Virginia Trout Pool Announces 2023 Winners

After a fantastic fall of world-class trout fishing, Dave Thompson won the Virginia Trout Pool 2023 with a 30 inch speckled trout. Carl Welborn finished in second place with a 29.75 speck. Both fish were caught at night on lures. Robert Speight won the fly division with a 28.5 inch speckled trout, which also finished fifth in the pool. Speight was fishing from a NuCanoe kayak.

This year’s tournament ran from September 1, 2023 until December 21, 2023. The top three fish received a percentage of the entry fee. The top 10 finishers get a selection of products from tournament sponsors.

Participating in the Virginia Trout Pool is simple: catch a speckled trout, measure the fish on a Ketch measuring board and submit the photo to the private Virginia Trout Pool Facebook group. Each photo submission is evaluated by two judges to ensure accuracy, protect the location of the catch and encourage catch and release. 

Upper Limit: The Movement To Release Large Speckled Trout

As long as the angler is fishing with rod and reel in Virginia there are no other limits on how, where or when the fish is caught. Anglers can fish from shore, out of a motorboat or kayak. Each season, 30 to 50 percent of the top 10 fish are caught from a kayak. For 2023, the Virginia Trout Pool added a fly division.

Warm winters lead to big fish

The quality of Virginia’s speckled trout fishing is heavily influenced by the average winter temperature. Both 2022 and 2021 included warm winters so it was no surprise that the trophy speckled trout fishing in 2023 was off the charts. By December 1, it took a 28 inch speckled trout to make the top 10. 

5 Expert Tips To Catch & Cook Speckled Trout

The Virginia Trout Pool started in 2019 as a friendly competition organized by Charlie Church and Cashin Prutsman and included five anglers. Each year, participation in the pool has grown. In 2023, the pool included 100 of the best speckled trout anglers in Virginia with 37 sponsors. Currently, the Virginia Trout Pool is one of the largest tournaments in the United States and one of the most competitive speckled trout tournaments on the East Coast. 

The final results and vessel type are listed below:

The Trout Pool would like to thank the following sponsors and volunteers:

• Charlie Church, Thomas Licht, Tim Homa, Medell Medrano and Jonathan Carter for securing prizes.
• Relatively Salty for the artwork for this year’s tournament.
• Nick Li and Jay Whitfield for judging the entries.
• Charlie Church for handling entry, prize payout, rules and product giveaway.
• The following sponsors: BTL Baits, Texas Custom Lures, Waterloo Rods, Cricket Custom Lures, Reel Sportswear, Great Outdoor Provisions Company, BKD Lures, Stinky Pants Fishing, KWiggler, Feral Concepts, Hook and Bullet, Joeys Custom Baits, Eye Strike Fishing, Salty Crew, Shore Ice, Down South Lures, Pure Flats, Tidewater Charters, Princess Anne Distributing Co, JW3 Baits, Relatively Salty, Pamlico Point, Relative Studio, Chasing Tides, Release over 20, Bajio Sunglasses, Nautidog Sportfishing, Kayak Angler Magazine, Horns Ace Fishing & Tackle, Run The Marsh, Frank James, Max Hunter, Ghost Ship Supply, Laguna Rods, FishBurn Art, JFT Custom Lures and Coastal Swimbaits.
• Special thanks to the participating anglers for another great Virginia Trout Pool.