On May 22 a lucky Florida angler caught the first pink-tagged bass of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) TrophyCatch 10-Tag Celebration. The TrophyCatch program helps the FWC’s freshwater fisheries research and management. It provides reward incentives to encourage people to catch, release and report trophy-sized (weighing 8 pounds or more) largemouth bass in Florida.
Winner Dale Dew will receive a $5,000 gift card to Bass Pro Shops and $1,000 to shop at AFTCO. This catch also means he has a chance to win an additional $10,000, which will be awarded at a ceremony this fall.
FWC biologists tagged this specific largemouth bass in February on Lake Griffin. Dew caught the fish near the same spot it was tagged, using a plastic worm. Dew is originally from Antiqua and he and his family now live in central Florida. While he was not originally going fishing for the pink tag, he saw a sign about the promotion that day.
“It was the first time we heard about it, and we were like, ‘Whoa what’s this? We aren’t going to catch it. We’re two guys who can’t fish!’” said Dale Dew, the first lucky angler to catch a pink-tagged largemouth bass. “We don’t have all the nice equipment or a nice bass boat but we got lucky and caught it! So, it could be any ordinary person who catches it. You never know, it’s crazy.”
Nine more pink-tagged bass are swimming in other waterbodies across the state:
- Newnans Lake in Alachua County
- Lake George in Putnam & Volusia Counties
- Lake Talquin in Gadsden & Leon Counties
- Lake Walk-in-Water in Polk County
- Tenoroc Fish Management Area in Polk County
- Lake Trafford in Collier County
- Lake Istokpoga in Highlands County
- Lake Rousseau in Levy and Citrus Counties
- Johns Lake in Orange County
Anglers have until the end of September to fish for these special, prized fish. Anglers should check the TrophyCatch website for rules and updates.
To be eligible for prizes, anglers are required to submit photos or videos of their catch to TrophyCatch.com, showing the entire fish and its weight on a scale, before releasing it back into the water. Participants are also automatically entered in a free boat drawing just for registering. FWC biologists use TrophyCatch data for bass research to make informed decisions about the management of Florida bass fisheries and to promote the catch and release of trophy bass. The associated TrophyCare program promotes best handling practices for trophy bass to ensure that each TrophyCatch bass is released alive.
