ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Monday, March 4, 1996 TAG: 9603040070
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BRUCE STANTON/STAFF WRITER
PHOTOS from bruce are of Little River in Floyd County, many with chunks of ice flowing down the river; two men in fotos are Terry Reed and Steve Kittinger, both of Roanoke; photo of man by himself is Reed
FISHING FOR WINTER-COLD TROUT is a lot like driving through a school zone - you'd better slow down.
Terry Reed, an avid trout angler from Roanoke, has enjoyed a lot of success on Southwest Virginia trout streams and rivers this winter, mainly because he has kept his retrieve in first gear or park. He said cold-weather trout seem to go about their business a little slower than the spring-weather trout Virginians are accustomed to catching.
In the winter, ``they'll just pick up the bait and hold it,'' said Reed, 31, who spends a lot of time fishing the South Fork of the Roanoke River, Smith River and Little River and its tributaries. ``They won't bite it. You won't even feel them on there.
``If you get a few days where it warms up, they'll bite,'' Reed said. ``But when a cold front comes through, they're off.''
The bank sign on Virginia 8 in Riner said the temperature was 17 degrees on this February morning. The huge chunks of ice flowing down the Little River at the Floyd-Montgomery county line said, ``You might as well turn around and go home if you're a trout fisherman.''
More than a few hardy souls ignored the warnings and proceeded to a stocked stretch of the Little River next to Virginia 705 in Floyd County. The early risers were greeted by an ice floe that would have made an Alaskan salmon fisherman feel at home.
While the ice chunks scraped the side of the banks, sounding like sandpaper sliding slowly down a door, the anglers quickly learned that keeping a line in the water was no small feat. It was like fishing in a huge Styrofoam cup full of swirling ice.
Most of the fishermen were trying to cast into openings between the floating pieces of ice, hoping their sinkers would drop their power bait and nightcrawlers to the bottom and into the mouth of a waiting brown or rainbow. But after a few seconds, a chunk of ice usually would pick up the line and bring the bait to the top, forcing the angler to reel in and cast again. Over and over and over.
Around noon, most of the ice had floated downstream or melted. The consensus was the trout did the same thing.
``I haven't got a bite today, and I didn't get a bite when they stocked in January,'' said one fisherman.
So anglers on this stretch of the Little River learned a few things about Virginia's year-round trout season. Trout fishing is colder than ever, and it's slower than ever.
Reed has had success this winter with 2-inch grubs on a Rooster Tail and power bait. He's noticed rainbow and brown trout have tended to hold in slack water off the main currents, while brook trout tend to remain in the current during cold weather.
But even when he goes to a stream he knows has been stocked recently, he said fishing can be hard work.
``At South Fork, it took us six hours to catch our limit one time,'' he said, acknowledging trout anglers must be patient to be successful in the winter.
``A lot of times in early spring, you can just throw a line out there, and they'll just hit it. In the winter, you have to let [the bait] drift down and just let it sit there. And if they don't hit it then, move it in about a foot, and they might hit it then. Moving bait, they have a tendency to not hit it. You have to move it real close to them for them to get it. You have to work more casting to get your bait to lots of places.''
The West Fork of the Little River was running a few inches high, with a nice, green tinge to it. It had been stocked the week before.
George Segnari of Roanoke thought a limit was nothing short of a sure thing, especially since he had caught several limits there the year before - in July and August. And even though the stocking had occurred a week earlier, surely the foot of snow that shut down schools and many businesses had kept fishermen at home or someplace warm and dry.
But this unusually pleasant, 65-degree winter day provided no trout for several anglers at the Floyd County stream. And not even a bite for Segnari.
Maybe the truck didn't dump more than a handful of trout there, or maybe the water was too cold, were a couple of theories he had. He spent 30 minutes at one of his favorite holes, patiently waiting for a tug at the other end of his line. It never came, and he and his friend went home with empty stringers.
``A lot of people can go out there and catch a limit in 30 minutes in the spring,'' Reed said. ``But the fish will not be as aggressive now. If they're downstream and you're upstream, you'll pull it out of their mouth every time. You have to get sidestream or downstream and throw up to them. That sometimes works better.''
Reed's theories proved true on a recent Little River excursion. He fished a few hours before finally hooking three brown trout on power bait at midafternoon. All three were barely hooked on the lip, giving evidence that the fish weren't really ``biting'' down on the bait.
His favorite winter stream by far has been the South Fork of the Roanoke River, where he said he's caught limits nearly three weeks after stockings.
It was warm outside, and trout had been stocked the day before at Tinker Creek, a stream that winds through the east side of Roanoke. The stocking drew a crowd of opening day proportions on a February weekday.
The trout were very active, and several limits could be seen hanging from stringers of successful anglers. One fisherman hooked a stringer-full of brook, rainbow and brown trout from one hole while using a crawdad crankbait. Other anglers pitched here and cast there with power baits, corn and worms, usually with success.
``Someone said they put a 7-pounder in here,'' said a fisherman. He and six or seven buddies appeared to be ganging up on the trout, as if it they knew the whereabouts of its lair.
Now that there is a year-round season, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries should put more emphasis on spreading the fish out instead of just dumping a few net-fulls off bridges, said Reed. Why not have a volunteer network of anglers who could be assembled to help the stockers perform their duties, he asked.
``They don't have a tendency to spread them out as much,'' Reed said. ``They said, for one reason, the game wardens don't help them out as much, so they have a tendency to put them in easy areas, like bridges and areas that are accessible to their truck. A lot of people would like to see the fish spread out. One guy said it was hard to do with the staff and money they have. Sometimes, they'll let you help them and spread them out. We helped them at Roaring Run, and the fishing was good for several weeks. If you scatter them out, if they're in there awhile, they're harder to catch.''
Even with its shortcomings, Reed is sold on the year-round season.
``I think year-round stocking will help, and it will build up a population of trout that will be hard to catch. I like it now. From October to now, there's not many people in the streams, and I enjoy that. You have to dress warm, but you can go out there and relax. But you do have to work to catch 'em.''
The Roanoke River was stocked on a Tuesday, but there was plenty of action through the weekend as temperatures reached the 60s.
Early Saturday morning, two anglers waded across the river near the U.S. 220 bridge. While one man baited up, the other tossed his line in the water. Barely had it hit the surface when a trout grabbed it, breaking to the surface and jerking its head back and forth in vain. The warm temperatures had made the fish active, and a good stocking had made this particular trout available five days after it had been released in the river.
Many other anglers experienced the kind of strikes they usually get on opening day. Presentation didn't seem to be as important as locating a willing fish. Once you found a fish, it basically was yours.
LENGTH: Long : 145 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: Bruce Stanton. Terry Reed (right) fishes Little River inby CNBFloyd County along with Steve Kittinger on a cold, January day.