Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 15, 1992 TAG: 9203170385
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C16 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Lapping against the Allegheny Mountains northeast of Covington, Moomaw produced 81 brown and rainbow trout citations in 1991. No other lake or stream was even close.
Moomaw shined the brightest as a brown trout factory, accounting for 63 citations, including the state's largest of the year, an 11-pound, 15-ounce catch by William Farmer of Roanoke. Eight of the top 10 browns were Moomaw fish.
The Smith River ranked next to Moomaw in total brown trout citations, with 10 fish. The Roanoke River had nine; Philpott Lake, six; and the Middle Fork Holston River, five.
The most rainbow trout citations were from Crooked Creek, where the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries operates a pay fishing program near Hillsville. Crooked Creek anglers registered 35 rainbow citations.
Moomaw and Cripple Creek were tied for second, with 18 each. Bullpasture River had 15.
Two fishermen registered rainbow trout heavier than the 12-pound, 9-ounce record, but neither followed guidelines to have their fish certified as a record.
Brian Shiflett of Mine Run reported catching a 14-pound, 12-ounce rainbow from the Calf Pasture River and Cecil Welcher of Bridgewater landed a 12-pound, 14-ounce Lake Moomaw rainbow.
Jennings Creek, in Botetourt County, accounted for 15 brook trout citations, more than any other fishing spot in the state. Big Stoney Creek had 13, Hunting Creek, nine and Potts Creek eight.
The largest brook trout of the season, 5 pounds, 5 ounces, was landed from the South Fork of the Holston River by William Lester of Cedar Bluff.
\ hatchery trucks tote trout to laurel bed on fridays
For a number of years, state fish officials have been between a rock bass and a hard place at 330-acre Laurel Bed Lake, a high-altitude impoundment in the Clinch Mountain Wildlife Area north of Saltville.
Officials have attempted to manage the lake as brook trout water, and with the kind of success that produced a number of state records in the 70s. But someone always seemed to come along with a bucket of rock bass to dump into the lake, and these fish would compete with trout for space, food and oxygen, state officials said.
In the summer months, there wasn't much oxygen to go around, and that fact, along with high temperatures and acid rain, became a problem.
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries drained the lake one time to remove the rock bass, but they returned. So the agency has changed its management plans. Instead of stocking trout in November and letting them grow to catchable size, as has been the practice in the past, officials have stocked catchable-size trout for opening day. They will restock for nine consecutive Fridays once the season opens, said John Jessee, a state fish biologist.
In addition to the full-size brook trout, smallmouth bass will be stocked in an effort to provide post-spring sport and to help control the swelling rock bass population, Jessee said.
"This will provide Virginia anglers with some good, consistent fishing opportunities on a beautiful mountain lake," he said.
Laurel Bed Lake and nearby Big Tumbling Creek are pay fishing areas, where anglers must purchase a $3.50 daily permit sold at a concession leading to the area. Trout licenses are not required. The daily limit is five. Camping is available and small, non-gasoline powered boats may be launched on the lake.
\ Trout leap, cameras grind on Jackson River in Bath
Big things are about to happen on the scenic Jackson River, flowing through the Hidden Valley area of the George Washington National Forest in Bath County.
For one, a 3-mile upstream portion of the popular stream has been established as special-regulations water. In a stretch from just above the mouth of Muddy Run to the last ford on Forest Service Road 481D, only artificial lures with a single hook may be used, and no trout under 12 inches may be kept.
Secondly, the filming of the motion picture Sommersby is scheduled to begin in April at Warwick Mansion, which sits in the Jackson River Valley. Anglers see this as a mixed blessing. Lou Gardner of Narrows wonders if the fishing and camping will be disrupted.
"I like to camp there since it is very quiet," he said.
Forest officials say they are trying to keep inconveniences to a minimum. When the filming begins the first week of April, and continues for five to seven weeks, a 200 acre section that includes a half-mile stretch of stream will be closed.
The Hidden Valley Campground, which opened Saturday, will be outside the closed area. But for the first time, forest officials are charging a $4 daily camping fee.
by CNB