Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 24, 1994 TAG: 9403240049
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Here's what's happening at major impoundments:
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BRIERY CREEK LAKE: A 12 1/2-pound largemouth, the biggest catch of the season in Virginia, was wrestled from this 845-acre impoundment by Wayne Willis of Farmville. He was casting a Shad Rap lure.
The fish is believed to be the second largest bass ever caught in Briery Creek, where more Florida strain largemouths have been stocked than anywhere else in the state. In previous seasons, the lake has produced a 13-pound, 4-ounce bass and several in the 9- to 11-pound range. State fish officials aren't certain how much - if any - of the success can be credited to the Florida strain.
Briery Creek, near Farmville, is attracting large numbers of fishermen, who appear to be having their best success during the afternoon.
\ CLAYTOR LAKE: Ruth Smith of Snowville landed a citation-size 5\ -pound smallmouth, but most of the angling chatter has been about big striped bass. Dave Harvey of Dublin caught a 20-pound, 14-ounce striper, and his fishing partner, Mike Epperly of Dublin, had a 16-pound, 4-ounce fish. An expanding food supply has been adding pounds to Claytor stripers, which have lagged behind Smith Mountain Lake catches.
\ GASTON LAKE: With the water temperature climbing into the low-50s, fishermen are hooking bass on lures that include the Cordell CC Shad in chrome and chartreuse, the Bomber Speed Shad and spinnerbaits in white or chartreuse.
\ KERR LAKE: Kerr remains about 7 feet above normal and is muddy in most areas, but bass are hitting in the shallows as the water temperature begins to reach the mid-50s. Greg Baker of Baltimore caught an 8-pound, 3-ounce largemouth on a spinnerbait.
The Pro-Am Teams tournament produced evidence that the bass are turning on there. It was won by Paul Little of Richmond and Rocky Sylvester of Hopewell who caught 28.38 pounds. The average bass brought to the scales during the tournament weighed a little less than 2.5 pounds.
\ LAKE ANNA: Rick Thornton of Stuarts Draft landed a 9-pound, 1-ounce largemouth, and there have been several 6-pounders caught. The lake is muddy above the Virginia Route 208 bridge.
\ LAKE MOOMAW: Fishermen shouldn't be surprised at a sluggish start for this lake, considering how cold it was during the winter in the Bath County high country. A few bass, along with some 16- to 18-inch trout, are being caught in the upper lake.
\ PHILPOTT LAKE: The water temperature has risen above the mid-40s, and that helped Ricky Young of Bassett hook 11 largemouths on spinnerbaits.
\ SMITH MOUNTAIN LAKE: Jim Chewing of Roanoke and Robert Vander of Goodview entered a seven-bass catch that weighed 19.48 pounds to win the 15th annual Smith Mountain Ruritan Club Spring Partner's tournament. The contest attracted 40 two-man teams.
The largest bass was a fine 8-pound, 10-ounce largemouth entered by Butch Thorpe and Joel Reese of Forest. The average fish weighed slightly more than 2 pounds.
Bass are being caught on the main channel points by fishermen casting crankbaits, said Joe Wells of the Honey Hole Tackle Shop. He reported an 8-pound, 1-ounce largemouth taken on a Shad Rap. Water temperatures are in the mid- to upper-40s.
\ SOUTH HOLSTON RESERVOIR: The water temperature has reached the low 50s, and bass are hitting Silver Buddies and pig-and-jigs.
\ TROUT: Phil Helms rates the trout season, which opened Saturday, as one of the best in years. Little wonder. He has weighed three rainbows that have topped the 7-pound mark at his Rakes Sports Center in Bassett. The two largest weighed 7 pounds, 4 ounces apiece. John Davidson of Martinsville caught one of them on the Smith River, and George Huggett of Patrick Springs took the other from the Mayo River.
It also has been a good season for Dickie Roe of Roanoke. Roe landed a 6-pound, 4-ounce brown trout while casting a Joe's Fly on 4-pound line along the Wiley Drive section of the Roanoke River. In the same area, Lawrence Pugh of Roanoke got a 3-pound brown on 4-pound line.
Memo: ***CORRECTION***