Florida-April 6, 2022: The cat is out of the bag – rather, the fish is out of the net!
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) has revealed all 10 freshwater locations across the state where pink-tagged bass worth big prizes are swimming right now.
To celebrate season 10 of the TrophyCatch program, FWC biologists tagged 10 trophy-sized largemouth bass with bright pink tags and their secret fishing locations have now been divulged. Each angler that catches anddocuments a pink-tagged bass will score a $5,000 gift card to Bass Pro Shops, $1,000 to shop at AFTCO, with a chance to win an additional $10,000!
Industry partners and fishing professionals including Shaw Grigsby and Kristine Fischer helped promote this unique opportunity with “hint" and "reveal" videos for the 10 mystery waters over the past month. The final two locations were revealed Tuesday, April 5.
“Our freshwater biologists tagged 10 huge bass across the state – just about everyone is within a day-trip’s distance to fish for one of these tagged bass from a boat, kayak or even the bank. Now comes the fun part for anglers!” said KP Clements, Director of FWC’s TrophyCatch program. "Get out there and catch one! Tag, you're it!”
Help grow the TrophyCatch program and become a citizen-scientist angler
FWC’s TrophyCatch program is a valuable tool for FWC’s freshwater fisheries research and management. It provides reward incentives to encourage anglers to catch, release and report trophy-sized (weighing 8 pounds or more) largemouth bass in Florida. The program develops public-private partnerships to protect trophy bass, promote fishing and support fisheries conservation programs.
TrophyCatch anglers with approved bass receive rewards from program partners while FWC biologists learn more about producing and sustaining the best trophy bass fishery in the world.
Visit the 10-tag webpage on the TrophyCatch website for the list of all 10 waterbodies and for rules on how to participate in the season 10 promotion.