Thursday, April 14, 2005
Briery Creek still turning out big bass, but is there a cloud on the horizon?
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
As long as I can remember, catching an 8-pound largemouth bass has been an accomplishment that will set you apart from other fishermen. It will win you praise from fellow anglers and earn you trophy-fish recognition from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
But if you want to bask in the glory of having reeled in an 8-pounder, make the catch somewhere other than Briery Creek Lake. The bass there are so big that 8-pounders hardly merit a second glance. Accolades are reserved for fish that are 10 pounds or more.
No other lake or stream that I am aware of in Virginia, or even in the mid-Atlantic, produces so many huge largemouth bass. DGIF biologists don’t know the full count, but estimate that the take may be as many as 400 annually. Most of them are spring catches -- right now is the time to go.
We are talking about a public lake, near Farmville, that’s only 845 acres. Anglers at Briery Creek registered 77 citation largemouth bass last season, fish that were a minimum of 8 pounds or 22 inches. Nearly one-quarter weighed 10-pounds or more. The largest was a 13-pound, 6-ounce trophy taken by Joseph Getz of Cartersville. It was an August 1 catch. No telling what it would have weighed in a pre-spawn condition.
“Last year was great and big ones were caught year-round,” said Vic DiCenzo, who manages the lake’s fishery for the DGIF. “And fishing should be great this spring.”
The past week, Briery Creek produced a couple of 9-pounders and earlier in the season a 12.5-pounder.
How does Briery Creek keep on going and going and going? Will the extended honeymoon of great bass fishing ever end?
That is a question I have been asking since that first day I fished it in the spring of 1989. The lake was open to fishing that year in January.
Most lakes have a flurry of excellent fishing the first several years of existence, then the action levels out. Briery has remained on a peak.
Just why that is the case generally is credited to four things: In 1986 and 87, just after it was impounded, the lake was stocked with 127,500 Florida-strain bass. Florida bass are reputed to grow faster and live longer than the Northern strain that is native to Virginia.
Briery Creek has gobs of cover, and that’s another reason often given for its success as a bass factory. It is similar to a Deep South impoundment with gray hulks of hardwoods and pines protruding from the water. There is an abundance of roots, logs and limbs to attract baitfish and provide places for bass to call home.
No where else that I am aware of do anglers release so many of the huge bass they catch, and that’s a third consideration for its success. One DGIF survey revealed that nearly 75 percent of the citation bass are released. Some are 10-pound-pluss bass.
Finally, the lake has been under restrictive regulations, including a demanding 14-to 24-inch slot limit. Only one bass over 24 inches can be kept. The tough regulations appear to be working.
“The slot change that went into effect in 2001 is really noticeable,” said DiCenzo. “Anglers catch more 16- to 20- inch fish than anywhere I have seen. Since those fish are protected, it will be exciting to see how many make it to citation size.”
But not everything is coming up roses at Briery Creek. “We have some strange things going on down here,” said DiCenzo. Among them are three successive poor year of bass reproduction. “The effects of these past three spawns won’t be noticed by the anglers yet,” he said. But that might not be the case in future years.
A major Virginia Tech study is underway in an effort to see if the recent poor spawns or something else might be looming as a concern in the future. “Briery is such an incredible resource that we need to do everything we can to see if there is a problem,” said DiCenzo. Included in the study will be the nearby and less known Sandy River Reservoir.
The study will address the dynamics of the early life history of bass, the competition and predation bass share with other species and the intense fishing pressure. It will involve lots of field work and will be under the direction of Dr. John Ney, a Tech scientist whose researched has impacted several impoundments in Virginia.
Briery Creek Lake is reached off U.S. 460 at Farmville by turning south on U.S. 15 for about 5.5 miles. Along with largemouth bass, the lake contains an impressive population of crappie and redear sunfish which reach citation size. No outboard engines greater than 10 horsepower are permitted on the lake. Some anglers launch bass boats, put their outboard in the tilt position and maneuver with their electric motor. Live minnows are a popular bait. Productive lures include spinnerbaits, softbaits, Pop-Rs, buzzbaits and jointed Red Fins.
