned to the reservoir. It’s incredible to see her caught again—proof that our efforts give other anglers a chance at landing a fish of a lifetime, sometimes even the same fish twice.”

That brings the story back to January 22, 2026. Gomez went out with a friend to the same public dock with crappie on his mind. “It was just one of those days when the weather’s coming in…and my whole plan was to catch a bunch of crappie,” Gomez said.

When he wasn’t having much luck with the crappie, he decided to switch gears and throw out a Megabass jerkbait.

“I threw out the lure and while I was bringing it back, I stopped, looked at it, and out of nowhere I saw her come up from the bottom and smash it,” Gomez told TPWD. “I’m screaming to my friend to get the net, and I finally got her up and realized, this is a huge fish.”

Gomez weighed the fish, and the scale read 14.74 lbs. He once again called the ShareLunker program, and the fish was quickly picked up by TPWD staff. But it wasn’t until later that the impossible happened, when TPWD staff scanned the electronic tag, the results confirmed that Gomez had caught the same record fish for the third time.

“I couldn’t believe it. I was thinking there’s no way this could happen again,” Gomez told MeatEater.

He also offered a simple piece of advice to anglers still chasing their first double-digit bass: “Fish even when conditions aren’t ideal. All three times I caught her were not ideal conditions, bad weather the first two times, and the third was right before the arctic front we had. So fish even when it doesn’t seem ideal.”

If you find yourself in Texas with a true giant on the line, TPWD encourages anglers to connect with the Toyota ShareLunker Program. Largemouth bass weighing at least eight pounds or measuring 24 inches can be entered for recognition and prizes, while fish weighing 13 pounds or more during the spawning season are eligible for donation into the selective breeding program. Anglers with a qualifying 13-pound bass can call or text the ShareLunker hotline at 903-681-0550 for immediate assistance. Participants don’t just earn a place in the record books, they help strengthen trophy bass genetics across Texas and improve fishing opportunities for future anglers.

Feature Image via Toyota ShareLunker Program - TPWD.

Winter is a hard time to be an angler. Unless you’re super into ice fishing or can afford a guided trip to a tropical climate, for the most part, we look at the coldest season of the year as something that must simply be endured. Locked in a cold, gray haze that reflects the weather, we sit and wait for spring by staring longingly out the window like a dog waiting for its master to come home because it desperately needs to be let out. It doesn’t have to be this way, because even in the darkest part of winter, you can still go trout fishing.

While warmwater species like bass, catfish, and walleye are extremely sluggish and can be tough to get ahold of during the winter, coldwater species like trout remain fairly active and willing to feed. However, just because trout are active during the winter, it doesn’t mean that the same baits, lures, and flies, and the same fishing techniques you use during the spring and summer are going to work. Catching trout during the winter is a unique but worthwhile challenge where you can catch a hell of a lot of fish, so long as you keep a few specific things in mind.

Going fishing on the right day is absolutely vital to winter trout fishing success. Although the fish will feed and remain active in cold weather, there are still days and even times of day when they are more willing to play. In fact, when the weather is too cold or when conditions are too rough, trout will lock up their jaws and lie on the bottom without eating anything until conditions improve. So, to be consistently successful with winter trout, you’ve got to keep your eye on the weather channel and learn to pick your battles.

During the winter, trout will be most active on warmer, blue sky days when their prey is more active and available. This not only includes insects like midges and stoneflies, but also baitfish, which will be moving and feeding on microorganisms brought to the surface by the sunlight. Try to go fishing on clear, bright days when air temperatures are in the mid-30s or warmer, and you’ll have a much better chance of hooking up with winter trout.

Low-pressure systems and weather like snow and rain can also cause trout to shut down during the winter. However, right before these systems move in and right after they move out, trout will often gorge themselves on any food source they can find, so fishing right before a weather system moves in or right after it moves out can dramatically increase your chances of catching a ton of winter trout.

