Anglers registered 5,191 trophy-size fish for Citation awards during the 52nd Annual Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament, which ran from January 1st through December 31st.  This was the tenth year in a row anglers registered at least 5,000 Citations since the Tournament began in 1958.

For the first time in Tournament history, speckled trout accounted for the largest number of Citations among the 35 eligible species.   The 849 speckled trout registered last year represented 16% of all Citations awarded and was the second most ever for the species.  Released speckled trout composed 28 % of the species total.  Among the speckled trout Citations registered for weight, seven speckled trout topped the magic10-pound mark while 45 fish weighed 8 pounds or more.

Offshore anglers found white marlin willing targets in 2009, as bluewater anglers set an all-time mark of 775 whites, accounting for 15% of all Citations.  The previous best was in 1978 when 728 of these acrobatic fish were registered in the Tournament.  White marlin are only eligible for release so all of these beautiful billfish were released.  The season’s first white marlin was caught June 26 but the fishing did not become consistent until mid-July.  All of August and early September produced substantial catches of whites.    What stood out about the 2009 season was some of the very best action occurred the last two weeks of September!  Catches would have been much higher if the summer fishing fleet had been in place.

Only slightly behind white marlin and in third place for 2009, striped bass Citations totaled Continue Reading »