Virginia Largemouth Bass Stocking

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According to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF), a three-year largemouth bass stocking project in Back Bay will begin in late May of 2012.

Approximately 125,000 fingerling largemouth bass will be stocked in Back Bay for 2012. F-1 hybrid bass were chosen for the initial stocking. The strain is a cross between northern strain largemouth bass and Florida strain largemouth bass. The 1-2 inch bass will be chemically marked which will allow biologists to track the young bass within the waterway.

Back Bay was noted in the late 1970s as one of the top trophy bass fisheries in the nation. The fishery peaked in 1980, when 240 largemouth bass of eight pounds or larger were reported to be caught in the bay.

In recent years, Virginia’s Back Bay has undergone a tremendous recovery, resulting in increased growth of submerged aquatic vegetation (SAV). According to biologists, fish populations have increased in response to habitat improvements.

source: Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (DGIF)