Texas Parks and Wildlife Department will begin accepting entries into the Budweiser ShareLunker Oct. 1.

Anyone who legally catches a 13-pound or bigger largemouth bass from Texas waters, public or private, between Oct. 1 and April 30 may submit the fish to the program by calling David Campbell at (903) 681-0550 or paging him at (888) 784-0600 and leaving a phone number. Fish will be picked up by TPWD personnel within 12 hours.

The fish are used in a selective breeding program at the Texas Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens. Some offspring from these fish are stocked back into the water body from which they were caught. Other ShareLunker offspring are stocked in public waters around the state in an attempt to increase the overall size and growth rate of largemouth bass in Texas.

Anglers who enter fish into the ShareLunker program will receive a free replica of their fish, a certificate and ShareLunker clothing and be recognized at a banquet at the Freshwater Fisheries Center in Athens on June 6, 2009.

In addition, if a Texas angler catches the largest entry of the year, that person will receive a lifetime fishing license.

For more information and rules of the ShareLunker program, see www.tpwd.state.tx.us/sharelunker.