Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 3, 1993 TAG: 9301040286
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C11 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOOR EDITOR (staff)
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
TROPHY CATCHES EASE UPWARD
Saltwater anglers reeled in nearly 300 more trophy catches in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament last season than the year before; even so, the 2,244 citation total was below the 35-year average.Claude Bain, director of the state-sponsored contest, called the 1992 results "average," but the season had its share of highlights. It was a year when five state records were established, when black drum, speckled trout and tautog made a strong comeback and when striped bass populations continued to build.
On the negative side, Spanish mackerel catches dropped sharply and it was the fourth straight year that big bluefish weren't abundant in the Chesapeake Bay.
Here's a look at some of the gainers and losers:
STRIPED BASS: The November and December winds often treated anglers harshly, but when they could get out they found excellent striper fishing. For the first time, the tournament awarded a catch-and-release citation for stripers that measured a minimum of 44 inches in length.
David Taylor landed a 50-inch fish that had a 35-inch girth while trolling near the mouth of the Rappahannock River. State law requires that any striper above 36 inches be released, so its weight is unknown. Some believe it weighed 65 to 70 pounds.
The 61-pound state record caught in 1981 had the same length as Taylor's catch but was two inches less in girth.
SPANISH MACKEREL: While fishing near the Chesapeake Light Tower in early September, Jerome Hughes of Virginia Beach caught an 8-pound, 12-ounce state record Spanish mackerel. But that didn't mean it was a good fishing year for this inshore species. In fact, after seeing the population build for several years, trophy catches were off 61 percent last season.
Other records set were for true albacore, 68 pounds; bigeye thresher shark, 149 pounds; crevalle jack, 33 pounds, 5 ounces; and pompano, 5 pounds, 10 ounces.
FLOUNDER: Catches of citation-size flounder remained low, but Bain believes this popular species is making a come back after hitting bottom three seasons ago.
"Angling was pretty good for fish in the 14 to 18 inch range, but not like it was in the 70s or early 80s," Bain said.
In order to preserve the stock, the Marine Resources Commission has set additional restrictions for the coming season. The minimum size has been boosted from 13 to 14 inches and the 10 percent allowance for undersize fish has been dropped.
SPECKLED TROUT: Catches of speckled trout more than doubled, a fact that delighted Bain.
"One of the most disappointing things about running a program like this is the unavailability of species for people who are small-boat and bay anglers," he said.
The speckled trout is a mom and pop fish, Bain said. "It helped fill the gap for people who had been almost unable to catch a citation fish."
Also an aid was the strong showing of cobia. Citations for that species where the fourth highest ever.
BLUEFISH: Western Virginia anglers who enjoyed traveling to the Chesapeake Bay and catching 12-pound plus bluefish continued to come home disappointed. The lack of jumbo blues early on was credited to the weather, but it is becoming increasingly difficult to put it off on the quirks of water temperatures, Bain said.
Even the offshore blues appear to be dropping in number for some reason, he said. The 23 bluefish citations was the lowest count since 1976.
BLACK DRUM: Both black drum and tautog, two bottom feeders, made their best showing in a half-dozen years. The drum catches jumped by 100 fish.
"There is not enough known about them for anybody to have any idea what it means," said Bain. "They were just there."
CROAKER: Not a single croaker was entered, but recent spawns should change that in a couple of seasons, Bain predicted.