The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) TrophyCatch program has awarded prizes for the catch and release of more than 13,500 largemouth bass since the program began in 2012. Season 10 ended in October with these incredible highlights:
10-TAG Grand Prize Winner
Big congratulations to Dale Dew for winning the 10-Tag Grand Prize of $10,000. Thank you to all anglers who participated and targeted a pink-tagged bass and helped TrophyCatch celebrate 10 years of success. Special thanks to Bass Pro Shops and AFTCO for supporting this special celebration.
Annual Phoenix Boat Winner
Congratulations to Michael Hendren, our Season 10 Phoenix Boats winner. Michael is from Winchester, Virginia and was over the moon that he was this year’s lucky winner. One of our finalists only registered for TrophyCatch and did not submit any catches. We remind everyone that you do not need to land a trophy-size bass to be included in the annual boat drawing. All you need to do is register once at TrophyCatch.com for a chance to win a new boat in 2023.
Season 10 Hall of Fame Anglers
The TrophyCatch team also celebrated 14 anglers with the biggest catches of season 10 at the Hall of Fame Ceremony on Dec. 10 at Bass Pro Shops Palm Bay. TrophyCatch prizing is based on size, with bigger catches netting bigger rewards. Anglers who caught Hall of Fame bass weighing 13 pounds or greater were rewarded with a replica mount representing their bass from Gray Taxidermy; a plaque from American Registry; and a customized power bank from new partner, CellHelmet, among other awesome prizes.
The TrophyCatch Big Bag Prize winner is Bobby Rahn who submitted the heaviest combined weight for his top five bass approved during Season 10 and received prizes provided by Lake County Tourism. The Hall of Fame Champion for Season 10 is Grant Smelcer who caught and released a 14-pound, 4-ounce bass from Porter Lake in Washington County. Smelcer also received addition prizes including a Hydronaut Heavy-Duty rain suite from AFTCO.
Visit TrophyCatch.com for more information on how to participate and stay tuned for updates about Season 11.
