Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 11, 1991 TAG: 9104110078
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
\ SMITH MOUNTAIN: Water temperatures are pushing into the high 60s - even the 70s - and that means bass and stripers are going shallow.
Outstanding catches include a 37 1/2-pound striped bass for Roanoker James Jones, who was using a shad for bait. Jay Rhudy of Fincastle hooked an 8-pound, 12-ounce largemouth on a spinnerbait; the bass was the largest of the year weighed at Magnum Point Marina. William Andrews of Vinton caught a 5-pound, 2-ounce walleye.
Several fishermen have been delighted with jumbo white bass catches. Clifford Smith of Vinton caught a 2-pound, 14-ounce trophy, and Sam King Jr. of Martinsville got one that weighed 3 pounds, 4 ounces.
Dale Wilson, a lake guide, said he and his parties have been catching and releasing about 20 stripers per outing. Wilson likes to cast to discolored water, but clear water also will produce catches early mornings and just before dark, he said.
\ GASTON-KERR: Lake Gaston has been giving up bunches of big bass, some weighing 8\ to 9 1/2 pounds.
"So what?" says Bobby Colston, who runs a tackle shop on the lower lake. "At this lake, we are hunting for 10-pounders this time of the year."
Colston recommends fishing the rocky points of the main lake. Many of the bass are hitting crankbaits, jigs and spinnerbaits, but several citations have been hooked on minnows.
Kerr Lake, just upstream from Gaston, remains high and discolored. It was reported here last week that bass fishing is at its best when the surface pushes into the shoreline willows, but apparently it is going to take a settling-in period for that to happen.
Last weekend, fishing was tough during a Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation tournament that attracted 522 competitors.
"Water in the bushes is all right," said Rick Moorer of Salem. "On the roads and in the fields is a little much."
The contestants weighed in a scant 815 pounds, compared to a year ago when the weight totaled nearly 4,000 pounds. The winner was Ed Smith of Lynchburg, with a two-day catch of 14.82 pounds.
"I would say it would be good by this weekend," said Lynchburg's Jerry Elder, who placed third. He expects the fishing to take a quick turn toward excellence.
\ TROUT: The 70- to 80-degree days appear to be providing excellent hatches for fly fishermen. Beaver Shriver of the Outpost tackle shop in Hot Springs recommends the Nos. 14 and 16 Adams, the No. 16 blue-winged olive and the No. 18 black caddis as pattern choices.
Fly fisherman Thomas Retzaff of Bacova netted a 20-inch brown on the Jackson River above Moomaw Lake, and Pennsylvania angler Tim Wagner got a 19-inch rainbow on a fly in Back Creek.
Steve Stone of Fieldale got a 5-pound, 3-ounce rainbow on a worm while fishing the Smith River. Brown trout weighing better than 6 pounds have been reported at the Smith.
\ SALTWATER: Nighttime red drum catches have been steady at Cape Point along the Outer Banks of North Carolina, especially when the wind is out of the southwest. Bluefish blitzes are yet to occur.
Drum fishermen have been catching anywhere from five to 30 fish a night, reports Ollie Jarvis, who operates a tackle shop at Buxton. One 35-pounder landed on a fly rod is a pending world record, he said.
As for the bluefish, Jarvis says schools of big fish still will hit the surf, but Damon Tatem, who operates a tackle shop in Nags Head, isn't certain. Schools remain in deep water well offshore.
"I would be delighted to have them come in here, but I bet they will stay off the beach," Tatem said.
Already in close are a significant number of speckled trout, but these 2- to 5-pound fish have been reluctant to hit. If they do, look for some outstanding fishing, especially in the Kitty Hawk surf.
\ BEST OF THE REST: Fishermen at Moomaw Lake have been reeling in big bass as well as an occasional citation trout. David Jannison of Covington caught a 5 1/2-pound smallmouth. Jim Markley of Huntersville, W.Va., landed a 6 3/4-pound largemouth. An 8 1/2-pound brown trout was caught by West Virginia angler Terry Surbaugh.
Most of the major rivers - the James, New and Shenandoah included - are beginning to return to fishable conditions after periods of high water. A couple of fishermen in the Scottsville section of the James landed and released 20 smallmouths that weighed up to 3 pounds apiece.
by CNB