Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, June 6, 1994 TAG: 9406290002
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Occoquan is a 2,100-acre Fairfax County Water Authority lake that is well known for its huge catfish. The previous flathead record, a 56-pounder caught March,1988, also came from the impoundment.
A 4-pound, 10-ounce black crappie, caught on a Zebco kid's outfit by 4-year-old Justin Elliott of Clarksville, officially has been established as a state record by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The 19-inch fish was landed from a private pond on a live minnow. The old crappie record was a 4-pound, 3-ounce catch taken April 18, 1987 from Gaston Reservoir.
Beating a drum
Dewey Allie of Roanoke had caught bluefish and sea trout that weighed up to 12 pounds, but the fish he hooked at the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel the other day made those catches feel like pikers.
``That thing had the rod bent double,'' Said Allie. ``I'm 71 years old. I had a time.''
Allie had hooked an 85-pound black drum at the bridge-tunnel's second island while fishing with his son, Tommy, aboard a boat owned by Mark Roberts of Norfolk. The anglers were casting lead-headed jigs and Twister tails when the giant drum struck.
Following a 25 minute battle, the fish was taken to Bubba's Marina at Lynnhaven Inlet, where it was weighed and released alive.
The largest black drum registered in the 1994 Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament is a 96-pounder caught in the Chesapeake Bay. It takes a 70-pounder to earn a citation.
Eagles up close
The best spots in Virginia to see an eagle up close is Caledon Natural Area in King George County. The 2,579-acre state park area hosts one of the largest East Coast summering populations of the American bald eagle. The big birds can be observed perched, soaring and hunting over the Potomac River east of Fredericksburg.
Access is limited, but tours are conducted every Thursday through Sunday begining June 16 and continuing through Sept. 4. Reservations are recommended. Admission is $4.
The phone number for information and reservations is 703-663-3861.
Briery's big bass
Briery Creek Lake has produced still another trophy largemouth, this one a 10-pound, 11-ounce bass for John Grubb of Farmville. Grubb was casting a plastic worm.
Mike Coley, a fishing guide from Julian, N.C. caught a 32-pound, 10-ounce striped bass at Smith Mountain Lake, where the striper action has been reported slow.
Randy Westmoreland of Dublin landed a 4-pound, 8-ounce smallmouth bass from Claytor Lake, one of several citation-size fish from the impoundment. Russell Nicewander of Bluefield, W. Va. caught a 37-pound, 8-ounce flathead catfish from Claytor.
A number of trout weighing 3 to 6 pounds apiece have been caught by Lake Moomaw fishermen. Wallace Byer of Covington got a 6.34-pound brown and a 4-pound rainbow.
The lower James River has been producing the best smallmouth bass fishing of the season. Two Richmond anglers reported landing and releasing more than 70 bass in the Piedmont section of the river. Better than a half dozen topped the 2-pound mark. The anglers were casting Yamomoto grubs and AC Shiners.
Smallmouth bass fishing also has turned on for anglers casting to the New River.
Officials of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries have been monitoring fishing success on the New River above and below Claytor Lake. Anglers are being interviewed and their catches are being weighed and measured.
One objective is to determine the success of the size limit, which requires fishermen to release bass outside a 11-to 14-inch slot size.
by CNB