lunker. Today, anglers routinely weigh in
five-fish limits topping the 20-pound
mark. Five-pound fish are commonplace,
and many 8- to 10-pound trophies are
being caught.”
Flicek notes that in a recent Virginia TBF
Open Tournament on the Chickahominy,
the winning team produced a 27.46-pound
limit, with a 9.45-pound kicker taking big
fish of the event.
“At the same tournament, as part of
our ongoing partnership with DGIF, biolo-
gists were on hand during weigh-in to col-
lect data and samples for genetic study on
over 150 Chickahominy largemouth bass,”
he adds.
The project has been so successful that
it has grown to encompass other fisheries,
including Kerr Reservoir, a body of water
Creel surveys conducted at tournament weigh-ins, like this one at the TBF Open event on the
that was recently impacted by the large-
Chickahominy, provide biologists with a wealth of bass data.
mouth bass virus. Flicek also expects the
state chapter’s research efforts to help
our TBF anglers here in Virginia Bass Chapter Federation
combat invasive species such as the northern snakehead.
Region 8 will serve as the test group to prove and improve the
TBF members are also helping develop new software that
application before release to the fishing public. Once it’s ready,
will streamline the creel survey reporting process.
the application could be released statewide.”
“We are currently collecting tournament data manually,”
All projects help fulfill the TBF conservation mission and
says Flicek. “However, an automated process is being devel-
ensure a lasting legacy among bass anglers in the region.
oped to collect data via a downloadable cellphone app, and
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