I am an avid Catch and Release angler but sometimes it helps to do a little more. Last week I got to participate in a Largemouth bass stocking program on Back Bay, located in Southern Virginia Beach. Back Bay was once a world class fishery but since the early eighties it has declined immensely. Some say it has been over-fished, others say its pollution, and other blame the pumping of seawater into the bay to curb Hydrilla. Ether way its not a fishy as it was. But things are getting better, for the last three years the Virginia Dept. of Game and Inland Fisheries has put 125,000 “Tiger Bass” fingerlings back into selected areas of Back Bay. Electro-fishing and seining of the selected areas are showing a strong return of both hatchery and wild fish, and Biologist are very Happy with the results. And so am I!
