Producing and stocking smallmouth bass has been a priority for the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources (DWR) since many populations of the species in Virginia have been declining in numbers due to poor reproductive success, something that stocking directly addresses.
Smallmouth bass are notoriously tricky to grow in a hatchery—the bass require perfect water and habitat requirements to feel comfortable enough to spawn. Then, staff have to carefully transfer the fry to grow-out ponds until they grow large enough to stock.
So, the recent success that the DWR Aquatics Division and the Front Royal Fish Hatchery had in growing and stocking smallmouth in the summer of 2025 is truly remarkable.
Renovations completed in 2023 at the Front Royal Fish Hatchery were designed to prioritize the production of smallmouth bass, a species targeted by 60 percent of Virginia’s anglers.
The year 2024 marked a huge success for the hatchery when staff raised just over 30,000 fingerlings from eight nests.
Then, in 2025, they harvested fry from more than 60 nests!
Through hard work and the integration of cutting-edge culture techniques, DWR produced and stocked 286,000 smallmouth bass, far exceeding the initial goal of 165,000, in 2025.
The fish were stocked across the Commonwealth in the Shenandoah and James river systems, large impoundments such as Philpott and South Holston lakes, and small impoundments such as Lake Frederick and Lake Laura.
DWR’s hatchery system now has an effective tool for enhancing the populations of this popular fish. Moving forward, this work will help ensure that Virginia continues to support quality fishing opportunities for anglers seeking smallmouth bass.