In the winter, trout also tend to be more active during the warmest part of the day. So, while rising early and staying late can catch you more fish during the spring and summer, sleeping in during the winter and fishing in the late morning and afternoon is often the better bet. Winter trout tend to have short bursts of feeding activity during these times, so if you’re fishing for several days in a row, you can figure out the windows when the fish are more active and fish accordingly.

While we all believe in the theory of big baits catching big fish, during the winter when trout are sluggish, it’s often the smaller baits, lures, and flies that draw the most attention. This is due to the trout’s metabolism slowing down during the winter, meaning that they require less food to meet their caloric needs. Of course, this doesn’t mean that they’ll absolutely refuse to eat a large meal, but generally winter trout prefer to eat large amounts of smaller, easy-to-catch prey.

If you’re a bait angler, try using small chunks of worms or even maggots like you would when ice fishing for panfish. These smaller baits will better imitate the food winter trout are actually targeting, rather than trying to trigger them to feed on something larger. Small minnows can also be a good choice during the winter, especially if you’re targeting larger, more predatory trout.

Lures for winter trout fishing should also be small and easy for a trout to catch. Instead of fishing the larger in-line spinners, jerkbaits, and spoons you would during spring or summer, try using smaller, more subtle lures like ACME Phoebe and Panther Martin, and you’re almost guaranteed to get into more fish. Small, soft-plastic lures designed for panfish like crappie and bluegill are also great options. Some of my favorites include the Cajun Critter and the Pan Candy, as well as insect imitations like the Clam Maki and the Z-Man Larvae.

Winter fly anglers should likewise choose some of the smallest fly patterns they can find. If you’re nymphing, patterns like the Zebre Midge and the Lightening Bug make for excellent options, while dry fly anglers should use petite patterns like Griffiths Gnat and CDC Midge. Streamers can also catch a lot of winter trout, but try and stick to smaller patterns like the Woolly Bugger, Muddler Minnow, and Flash Zonker, rather than the larger articulated streamer patterns you’d use in the spring and fall.

Successful winter trout fishing often means making your baits and lures look as natural as possible. While this includes not using baits in gaudy colors or of outlandish sizes, it also means fishing them at natural speeds and depths. While there are several ways to do this, the easiest and most efficient way to make your baits, lures, and flies look natural is to drift them along in the current.

Drift fishing is always an efficient way to catch trout, but is especially effective during the winter. In cold water, trout are incredibly sluggish and usually hold in calm areas, waiting for food to drift by in the main current. You can imitate this natural food by drifting your baits, lures, or flies beneath a bobber or strike indicator so that they move through the water at the same speed as the current.

If you’re using bait or lures, you can set up a drift fishing rig quite easily using a pencil float, a couple of split shots, and a barrel swivel. Simply attach the barrel swivel to your line and then tie a second length of fishing line to the other end that’s long enough to allow your bait to drift a few inches above the bottom. Next, attach a pencil float or bobber to the line above the swivel and then add a small split shot 3 to 6 inches to the line below the bobber, which will help keep your line completely vertical in the water. Finally, add your bait or lure to the bottom of the line along with a second small split shot 2 to 4 inches above the bait to help keep everything near the bottom.

Drift fishing with a spinning or baitcasting rod is best done by casting your rig into the water and then opening the bait or setting the reel to free spool so that the current can freely take line. Allow the bait to drift along with the current for as long as you can and then quickly close the bail or turn the handle and set the hook anytime you see the bobber vanish, dunk, or hesitate.

Fly anglers can also be incredibly efficient at drift fishing by using a strike indicator and a longer leader that is half again the length of the depth of water. Attach your fly to the bottom of the leader and your indicator to the top where the leader meets the fly line. Then cast the rig into the current and make a sharp upstream mend to allow your flies to sink towards the bottom. Once this is done, allow the fly to drift and add distance by pulling excess line off the reel and mending it back into the drift until you’ve drifted the fly through all the water that you can reach.

Just like in the summer when trout are concentrating in deeper holes and springs as they seek colder water, winter trout will also gather in specific areas of the river where water temps are comfortable for them. Generally, this means trout will gather in areas with warmer water, concentrating in deeper areas with more consistent temperatures or in shallower areas where light penetration will warm the water much faster. Both these deeper and shallower areas are fantastic spots to find winter trout, so long as you fish them during the right times and under the right conditions.

