Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, June 15, 1995 TAG: 9506150016
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
``Pinheads are croakers that are so small no one would keep them. They are all head,'' said Lewis Gillingham, of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
Well, the pinheads have grown up and they have bodies on them now, bragging-size bodies that measure 16 to 20 inches and weigh 3 to 4 pounds. A 3-pound croaker is a trophy fish worthy of a citation in the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament.
It is unusual to catch croakers that big this early in the season. July and August are the peak big-fish months. You've got to wonder how huge they will be when the first brisk northeasters of early September send them back to the sea.
What is certain, 1995 is shaping up as one of the finest seasons for croaker fishing in a long while. Maybe the best since the early '80s, or even before.
``The early '80s was the last time we had a big surge of citations for croakers,'' said Gillingham. ``I think before last year we had gone five years without a citation.''
Many of the fish currently are in the shallow-water tributaries of the bay, some of them unreachable by the commercial headboats that take anglers bottom fishing. As the summer progresses, the fish will migrate down the bay, getting bigger as they go and making themselves available to increasing numbers of fishermen.
``They have been offshore, they have been in cool water, they haven't been feeding as well,'' said Gillingham. ``Now they are going to fatten up, put on body weight, plus the females will have egg development. You know what that does to the weight of a largemouth bass, when the females are full of eggs.''
The difference, bass lay their eggs in the spring while the croakers won't spawn until fall.
``I think we are going to see quite a few croakers at the 3-pound mark,'' said Gillingham. ``I have heard of 4- and 4 1/2-pound croakers, but no one has weighed fish that size. I am convinced, with the citation minimum being 3 pounds, that when those 4-pound croakers are put on the scales they shrink to about 2 1/2 pounds.''
Croakers are a blue-collar anglers' delight. You don't need a yacht to catch them. They are the target of pier, partyboat and small-craft fishermen.
Croakers presently are being caught off Cape Charles, Onancock and Reedville, inside Lynnhaven and even along the Virginia Beach piers.
Capt. Wil Laaksonen, who fishes out of Onancock, said his parties are ``loaded up with croaker by noon'' and ready to return to the dock. ``As long as the tide is running, the croaker will be biting,'' he said.
Roger Wilkins, of Jetts Hardware in Reedville, said tons of croakers are available at the N2 Buoy, the Target Ships and Asphalt Pile, with the largest fish - up to 2 pounds - being caught just after dark.
Don Chamblee, of Smith Point Marina, reports that croakers measuring nearly 20 inches are being caught in 20 to 25 feet of water around Blackberry Hang.
Locklies Marina, Kruse's Wharf and Garretts Marina are other spots where the word is that ``croakers are about to take over.''
``It seems obvious that we have had several good year classes, likely the result of some fairly mild winters,'' said Gillingham.
AT PAYBACK: If you have enjoyed the Appalachian Trail and would like to give something back to the famous footpath, here's your chance. On Saturday and Sunday the Roanoke Appalachian Trail Club has scheduled work hikes at Dragon's Tooth in cooperation with a summer work group from Konnarock.
For information on where to meet and what to bring, contact Charles Parry of Blacksburg, 703-951-1402, or Bob and Kris Peckman, 366-7780.
ALL WET: Professional bass fishermen will go to great lengths to catch bass, but David Fritts went overboard - literally - to land a fish in the BASSMASTER SuperStars Tournament at Peoria, Ill.
While trying to catch the bass, Fritts said he leaned ``about two inches too far'' and fell out of his boat into 10 feet of water. He managed to hang onto the bass, which was one of the biggest of the day. It helped him place second, behind Jay Yelas.
by CNB