A quick look at the Texas Parks & Wildlife's Facebook Page tells a sad story. You can watch the videos and read the details of the death of several Texas ShareLunkers, documented fish caught at over 13lbs each.

And then you can choose to fish with caution and care for big fish on Lake Texoma.

The bottom line?  Two of five 2015 ShareLunkers suffered and died from broken jaws. Another one was discovered with a broken jaw, but it was still alive when turned back into Sam Rayburn Reservoir.

Any fisherperson can imagine holding a big fish up with pliers, in order to dislodge a hook and return the fish into the lake.  But we don't always think about what we're doing, and how the fish may be injured. Possibly lethally injured.

Fish can die from infections in the broken jaw, or infections that spread throughout the whole system from the original wound.

That's bad enough. But sometimes fish die because a wound keeps them from being able to feed, so they starve to death.

Theres a simple solution, one I hope we'll all keep in mind the next time we land a big one on Lake Texoma. We need to provide 2-hand support for large fish. It's that simple.

Basically, any fish we suspect to weigh at least seven pounds or more should be landed with a net, and then grasped by the lower jaw, and at the same time under the tail.

That's what we need to do once the fish is out of the water, and of course we need to be quick about the hook removal, and keep the fish wet while it's out of the lake. 

Texas Parks and Wildlife cautions against handling any fish too much. That means, take photos quickly and just once. Don't keep any fish out of the water for long periods simply to take multiple photos.

Big fish such as ShareLunkers can be kept alive in live wells or minnow tanks until they are weighed and measured in competitions.

Returning wounded fish back into Lake Texoma is not sportsmanlike. We need to think about it whenever we're lucky enough to catch a big one!