Claytor holds fewer largemouth bass than other Virginia lakes, and they grow slowly in this mountain reservoir, where winters are more severe than in lower elevation areas of the state.

"For example, Buggs Island largemouth bass reach 20 inches in 7 years, while Claytor Lake largemouth bass take 8 years to reach the same length," he said. "One of the reasons that largemouth bass don't achieve the same densities in Claytor as they do in other reservoirs in Virginia is that they are only one of the three black bass species found in the lake."

Claytor's largemouth bass population has increased in the past 14 years. In 1990, largemouth bass made up about 10 percent of the black bass population, according to electrofishing catch results from fisheries biologists studying the lake. They increased to about 40 percent of the black bass electrofishing catch by 1999 and were at the same level in 2003.

Said Copeland: "Anglers can find largemouth bass in coves throughout the lake, but they are most abundant in Clapboard Hollow, Mack Creek Hollow and in Peak Creek."

The lake-record largemouth weighed an astonishing 14 pounds, 6 ounces, and was caught in June 1991.

The diet of Claytor largemouths is mostly comprised of bluegill, alewife, gizzard shad and crayfish, depending on the season and whether these prey are abundant.

"Lures that imitate fish are the best choice for largemouth bass," he said, "but they may also hit crayfish imitations."

During Copeland's spring 2003 electrofishing study, he collected good numbers of bass between 15 and 17 inches, particularly in the areas mentioned above. Bass this size ranged from 2 to 3 pounds.

"In summary, I think anglers can expect good largemouth bass fishing at Claytor Lake in 2004," Copeland said. "There will be good numbers of 18- to 19-inch largemouth bass available as the abundant 15- to 17-inch bass from 2003 gain more length."

Other good choices in this region include Hungry Mother Lake, South Holston Lake and Rural Retreat Lake.

Reeser recommends anglers try Douthat Lake in Bath County, Lake Robertson in Rockbridge County, Sherando Lake in Augusta County, Skidmore Reservoir in Rockingham County, Elkhorn Lake in Augusta County or Lake Arrowhead in Page County. These lakes are generally nutrient poor, he added, and some are stocked with trout by VDGIF. Small sunfish, crawdads and invertebrates are the main forage for bass in these small impoundments.

Lake Frederick near Stephens City in Frederick County is the best reservoir in the region for producing quality and trophy-size largemouths, according to Reeser. Each year, anglers catch bass up to 10 pounds from this 117-acre VDGIF impoundment. Frederick has been a consistent producer of these large fish for the past 10 years.

"If I were targeting bass during the pre-spawn in March I would use my depth finder to locate these fish and fish slow and deliberate over them," he said. "I would also pay close attention to the water temperature. One degree of temperature change to a fish is like 10 degrees to a human. Most anglers know that shallow water tends to warm more quickly in the spring, so check the temperature in different areas of the lake to see where fish might be migrating or becoming more active."

Reeser also favors the Shenandoah River (South Fork and main stem). He said both contain excellent largemouth populations.

"Most anglers think of smallmouth bass when the Shenandoah River is mentioned, but I see largemouth bass making up between 50 to 70 percent of the black bass population in certain sections of the river. Generally, the pools and slow-water habitats in the river hold the most largemouths."

Anglers should look for woody debris along the shoreline to find hiding largemouths. The one drawback is that during March the river water temperature is usually cooler than lakes, Reeser added. River conditions may change daily due to precipitation, making ideal conditions difficult this time of year. He advises anglers venture to the Shenandoah after a few warm days in March.

"For example, structural indices during 2002 were at their lowest levels since 1996. Sampling with the water level 2 feet low was our explanation. Indices bounced back during 2003, almost to the 10-year average indicating that lots of those big fish were still out there and we indeed missed them in 2002 (like many anglers)," he said. "However, we caught only one memorable (20-inch or over) bass per hour in 2003, compared to the average of two per hour and down from an all-time high of four per hour in 2000. The number of preferred bass (15 inches or over) had a similar pattern."

What all this means, Odenkirk surmised, is that the population appears to have shifted from large fish to a more moderate size - many quality largemouths in the 16- to 18-inch range.

"However, sampling data followed citation trends, as these have been on the drop since 1998 (88 citations)," he added. "Only 50 were reported in 2001 and 25 in 2002."

Odenkirk said anglers should still be optimistic about Anna; there are plenty of nice bass out there - especially in the upper arms.

"I'd concentrate on the areas just above the splits on each arm (Ware Creek and Ware Cove and on the edge of the water willow along Rose Valley) and upper arm cove mouths," the biologist said.

"Anna's forage base includes gizzard shad, threadfin shad and blueback herring," Odenkirk said. "Most of the forage biomass is composed of gizzard shad, although blueback herring have been a challenge to effectively assess, and threadfin shad abundance is cyclic - based largely on minimum water temperatures, as this species has the proclivity to 'winter kill.'

"As for other lakes in the region, I would recommend Burke, Occoquan, Motts and Orange. These four led the stat sheet in the number of preferred fish caught per hour and stood well above the others," Odenkirk said. "In order they had 42, 35, 34 and 32 per hour. Orange is coming on strong and has produced some monsters lately."

Motts has always given up some of the biggest fish in the district and is the only lake where VDGIF routinely samples more than one citation (by weight) on a survey, Odenkirk added. These four lakes have gizzard shad (Occoquan has alewives, too) except Motts, which has ample forage of bluegill, crappie, shiners and suckers.

Although technically owned by Maryland, the Potomac River is among the best bass fisheries in the country. Many tributaries on the Virginia side are worthy of a spring visit.

Petersburg's Lake Chesdin generally ranks high each year in its trophy count, and anglers should lick their chops in anticipation of the spring bite on this 3,100-acre fish factory.

With a list of fisheries like this across the state, no matter where you live, a good largemouth bass fishery exists near you. The biologists are hopeful 2004 will be another good year for Virginia's favorite species. "Get the net!" should be a common phrase this spring.