New Virginia State Record Hybrid Striper Certified

When Joshua Neece, from Dante, Virginia, landed a hybrid striped bass at Flannagan Reservoir that weighed well over 13 pounds, he knew immediately that it was a trophy size fish. He just had no idea that it would soon become the new Virginia state record. Mr. Neece and his father had been fishing with shiners on Flannagan Reservoir in Dickenson County on June 19th, 2013 and had been having a very successful day when the huge hybrid was caught. Mr. Neece was confident that it would qualify for a Virginia Trophy Fish Award and had the fish weighed at a local grocery store and submitted the proper paperwork. The fish certainly qualified for a Trophy Fish Award, but a vigilant Department of Game and Inland Fisheries (VDGIF) staff member in the Richmond Headquarters Office also noticed that the fish could potentially be a new state record. Mr. Neece was advised to contact the Marion Regional Office for assistance. Bill Kittrell, Regional Aquatic Resource Manager, contacted Mr. Neece, officially identified and weighed the fish and submitted the paperwork for state record certification. The VDGIF state record fish committee approved the application and officially certified Mr. Neece’s catch as the new Virginia state record. The monster hybrid striped bass weighed 13 pounds and 9 ounces which beat the former state record by a full 9 ounces. The fish measured almost 28 inches long with a girth of 21 inches. Hybrid striped bass, which are a cross between white bass and striped bass, have been stocked by the Department into Flannagan Reservoir since 1999. For more information about fishing opportunities in Flannagan Reservoir or the Department’s state record fish program, visit www.dgif.virginia.gov.