To celebrate Season 10 of the TrophyCatch program, biologists with FWC have tagged and released 10 largemouth bass with bright pink tags in 10 different locations across the state. If caught, one tag could be worth thousands of dollars in prizes.

As TrophyCatch heads into the last months of Season 10 and the 10-Tag Celebration, eight more prized fish are still swimming in Florida lakes and the FWC is offering clues about where to find them. These new tagging maps of the remaining lakes could lead lucky anglers to the pink-tagged bass.

Through Florida bass telemetry and tagging studies, FWC biologists have found that where a largemouth bass is tagged and released can frequently coincide with where an angler catches the same bass weeks, months or even years later. Based on these patterns in bass behavior, TrophyCatch is releasing “tag zone” maps for the remaining eight waterbodies, showing the areas where the prized bass were tagged and could potentially be caught.

Dale Dew, who caught the first 10-Tag bass, was within yards of where the fish was released with its pink tag in Lake Griffin. Of course, these hints come with a caveat: while bass can be predictable, there are many exceptions to their typical home range patterns and some bass are not homebodies at all. In contrast to Dew’s catch, the second reported 10-Tag bass was caught by RJ Crawford in Newnans Lake over three miles away from where it was tagged. Thus, these new hints don’t eliminate water in which a 10-Tag bass might be found but should be treated as higher-probability areas. View each of the ranges on the maps located on the 10-Tag Celebration web page. Let’s see how many can be found!

For general waterbody information, fishing forecasts, virtual tours, plant control operation schedules and annual workplans, boat ramp information, and more, visit the “What’s Happening on My Lake” website at MyFWC.com/Lake. To learn about top destinations to go freshwater fishing, go to MyFWC.com/Fishing, click on “Freshwater Fishing” and select “Fishing Forecasts.” You can learn more about FWC stocking programs by visiting MyFWC.com/fishing, clicking on “Freshwater Fishing” and then “Fish Stocking.”