During cold snaps or on darker, cloudier days, trout will move into deeper water where currents are moving at or slower than a walking pace. They’ll hold in these spots either near the very center of the pool, or in the deepest water they can find that’s immediately adjacent to logs, rocks, and other structures that provide easy breaks in the current. These spots are ideal for drift fishing as well as soaking bait on the bottom, as the trout will hug the bottom and only feed on baits presented right off their noses.

Shallow, slightly faster water makes for ideal spots during bright sunny days or extended warm fronts where water temperatures have risen dramatically. Look for trout in these shallow areas around the bases of rapids and riffles where the water is highly oxygenated, and food items like insect larvae and baitfish are often caught up in the current. You can also find fish along the shallow edges of deep holes as the more active trout move in and out of the shallows to feed.

With their metabolisms running on idle in the cold water, winter trout are looking for prey that moves slowly and is easy to catch. While this makes drift fishing an ideal technique, if you’re an angler who likes a bit more action, you can still catch a lot of winter trout by casting and retrieving lures and flies as you would in the spring, summer, and fall—you just have to be willing to slow things down.

The perfect lures for winter trout fishing are any that can be paused or completely stopped in the current without sinking to the bottom. Additionally, as winter trout are often in search of an easy meal, lures that imitate wounded or dying baitfish are also especially effective. This makes jerkbaits like the Husky Jerk or Flicker Shad ideal winter trout lures as they can be paused and jerked in the current while still being fished on an incredibly slow retrieve. Other effective winter trout lures include soft plastics like the Super Fluke and Slug-Go, which can be fished without weight on a simple hook and then drifted and twitched through the current.

Fly anglers using streamers can also have a lot of luck so long as they fish with unweighted, neutrally buoyant patterns. This can include small streamers like the Zonker and Black Ghost, as well as larger patterns like the Deceiver and Yard Sale. You can fish these flies for winter trout by casting them upstream and then allowing them to drift with the current, adding in small jerks and quick pulsing strips as you retrieve them back towards you.

In addition to stripping, you can also swing these streamers slowly across the current as if you were Spey fishing. Cast your streamers down and across the river at a 45-degree angle and then make a steep upstream mend, which will add slack to your line and allow your flies to sink. Once the line tightens again, you can guide the flies across the current with your rod tip, maintaining a slow, continuous speed until they come to rest directly downstream or are struck by a hungry fish.

The way I see it, anglers have two options for winter. We can either endure it and wait for spring, or we can enjoy the unique and challenging fishing opportunities that come along with the cold. Winter trout fishing is more than just a way to catch a fish when other species aren’t available; it’s a way to experience the river and fishing on a whole new level.

When you’re trout fishing during the winter, you get to experience all the calm, serene beauty of the river in a way you may not have ever noticed in the rolling chaos of summer. The water flows in an almost silent dance in the sun, reflecting the still and muffled beauty of the coldest season. It’s a calm and healing experience that takes all the pent-up feelings and caged desire you have just waiting for spring inside the house and releases them into a world of sparkling water and bright, beautiful trout, known only to those brave enough to hit the water and enjoy the season for what it is.

Steven Rinella talks with author of The Loves Of Theodore Roosevelt and CEO of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, Ed O'Keefe. Joined by Randall Williams, Phil Taylor, and Corinne Schneider.

Topics discussed: The ladies in Teddy's life; being a sickly child and powering through pain; hunting to study; a tremendous taxidermy collection; a family that founded so many museums; sisters as advisors and confidants; a life-altering Valentine's Day tragedy; when a thick manuscript in your front jacket pocket stops a bullet and saves your life; being the first president to embrace women's suffrage and the right to own property; one of the most beloved in American history; and more. 

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This week, Cal tackles a proposal to roll back environmental regulations, a poacher who tried to import an endangered sheep from Pakistan, and whether we can solve the housing crisis by selling federal public land.

