By Alex McCrickard/DWR
The Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) is tasked with managing freshwater fisheries across the state of Virginia using best available science. DWR biologists utilize a variety of fisheries
Of particular interest to Virginia anglers are the numbers of citation largemouth bass that are caught annually from public waterbodies throughout the state.
Largemouth bass must be a minimum of 22 inches long to be a length citation and 8 pounds to be a weight citation. You can receive a citation for either length, weight, or both. Regardless, these are large bass. Below are the top five waterbodies by total numbers of largemouth bass citations from 2024.
Smith Mountain Lake: 24
Briery Creek Lake: 11
Lake Burton: 8
Sandy River Reservoir: 7
Lake Anna: 5
1. Smith Mountain Lake might be best known for its trophy striped bass fishery, but anglers
searching for trophy largemouth bass should not overlook this top destination. Smith Mountain Lake ranked as the #1 waterbody for citation largemouth bass
with 24 trophy fish being caught and entered into the OVARP in 2024. This scenic
impoundment is large, at 20,600 acres, and located in Bedford
and Franklin counties. Smith Mountain Lake provides deeper water habitat in addition to
rock shoals, submerged brush piles, fallen trees, DWR habitat structures, coves, and numerous big points.
2. Coming in at #2 on the ranking, Briery Creek Lake is located within DWR’s Briery Creek Wildlife Management Area in Prince Edward County. This 845-acre lake has long been popular amongst anglers targeting
trophy largemouth bass and 11 citations were caught here in 2024. Regulations on Briery Creek help to support this trophy fishery with a protective slot of
16-24 inches. Bag limits are still five fish per day, but only one can be above 24 inches. Springtime is the best time of year to chase trophy
largemouth bass on Briery Creek.
3. Lake Burton is a 76-acre impoundment located in Pittsylvania County. This small impoundment is owned and
managed by DWR and has been around since 1950. In 2024, a total of eight
citation largemouth bass were caught and entered into the OVARP from Lake Burton, giving it the #3 ranking for top waterbodies by largemouth bass citation numbers.
While this smaller lake does produce some quality-sized largemouth bass, getting them to eat can be a challenge due to the abundant forage base consisting of
gizzard shad and small bluegill. Lake Burton is regulated as a ‘trophy’ largemouth bass regulation which prohibits the harvesting or even retaining
any size largemouth bass.
4. Seven citation largemouth bass were entered into the OVARP
from Sandy River Reservoir in 2024, giving this impoundment
the #4 ranking for producing citations last year. Sandy River
Reservoir is a 740-acre water supply impoundment located in Prince Edward
County just east of Farmville. With construction completed in 1994,
this relatively new impoundment is a scenic resource nestled in the
rolling hills of Virginia’s Piedmont. A variety of habitats support a
robust largemouth bass population including standing timber, submerged
aquatic vegetation, stumps, down trees, flats, and drop-offs.
5. Lake Anna is a 9,600-acre impoundment located in Louisa, Orange, and Spotsylvania counties. A total of five citation largemouth bass were entered into the OVARP from Lake Anna in 2024, giving it the #5 ranking for top waterbodies by largemouth bass citation numbers. With that said, Lake Anna frequently hosts bass fishing tournaments throughout the year and undoubtedly there are more citation fish seen in these tournaments than we may be seeing entered into the OVARP. Lake Anna follows a productivity gradient where the upper portions of the lake above “the splits” are the most productive and the lower portions of the lake near dike 3 are less productive with exceptional water clarity. Anglers can fish for largemouth bass in a variety of habitats from offshore islands, bowls, and drop-offs to rocky shorelines, down woody debris, and submerged aquatic vegetation.
