Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 10, 1991 TAG: 9103120073
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C/12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Fish officials are giving anglers the answer they long to hear.
"The good news is, the number of fish hasn't gone down," said Gary Martel, assistant chief of the agency's fish division.
That's not the only bit of information that has the enthusiasm of anglers bubbling:
While the trout aren't huge this year, the mild winter has afforded them a good growing season and they average two to the pound, which is what fish officials shoot for. An occasional bragging-size fish is thrown in.
Recent rains have overcome low stream flows, which means trout should have ample room to escape the barbs of fishermen and offer plenty of challenge.
There has been no increase in the cost of licenses.
In-season stockings begin immediately after opening day and continue through June 1, with some streams getting as many as six stockings. Stockings will be done in secret again this year, but officials are giving anglers a better idea of the time frame that releases will occur.
A fall stocking of 70,000 fish has been scheduled.
The Jackson River, below Gathright Dam, should begin to blossom into an excellent fly-fishing stream, one that will attract the attention of anglers up and down the East Coast and beyond.
Hatchery trucks laden with their wiggling cargo have been rolling toward streams since late February in preparation for the season's 9 a.m. opening Saturday.
When the last trout of 1991 is released, Martel said, the stocking totals should read this way: 804,250 rainbows, 155,050 browns and 141,600 brooks. That's within 2 or 3 percent of last year, when the stocking total jumped 15 percent following a string of declines.
In-season stockings will be carried out in secret this year, much as they were last season with one major difference. While fish officials aren't telling anglers exactly when the hatchery truck will return to replenish a stream, they are giving the last stocking date that releases can occur.
"This is the latest date our biologists know for certain that we are going to have sufficient flow to stock fish," said Martel.
Last year some fishermen were disappointed when they waited for certain streams to be stocked well past the time biologists had planned to release fish. The end dates are being published to avoid such problems, Martel said.
The weekly stocking list will be made public on Fridays, which means most of the streams will have received fish prior to the announcement. That worked last year, cutting down on the number of people following hatchery trucks or waiting at streams in hope that a truck would arrive, Martel said.
"We hope people will realize that they can go back to a stream a couple of days after it is stocked and still enjoy good fishing," he said.
"The mentality has been, if you don't fish the first day, there aren't any fish. We know that the fish are there."
The number of times a stream will be stocked past opening day depends on the quality of the water and the amount of fishing pressure it receives. Some of the best will get six stockings through June 1, but most will receive fish one to three times.
Very few streams have been added or deleted from this season's stocking list. Some exceptions:
About a 2-mile stretch of Cripple Creek in Wythe County has been added in the Ravens Cliff area. Fish biologist Joe Williams describes it as "good, big water."
Liberty Lake, a small Bedford County impoundment off Virginia 122 outside of Bedford, will be stocked with trout and open to public fishing.
Clark Creek, near the North Carolina Line in Patrick County, is new trout water.
Removed from the stocking schedule are Francis Mill Creek in Wythe County and Cove Branch in Craig County. Officials feel these small streams lack sufficient flow to be included in the stocking program.
by CNB