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Beavers are an animal that notoriously get a lot of press. However, more often than not, it's negative press. Their damming everything up, they're causing floods, they're a nuisance, and so on- that's what we normally hear when beavers show up in conversation. Well in today's episode of Backwoods university, we're going to look at beavers in a very different light by learning about two stories. One took places back in the 1940s, one is still playing out in present time, and both of them involve beavers being the hero of the story.

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Can claiming a hunting addiction keep you out of prison for wildlife crimes? A man from Sacramento, California, recently tested out the argument before a federal judge, after being convicted for smuggling an endangered Ladakh urial sheep home from a Pakistani hunting trip.

“When I hear the word addiction, it seems to refer to drugs, alcohol, or gambling,” defendant Jason Keith Bruce wrote in a letter to a U.S. District Judge, obtained by SF Gate. “But I have definitely felt a deep compulsion about hunting, so much that I see it clouds my decisions.”

The plea didn’t hold up, and Bruce was sentenced to six months in prison, followed by two years of supervised release and an $85,000 fine—all for one count of conspiracy, dating back to 2016.

That was the year when Bruce first began making plans with Pakistani hunting guide Pir Danish Ali (who appears to be the CEO of an outfit called Indus Safari) to forge documents in order to hunt the rare Ladakh urial sheep. Only about 180 of the sheep remain in Pakistan, and they are generally illegal to hunt. Some exceptions exist for traditional purposes, but a sport-hunt by a California man clearly isn’t one of them. Furthermore, it’s illegal to export the sheep from Pakistan, and also illegal under US law to import them.

Despite that, Bruce’s plans came to fruition a year later, when he shot the sheep on a 2017 hunting trip. According to a court press release, Bruce reportedly paid Ali $50,000 to hunt the animal. But it wasn’t until a return trip to Pakistan in 2018 that he attempted to bring the sheep home, along with seven other sheep—of other species—that he had legally shot over the course of several previous hunting trips to the country.

According to the Sacramento Bee, Bruce declared to Customs and Border Protection agents at the San Francisco International Airport that his Ladakh urial sheep was actually a Punjab urial sheep. However, the agents were suspicious of the sheer number of animals Bruce was importing at one time.

By that point, Bruce knew he was in hot water. In Facebook messages obtained by the court between Bruce and Ali, the outfitter reportedly said, “We should have thought of that,” and suggested that Ali tell the agents he shot all the animals out of a big herd.

Ali also tossed around the idea of pretending to call the US Fish and Wildlife Service on behalf of the regional Pakistani wildlife department, and even counterfeiting a Ladakh urial sheep carcass to make it appear that the animal never left Pakistan. Finally, Bruce told Ali to delete all the emails and messages the two had sent each other, but the damage had already been done.

Bruce’s sentence was handed down in early February, despite his hunting addiction plea. Still, the sentence was relatively lenient compared to what it could’ve been. Had the judge brought down the full weight of the law, Bruce could have faced five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Additionally, Pir is named as a co-defendant in the case, but is yet to face trial, and would likely have to be extradited from Pakistan for that to happen.

Beyond Bruce, the case also brought to light a slew of other, similar crimes committed by Pir’s outfitting business. According to the court, 25 hunters forged documents to import 97 trophies into the United States between 2013 and 2018, with the help of Pir. It’s unclear if US wildlife authorities will pursue legal action against those hunters. But if they do, the hunters might need to hone up on their excuses. “Hunting addiction” is apparently not a valid one.

This week's episode discusses a two-hundred-year-old fable about coon hunting in Arkansas and a seemingly impossible task. The lessons are flying around like the monkeys in The Wizard of Oz. Get comfortable and check out what's happening on MeatEater's "This Country Life" podcast.

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Hosts Spencer Neuharth, Randall Williams, and Seth Morris interview Sgt. Ian Van Nest about life as a conservation officer in the "Polar Bear Capital of the World," key into some listener Hot Tips, revisit 2018's The Legacy of a Whitetail Deer Hunter in the MeatEater Movie Club, and chat with cheesemonger Emilia D'Albero about taking home a different kind of Olympic gold medal.

