Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, May 7, 1993 TAG: 9305070035
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B7 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN OUTDOORS EDITOR
DATELINE: SOUTH HILL LENGTH: Medium
But the fishing wasn't as easy as that may sound.
"I had four by about noon and I thought, `This will be no problem.' Then they just shut off. The last stop I made was where I caught my fifth fish," he said.
Only 22 of the 300 contestants had limit catches, and no home-lake advantage was evident for Virginia anglers. You had to thumb down the leader board to No. 71 to locate the first Old Dominion fisherman, Jimmy Coleman from Amherst, who had an 18-12 total. Woo Daves, Virginia's top professional fisherman, is 94th with a 16-4 total.
Early in the day, all the contestants were in a fog - literally. The first flight was delayed 3 hours - until 9 a.m. - by a dense fog that shrouded the 50,000-acre lake. When it lifted, the sudden brightness of the sun was like a police officer's flashlight shining into the back seat of a car. It made the bass spooky.
"The fish are trying to bed," said Brauer, a Camdenton, Mo., winner of five B.A.S.S. tournaments. "I saw a 20-pound stringer today just suspended in the bushes. But you couldn't get close to them. Boy, they would take off."
Mickey Bruce, of Buford, Ga., is second with 32-1. He said, "We lost all the low-light hours this morning because of the fog [delay]."
Thursday's total catch - 1,383 pounds - was more than a half-ton lighter than the first-day catch.
The contest ends today with a 3 p.m. weigh-in at North Bend Park. The winner takes home $35,000.
TOP 10
1. Denny Brauer, Camdenton, Mo., 10-fish total, 33 pounds, seven ounces; 2. Mickey Bruce, Buford, Ga., 10, 32-1; 2. James D. Noell, Bowie, Md., 9, 32-1; 4. Davy Hite, Prosperity, S.C., 10, 31-11; 5. Tim Reneau, Seguin, Texas, 10, 30-7; 6. Gary Klein, Weatherford, Texas, 8, 28-14; 7. Cliff Craft, Suwanee, Ga., 8, 27-12; 8. Randy Dearman, Onalaska, Texas, 10, 27-9; 9. Lavon Bentley, Sylacauga, Ala., 9, 27-7; 10. Larry Nixon, Bee Branch, Ark., 10, 27-2.
OTHER VIRGINIANS OF INTEREST
86. Jerry Elder, Lynchburg, 16-15; 97. Jim Sumrell, Virginia Beach, 16-3; 104. James Dudley, Lynchburg, 15-12; 132. Chris Daves, Spring Grove, 14-0; 196. Melvin Morgan Jr., Vinton, 9-2. 226. Jack Evans, Vinton, 7-1.
by CNB