Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 25, 1990 TAG: 9005260451
SECTION: SMITH MOUNTAIN TIMES PAGE: SMT-2 EDITION: BEDFORD/FRANKLIN
SOURCE: By BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Earlier this month, surveys by biologists turned up good numbers of largemouths in the 1 1/2-to 2-pound range. The largest was a little more than 7 pounds.
Smallmouth bass were equally impressive, said Scott Smith, fish biologist in charge of the research.
"We caught an awful lot of smallmouths 15, 16, 17 inches, a whole lot of them," he said.
Largemouths were the predominant species in the upper end of the lake, while smallmouths were found most often in the lower lake, said Smith.
These fish are in a transitional stage, moving from their spring to summer patterns.
"Some still are spawning, but mostly the spawn probably is over," Smith said.
This means that the bass are edging from the shallows into deeper water where they will spend the summer months.
"After the spawn, they will go back into deep water and begin finding cover at the temperatures they like. That will be 6 to 15 feet in most cases."
One of the best recent bass catches was a 6-pound, 6-ounce largemouth landed by Larry Davis of Tazewell.
Smith and his crew members didn't turn up as many crappie as they hoped, "but we got several that were more than 2 pounds," he said.
Spring crappie catches have been the best reported in several years; however, as the weather warms these fish will move deep and be tougher to catch.
One of the best striped bass catches of the past week was a 28-pound, 6-ounce fish weighed at Magnum Point Marina by Danny Goins of Spanishburg, W. Va.
Most striper anglers are reporting tough fishing, something they blame on the fact that the species is in its spawning cycle, giving it an erratic behavior pattern. The top catches are being taken during the after-dark hours.
One angler came across a huge striper alive but belly up near the dam. It's 41 1/2-pound weight was not far off the 42-pound, 6-ounce state record landed May, 1988.
Recent citation catches include an 18-pound, 12-ounce muskie for Tommy Whitt of Roanoke; a 2-pound, 7-ounce white bass for Thomas Wright of Vinton; a 1-pound, 1-ounce yellow perch for Jeff Martin of Roanoke and a 19-pound, 14-ounce striped bass for Gary Wilson of Rocky Mount.
At Leesville, striped bass are being landed in the Roanoke (Staunton) river immediately below the dam, where they are in an upstream spawning run from Kerr Lake. Lures, such as the Red Fin and the Shad Rap are hooking fish, as is live shad. Some catches weigh better than 20 pounds apiece.
by CNB