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A couple weeks ago, my daughters and I made the drive to southern Minnesota for a weekend of shed hunting. Usually by the third week of February, I expect most of the antlers to be on the ground in my neck of the woods, so I figured out timing was about perfect.

The forecast called for cold and windy weather, but the snow cover seemed like it was going to be minimal at most. Unfortunately, a small snowstorm that must have sat over the property we were headed to rolled through the day before we arrived.

Three inches of fresh powder coated everything in the woods, and I knew as soon as we got there that we were probably going to pivot to mostly a winter scouting mission. Even on a private dairy farm, with a pretty good-sized herd of deer wintering on it, that snow and the fickle gods of shed hunting conspired against us.

We blanked, which is way more common than it should be when it comes to shed hunting. I hear about it a lot from people who are surprised they can’t find more antlers, but just like actual deer hunting success, the perception of shed hunting has been skewed hard by the folks who have access to really good ground. If you don’t, you’ll probably get a reality check.

Before I had kids, I shed hunted a lot. And when I say a lot, I mean a stupid amount. I also had a golden retriever at the time that I had trained to find antlers, so I had some extra horsepower with me. The winters when Lux and I put on real miles, we found antlers. But mostly, we didn’t. I figured it out one year, where I ended up with six sheds, and realized that I averaged one antler for every three weeks of hard effort.

Now, this was on properties in the Twin Cities with a stupid amount of competition, but that’s still a lot of squeezing for very little juice. Today, my results are much worse because there are so many more people out looking for antlers. It’s the way things are, and if you expect to stack up the sheds on public land in a place with any amount of people, I have bad news for you.

You’re going to have to put in the miles, and even then, you’re not likely to set any records. The only caveat there is that sometimes, at least here in the north country, where we might get consistent snow all season, is that when the spring melt does happen, you can have some really good days because the bulk of the antler drop will be suddenly available to everyone at the same time.

Without that snow cover, which is the reality in a hell of a lot of places deer live, you’re going to have to burn some serious boot leather. Even then, you might have something else working against you.

One of the reasons people like to shed hunt fields, aside from the easy walking, is because it’s so easy to see antlers in them. This is true in hayfields, alfalfa, cut beanfields, and many other types of destination ag fields. Walk a chopped or chisel-plowed cornfield, and then it’s often just not that easy, considering how many stalks look like antlers, and how few antlers there are compared to corn stalks.

Step into the woods, and it often gets far more difficult. This is especially true if you don’t find very many antlers. You have to train your eyes to pick up the subtle clue that what’s lying in the brush 10 yards away isn’t another stick, but a tine.

This is no different from sight fishing smallies, looking for morels during turkey season, or glassing up a bedded mule deer in the breaks—you need practice. Humans are pattern recognition machines, but not when the pattern isn’t something we encounter very often.

Going slow, glassing, and checking out everything that even remotely might be an antler is a way to train yourself to almost subconsciously recognize that you noticed a main beam while scanning the timber during hour four of a shed-less walk. Simply put, one of the reasons shed hunting seems so hard sometimes is because we are so good at not seeing them.

One thing that winter does well is preserve droppings and tracks. This often gives us a false read on recent deer activity. You want to shed hunt bedding areas, food sources, and trails that deer actively used when they were most likely to drop. You don’t just want to hit the food source they filled up with droppings in December, but hasn’t had three calories left for them since Christmas.

We tend to default to obvious food sources, easy-to-walk trails, and open woods. We also tend to find deer sign in these places, which further solidifies our belief that there are antlers to be found where we want to shed hunt the most.

Again, if you do what most people do, it’ll be just like hunting public land deer: you’ll fail. Part of the reason that shed hunting is way harder than we expect is because we want it to be simple and easy. It can be if you have a good spot, but mostly you’re going to have to wade through some thorns and go where some people won’t. The good news is that if you do, you’re very likely to find the kind of fresh sign you’re really looking for, and with that fresh sign comes hope.

Sometimes that’s all a shed hunter can ask for.