By SUMMER LINDELIEN AND JOHN CIMBARO
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) created the Black Bass Management Plan in 2011. The goal of the plan is to ensure Florida is the undisputed Bass Fishing Capital of the World and, to that end, called for creating a trophy bass documentation and release program.
The program became a reality the next year as TrophyCatch, which rewards anglers who provide documentation of their catch and release of Florida bass and largemouth bass weighing eight pounds and heavier in Florida, was launched.
Anglers can be eligible for prizes from industry partners such as Bass Pro Shops and others by submitting photos or videos of their catch to TrophyCatch.com, showing the entire fish and its weight on a scale, before releasing the bass back into the water. FWC biologists then use TrophyCatch data for bass research to inform management decisions about Florida bass fisheries and to promote the catch and release of trophy bass.
“TrophyCatch provides a scale of data collection we could never achieve through traditional sampling alone,” said Jason Dotson, section leader of freshwater fisheries research for FWC’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute. “Anglers across the state are helping us monitor Florida bass populations in real time, giving our researchers deeper insight into growth, survival, and long-term trends in our fisheries.”
Since the inception of TrophyCatch, 91,546 anglers from all 50 states and several other countries have registered for the program. The citizen-science efforts of those who have shared their catch data have helped biologists and stakeholders understand more about trophy bass in Florida. Cumulatively, 16,615 Florida bass weighing eight pounds or more have been approved for the program. Of those fish, the biggest, which are more than 13 pounds and in the Hall of Fame Club, account for 168 catches.
Bass that manage to achieve trophy status are rarer, and they are less frequently encountered during biological sampling. In fact, citizen scientists who participate in TrophyCatch collectively sample 10 times as many trophy bass annually as the traditional sampling technique electrofishing, where fish are temporarily stunned to collect data. TrophyCatch is providing vital data.
All trophy bass encountered during electrofishing receive a reward tag, which is used to help evaluate the success of the TrophyCatch program. Since 2011, FWC has tagged 1,879 trophy-sized bass across 176 waterbodies and annual angler catch rates for the tagged bass are about 20-25 percent. TrophyCatch awareness and participation have significantly increased through time, and the release rates of trophy-sized bass have significantly increased since program inception, highlighting the popularity and success of TrophyCatch.
As the popular program continues into its 14th season, more than 10 years of catch data and other biological information about trophy bass has been compiled. One of the most interesting trends FWC has tracked is the number of catches by month. The data shows that the most trophy bass approved for the program have been caught during March and February, respectively. These months tend to overlap with the peak spawn for bass in Florida. Spawning can start as early as December in the southern part of the state, and bass can continue to spawn multiple times throughout the year across Florida.
Some of the biggest fish are more vulnerable to being caught during spawning season when they enter shallow water to build their beds and lay their eggs. Some anglers have learned to target these individuals using electronics to find and mark nests to fish for the larger females. Even if females are not on nests, they are likely patrolling the areas near males to find their best match, so they can still be seen and targeted during the time when they are carrying eggs and have attained their heaviest weight prior to releasing those eggs during spawning.
Focusing on the very biggest bass — those Hall of Fame bass weighing 13 pounds and more — some key counties come out on top. Alachua County produced the most approved Hall of Fame catches in the state (28 out of 168), with Clay County coming in a close second (23).
In 2024, TrophyCatch migrated to a new website that allows anglers to hide their catch location to the county level, allowing them to keep their specific fishing location confidential. This was a direct response to angler feedback and requests over the years. Of the water bodies with publicly shared locations, Orange Lake and Kingsley Lake have the most approved catches weighing 13 pounds or heavier. The data shows that anglers should target the north central and northeast regions of Florida if they are hedging their bets on catching the biggest of the big, with Alachua, Clay, Putnam and Marion counties accounting for 51 percent of all TrophyCatch Hall of Fame catches. Polk and Citrus counties also each include 12 Hall of Fame catches.
One of the topics that generates lively discussion when someone says they caught a trophy bass is whether they used natural bait or an artificial lure. So, what does the data tell us? According to FWC data, for Hall of Fame Club bass, 53 percent were caught with an artificial lure, while 47 percent were caught with natural baits. Further analysis conducted on the first 100 Hall of Fame bass submitted to the program (called the Hall of Fame 100 survey) dove deeper into the types of artificial lures that catch the most Hall of Fame Club bass. The data demonstrated that plastic worms have accounted for 41 percent of the 13-pound or heavier bass in the TrophyCatch dataset. All soft plastics together accounted for 71 percent of the largest catches.
“The information gained through TrophyCatch directly shapes on-the-ground management and strengthens our engagement with anglers,” said Tom Graef, director of FWC’s Division of Freshwater Fisheries Management. “When anglers participate, they’re not only catching trophy bass but also contributing to the stewardship and future of Florida’s world-class fisheries.”
Since its inception more than a decade ago, TrophyCatch has provided not only a wealth of data for FWC fisheries’ biologists, but also a marketing windfall for promoting Florida bass fishing. The program is cited routinely in top fishing lists such as Bassmaster’s 100 Best Bass Lakes, and in national and state fishing magazines from Florida Sportsman to Outdoor Life. This innovative program represents a win-win scenario for anglers being rewarded for documenting their catch, bass released to swim and spawn again, and resource managers to be better informed about Florida’s favorite freshwater fish — all on the way to ensuring Florida remains the Bass Fishing Capital of the World.
Summer Lindelien is an Assistant Research Scientist and John Cimbaro is a Biological Scientist at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission
