| PROFILE OF A TROPHY LARGEMOUTH BASS FISHERY AT
BRIERY CREEK LAKE, VIRGINIA Dan Wilson,
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, HC 6, Box 46, Farmville, VA 23901
Abstract. The development of a trophy largemouth
bass (Micropterus salmoides) fishery was a primary management objective when Briery
Creek Lake was developed in the mid 1980's. Before impoundment, Briery's limited pool was
renovated with rotenone to remove undesirable species, and standing timber was left in
over half of the lake. This 342 ha Virginia reservoir was stocked with Florida largemouth
bass (FLMB) and northern largemouth bass (NLMB) fingerlings at a ratio of 3:1 in 1986 and
1987. Nearly 400 juvenile largemouth bass were collected from October 1989 through May
1991 and electrophoretically analyzed to determine survival and phenotype ratios.
Forty-nine percent were determined to be first-generation hybrids between NLMB and FLMB
and 27% were second or later generation hybrids, suggesting that founding stocks were not
pure northern or Florida strains. The initial 457 mm minimum size limit on bass was
changed to a 305-381 mm slot limit in 1991 following a stockpiling of intermediate size
bass and a major reduction of sunfish forage. Ninety-two state citations (minimum of 3.6
kg) have been awarded to Briery Creek Lake anglers from 1992-1996, with 23 of these fish
weighing over 5.4 kg. The number of bass citations decreased in 1996 and again in 1997
despite the large quantity of 'trophy hunters' visiting the lake. Sampling has shown a
steady reduction in growth rates from 1990-1996, with a dramatic decline in the sunfish
forage since 1993. A higher slot limit may be proposed in 1998 to further reduce
intermediate size bass and protect the trophy size bass for which Briery has become
famous.
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