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For a measure of how prolific Ed Shepherd is at catching and tagging fish, first consider this: The Virginia Institute of Marine Science recently issued a press release touting, since 1995, the milestone 400,000 fish tagged in the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program.
Shepherd has been tagging fish since 2004, and the Yorktown angler has tagged about 93,000 of them.
“He has tagged more fish than anyone in the history of the program,” said Susanna Musick of VIMS’ Marine Advisory Program. “He often says that tagging is his full-time job now that he’s retired.”
That might be an understatement in light of Shepherd’s 2022 haul. He tagged and released about 3,500 fish, close to a quarter of the 17,000 total.
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The VGFTP is a cooperative program between the Marine Advisory Program at VIMS and the Virginia Saltwater Tournament at the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. State saltwater licenses fund the tagging program, which trains volunteer anglers to tag recreationally important fish.
Not surprisingly, Shepherd was the most decorated angler at VGFTP’s annual awards banquet, held recently at Bass Pro Shops in Hampton. He was the winner for overall tags, overall recaptures and tags of black sea bass, while tying with Williamsburg’s Scott Vinson for tags of speckled trout.
Vinson is prolific in his own right, as he tagged the most summer flounder. He finished as runner-up in overall tags and experimental tags.
Musick said Shepherd does most of his fishing from area public-access sites so he’s able to promote the program.
“They see what he’s doing and become curious,” she said. “They are able to learn about the program that way.”
She added that because other anglers see Shepherd catch and release smaller fish sometimes called “bait-stealers,” he plays an important role in the “conservation of these recreationally important fishes as well.”
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Tagging has its fun and practical aspects.
Because a tagged fish bears data that includes a tag number as well as the date and site of its recapture, an angler can log onto the Virginia Marine Resources website and, as Musick says, “learn the story of the fish.”
Data collected by the VGFTP helps anglers and managers learn more about fish migration, growth and habitat use. That’s useful for scientists and fisheries management, and for recreational anglers who prefer fishing for a particular species.
VGFTP rewards for tagging include T-shirts, hats and tackle box organizers. Asked why Shepherd has amassed so many plaques and awards from his huge tagging numbers, Musick cited consistency.
“If you’re going to excel at anything, it’s usually because you’ve practiced it,” she said. “That’s Ed. He’s very dedicated and fishes nearly year-round.”
Shepherd is more elusive than the thousands of fish he’s nabbed: He declined an interview to talk about his catches.
For more information about the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program, visit www.vims.edu/vgftp/.