Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 7, 1994 TAG: 9404070062
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
You want to have the trophy mounted to hang on the wall. After all, most anglers won't catch an 8-pound largemouth during a lifetime of casting, much less one weighing 9 pounds or more.
At the same time, you'd like to release the fish alive. Anything that big, that powerful, that impressive deserves to have its freedom.
So what was Chittum - or any angler - to do?
When Chittum, who lives in Mineral, brought the bass to Anna Point Marina, Steve Mudre, the manager, had the answer. Mudre quickly measured the length and girth of the fish, took some color photos and dumped the bass back into the lake.
The measurements and pictures will be used to build a painted fiberglass look-alike mount for Chittum's wall.
Mudre calls the new business Specialty Taxidermy Services, and it involves making a replica of a fish rather than the conventional method of using skin and parts from the real fish to create a wall mount.
Mudre says business at Anna looks promising.
"The past week was one of the best weeks we've seen in some time," he said. "Despite off-colored water up-lake, the bass are aggressive. Numerous fish in the 4- to 7-pound range have been checked in."
Mudre saw one stringer of 12 fish that weighed 37 pounds, 13 ounces. The hot lure is a gold-bladed spinnerbait. The bass are being found in the shallows and stump fields.
\ ALMOST A RECORD: For the William T. Russells of Greensboro, N.C., it was a family outing on Smith Mountain Lake that won't be forgotten for a long while. William T. Russell III came within a few ounces of getting his name in the state record book.
While fishing with his dad and granddad aboard guide Mike Coley's boat, Russell landed a 44-pound, 1-ounce striped bass on a minnow. The state record is a 44-pound, 14-ounce striper taken July 1992 by Gary Tomlin of Buena Vista.
The only thing the anglers revealed about where the fish was caught was "Down the lake where the water is clear," said Leo Teass of Camper's Paradise.
\ PLENTY OF WATER: Appalachian Power Co. has announced it will regulate the flow from its Leesville Dam to enhance spawning stirped bass in the Roanoke River from April 17 through June 1.
Right now, the problem is too much water. Last week, there was about 3 feet of river water in the state's hatchery at Brookneal, where most of the striped bass are produced for stocking across the state.
Steve Arthur, the hatchery manager, said the flood set back the hatchery operation about one week, but it came early enough in the run that it did not hurt production.
The utility also will be minimizing the fluctuation of water in Claytor Lake to facilitate spawning.
\ BRAGGING SIZE: Briery Creek Lake has produced still another trophy largemouth bass, this one an 11-pound, 6-ounce catch for Rankin Ring Jr. of Wytheville. Ring was using a plastic worm, but spinnerbaits appear to be hooking most of the bass.
Donald Sheffey of Concord caught a 26-pound, 5-ounce muskie on a spinnerbait at Smith Mountain Lake. Kevin McGlothin of Logan, W.Va. landed a 5-pound, 2-ounce smallmouth bass from Smith Mountain on a lizard.
Ronnie Nixon of Virginia Beach caught a 21-pound tautog, the forth largest on record in Virginia. The fish was weighed at Bubba's Marina at Lynnhaven, but Nixon wasn't about to volunteer where he caught it.
by CNB