Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 10, 1993 TAG: 9306090324
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Phil Helms, who operates Rakes Sports Center, on the road to Philpott Lake, has noticed that vehicles towing fishing boats now are likely to be headed toward the lake late in the day. Some don't leave until after daylight.
At Smith Mountain Lake, summer bass fishing most always is going to be more productive at night, a fact that hasn't escaped the notice of tournament fishermen. There is a weekly Tuesday night tournament out of Campers Paradise, and a Friday night affair out of Water Wheel.
The timing is obvious. The sun bakes some of the fun out of daytime fishing. Pleasure boats and personal watercraft rob the daylight setting of its serenity. The bright sun sends fish deep. Solitude is restored by the nighttime, and the courage of bass is pumped up under the cloak of darkness.
Anglers such as Randy Mayhew and Dennis Witt of Bedford can expect to catch a dozen or so pounds of bass during 3 1/2 hours of effort at a Tuesday night tournament. They have dominated the series during recent summers, including this week's contest, when they entered the winning 12.55-pound catch.
Night fishing also is catching on at Lake Anna, where a recent 37-boat field reeled in a 145-pound, 5-ounce total during a 3 1/2-hour tournament.
The Anna bass are holding to aquatic vegetation, deep secondary points and boat docks. Especially productive has been the North Anna arm above Holiday Mill Bridge, where grass beds are numerous.
At Philpott Lake, bass are schooling around open-water concentrations of shad in the waning light of day, Helms said.
"You can sit out there and have a ball with a top-water lure," he said.
One angler reported hooking 30 bass while casting a Red Fin lure at Mile Marker 3.
Philpott also is giving up walleye in the 2 1/2- to 3-pound range. A couple of fishermen reported catching 16 at Mile Marker 7.
Fishermen participating in the annual Bass Bonanza at Lake Moomaw on Sunday might have preferred after-dark action, but that competition took place during the daylight and the catch was modest. The winners were Dick and Linda Oliva of North Garden, who had an 11.42-pound total. The lunker weighed 4 pounds and was landed by Dewey Davis of Covington.
\ OTHER CATCHES: Fishing for catfish has been excellent the past couple of summers at Claytor Lake, and there are indications that there won't be any slack this season. Harry Lockhart and Bobby Cook of Dublin had a recent catch that totaled 43 pounds. Kimy Price of Radford landed a 19 1/2-pound catfish.
The striped bass at Kerr Lake continue to slowly journey downstream following their spring spawn. Fishermen using live bait have been catching them from buoys 7 to 14 and in Nutbush Creek from buoys G to L. Crappie fishing remains good at Kerr.
Briery Creek Lake still is producing bragging-size sunfish, including a 1-pound, 10-ounce trophy for Richard Temple of Petersburg. One of the best baits is live crickets.
Good numbers of bream and catfish, along with an 8 1/2-pound largemouth, have come from Rural Retreat Lake.
Fishermen are taking a few 4- to 5-pound trout at Lake Moomaw - often at night. The best success is expected when the water warms enough to stratify the lake, an annual occurrence that tends to bunch the fish in the deep, cool sections, said Frank Gumm, who operates the Hitching Post in Bath County. One of the top trout weighed recently was a 5.64-pounder taken on a top-water bait by E.M. Cook of Covington.
\ BEATING THE DRUMS: Fishermen at Cape Hatteras are looking for another run of red drum before the surf gets too warm for these big battlers. A couple of weeks ago as many as 50 fish weighing 25 to 65 pounds were taken by casters working from a small sand island off Cape Point, said Ollie Jarvis, who operates a tackle shop in Buxton.
Jarvis was watching a promising wind Wednesday afternoon, wondering if it would produce some night action. In the meantime, day anglers were reeling in Spanish mackerel, puppy drum and mullet from the Point.
by CNB