Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 31, 1993 TAG: 9302010012
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D13 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
10-POUND BASS TICKET TO CLUB
Catching a largemouth bass that weighs 10 pounds or more will gain an angler instant recognition from his peers. Now it also can be the ticket to a prestigious new club.It is called the "IGFA 10 Pound Bass Club," and it is operated by the International Game Fish Association, which is the keeper of world fish records.
The new club is in response to the tremendous interest in freshwater bass fishing in North and South America and elsewhere, said Mike Leech, IGFA president. In the United States, alone, there are more than 16 million bass anglers, he said.
So where to cast for a jumbo bass? Florida, California, Mexico?
Those are all candidates, but be aware that last year in Virginia 43 fishermen reported catching a largemouth that weighed 10 pounds or more, according to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries trophy fish citation program.
The largest was reported from an unlikely spot, Staunton Dam Reservoir, a 23-acre impoundment in the George Washington National Forest where bank fishing only is permitted.
The fish weighed 15 pounds, 7 ounces and was landed by Cecil Welcher of Bridgewater, who was casting a combination of a live shiner and nightcrawler. The 28 1/2-inch bass was less than a pound off the state record, a 16-pound, 4-ounce largemouth taken from Lake Conner, March 16, 1985, by Richard Tate of Ringgold.
The biggest producer of jumbo-size bass in Virginia are small lakes and ponds, many of them nameless and overlooked by fishermen who buzz by trailering an 18-foot bass boat in a hurry to reach some distant major impoundment. Last season, these shimmering treasurers accounted for more than one-third of Virginia's big-bass catches.
"A lot of the farm ponds aren't fished much and they are out of the way, so they will have one or two big bass in them," said A.L. LaRoche III, regional fisheries manager for the game and fish department.
As for public impoundments, Briery Creek Lake, rapidly established itself last season as the place to go catch a 10-pound bass. The 845-acre, state-owned facility near Farmville, had five 10-pound plus fish on the 1992 citation list. Four of these weighed more than 11 1/2 pounds. The largest was an 11-pound, 15-ounce trophy caught by Wade Wright of Lynchburg.
"I personally think there were over five bass that weighed more than 10 pounds," said Bill Kittrell, a biologist who manages the lake for the game and fish department.
Kittrell keeps his own informal list of trophy bass, which showed seven in excess of 10 pounds. The largest on this unofficial list was a 13-pound, 4-ounce giant caught by a Richmond angler who Kittrell said avoids publicity in an effort not to draw undue attention to Briery Creek.
Lake Anna, Lake Chesdin and Lake Conner each had three bass on the citation list that weighed 10 pounds or more. Western Branch Lake had two.
Since both Briery Creek and Conner were stocked with Florida-strain largemouth bass, the question is certain to be raised as to what impact this has had on the big bass catches.
The Florida bass are esteemed for their exceptional growth and long life span in Florida and California, but that might not be the case in Virginia, LaRoche said. A study of Briery Creek recently completed by the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences at Virginia Tech revealed that winter die-off appears to be a major problem in the Old Dominion.
What's more, the widespread stocking of Florida bass could do more harm than good by introducing maladaptive cold-tolerance genes into the fishery, the study said. Additional research was recommended.
Some of the jumbo-size bass caught last season from Briery Creek actually may predate the impoundment and the first stocking of Florida bass in 1986, said Kittrell. One 11-pound 15-ounce bass was determined to be a member of the 1985 year class, which meant it likely was a bass living in a beaver pond prior to the impounding of Briery Creek. Several 8- to 10-pound bass, however, came from the 1986 year class, he said.
Some of the largemouths now lurking in Briery Creek are Florida bass-northern bass hybrids, LaRoche said. It will take additional studies to determine the role - if any - Florida bass stockings will play in Virginia, he said. Until then, it is unlikely there will be additional stockings.
Much of the credit for Briery Creek's big bass goes to the fact that the lake has offered a rich habitat of food and cover for fish.
"I expect there will be some even larger bass caught, but I'm not going to speculate on breaking the state record," said Kittrell. "Some fishermen are learning how to catch the big ones, and more of the fish themselves are getting up into the trophy range."
Unlike Lake Conner, which has produced most of its big bass during cold-weather months, trophies from Briery Creek have occurred across the calendar, many during bright, sunny days. This has led Kittrell to call it a "fair-weather fishery."
For a bass to reach trophy size, it somehow must get the jump on others of its age class, and it must have the opportunity to live 8 to 12 years, LaRoche said.
"It has to have escaped the hook numerous times or be thrown back when caught," he said. "Catch and release certainly helps. With the catch-and-release efforts of the 80s, I expect to see a lot more big fish caught."
Bass fishermen won't have to kill their catch to be eligible for the IGFA 10 Pound Club. Bass may be weighed in the boat, photographed and released alive.
For any angler feeling lucky, a 10 Pound Bass Club application form and IGFA rule book is available for $1 from IGFA, 1301 East Atlantic Blvd., Pompano Beach, Florida 33060.