ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, February 29, 1996 TAG: 9602290056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: OUTDOORS
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
The late-February thaw had some fishermen making foolish statements, like: ``It looks like winter is finally over.''
After all, Canada geese were heading north in wavering V's, the peepers sounded like sleigh bells in the marshes and the ``tonk-a-lee'' of red-winged blackbirds flowed across meadows that were flushing green.
But the bass - those cold-blooded brutes - had a way of bringing everyone back to reality. Fishing, for the most part, has been tough.
``In many places, we had anglers sitting in 70-degree temperatures fishing in 30-something-degree water,'' said Jack Randolph, who compiles a weekly fishing report for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
While a few warm days can send the sap running in fishermen, it takes longer for the yeast of spring to impact bass and stripers living in water that was ice a few days earlier.
When the aquatic transition from winter to spring does occur, look for it to happen rapidly, said Dale Wilson, a fishing guide on Smith Mountain Lake.
``It is the coldest winter we've had for a long time, so the baitfish will go shallow quicker when the water warms up,'' Wilson said.
That already has occurred in the Potomac River and Lake Anna.
Guides Ricky Gaines and Andy Anderejewski caught and released more than 100 stripers each at Morgantown Bridge on the Potomac. The fish measured up to 39 inches.
Largemouth bass up to nearly 8 pounds have been landed this week at Lake Anna, an impoundment near Charlottesville that has a reputation of producing fish while other lakes remain in a winter stupor.
Jess Hess of Woodford caught and released 17 Anna bass, finding most of them 14 feet deep. Others bass have been taken at depths ranging from 5 to 25 feet.
Lures that have produced are the Silver Buddy, pig-and-jigs in dark colors and 71/2-inch dark plastic worms fished very slowly.
Spinnerbaits and pig-and-jigs are hooking a few bass at Kerr Lake, where one angler weighed a 61/2-pounder. The Kerr water temperature remains in the lower 40s and the lake is high -304.4 feet - and muddy.
At Claytor Lake, Debbie Phillips weighed a 2-pound, 11-ounce white bass and reported a few walleye are hitting. The water temperature is hovering around 40 degrees.
Smith Mountain Lake, Briery Creek Lake and Lake Moomaw remain in winter's tight grip. The water temperature at Moomaw is in the high 30s, and it is in the low 40s at Smith Mountain. There have been some decent catches of striped bass from Smith Mountain by anglers skillful in spooning up fish holding to deep water.
CLAYTOR COMING BACK: Acting as a good Samaritan, American Electric Power lowered the level of Claytor Lake about 3 feet to assist in the recovery of a sunken cruise boat, the Pioneer Maid. The lake level is expected to return to the usual winter operating range today, said Mike Thacker, a power company spokesman.
Some fishermen have expressed concern the drawdown could harm spawning bass, but Vic DiCemzo, fisheries biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, said anglers shouldn't worry. The drawdown was brief and occurred long before bass move to spawning beds, something that likely won't occur until late April, he said.
The power company has a policy of keeping the lake level suitable for spawning bass each spring, beginning in mid-April.
BIG TROUT: There are some trophy trout lurking in Mayo River, which flows through Patrick County near Patrick Springs. Carl Handy knows they are there, because he is stocking 2-pound-plus fish in his section of the river, where he operates the Blue Ridge Valley Trout Preserve. The pay-fishing area opened last season and is set to begin its 1996 season Saturday, Handy said.
``I have some real good fish,'' he said. ``They go 2 to 5 pounds.''
It costs $25 to fish the preserve. Reservations can be made by calling 540-694-8038.
LENGTH: Medium: 74 linesby CNB