ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 28, 1996 TAG: 9603280036
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: OUTDOORS
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
James Gray thinks about it.
While using a shad bait in the upper end of Smith Mountain Lake the other day, Gray hooked a striper he figured was large enough to earn him recognition in the state's trophy fish awards program. But its 19-pound, 11-ounce weight was 5 ounces less than what it takes to earn an award under minimum weight standards. The 38-inch fish did qualify by length.
``When I started filleting him, I felt something hard,'' said Gray.
Inside the fish was what Gray described as a baseball-size rock that weighed several ounces. He isn't certain why the fish swallowed the rock. Maybe it fell off the bank and looked like something to eat when it rolled into the water, he said. Or maybe the fish scooped up the rock while chasing something along the bottom.
What he does know, if the striper had swallowed another rock or two of equal size Gray would have met the 20-pound minimum for a weight award.
Either way, his catch is a rockfish he won't soon forget.
ANNA IS HOT: Largemouth bass are heading into the shallows of Lake Anna, where several fish over 8 pounds have been landed.
``You have fish that are moving, despite the up and down temperatures and the wind,'' said David Fauntleroy, of Anna Point Marina.
Anna Point has registered four 8-pounders the past two weeks, including two - an 8-2 and 8-3 - for Greg Martin of Winchester, who was fishing with guide Glen Briggs.
``It has exploded,'' is the way Carlos Wood, of High Point Marina, describes the fishing. He recorded four citations from the lower end of the lake.
``The aggressive fish that most of the guys are catching are in the shallows - 2 to 4 feet back in the coves,'' Fauntleroy said. The peak of the action is occurring in the mid-lake region, from 208 Bridge to Dike I, he said.
The best fishing occurs in the afternoon and early evening, when the fish move shallow on rising water temperatures. Productive lures include spinnerbaits, Rapalas, grubs, Jig n' pigs and Rattling Rogues.
The pre-spawning action should continue into April, Fauntleroy said. Before it is over, look for more bass to be caught that are of wall-hanging status. Last year, Anna was the state's leading producer of trophy largemouth awards, accounting for 102. The top months, in order, were April, March and May.
SINGING REELS: Outdoors writers tend to clog their prose with cliches. ``Singing reels'' is a good example, but that might be an apt description of what happened to Wayne Gentry on the New River.
Gentry likes to slip away from his business, 7-Day Market in Pearisburg, and take his fly rod to the river. On a recent trip, he used a Wooly Booger fly to catch a couple of smallmouths that were 14 and 15 inches long.
When he came to a hole he figured was a muskie haunt, Gentry tied on a Lefty Deceiver. A huge fish grabbed the minnow-imitation and ripped off about 30 feet of line, which had Gentry's reel ``singing.'' It was a short song that was drowned out by the percussion-like sound of Gentry's 20-pound test tippet breaking.
THE BLUES: Thirteen years ago, the Reedville Bluefish Derby began as just that, a bluefish tournament. Then bluefish angling turned sour while striped bass fishing grew better every season. So this year the derby's sponsor, the Smith Point Sea Rescue, Inc., has given striped bass equal billing with bluefish, as far as the prize money being offered.
The new deal appears to have stimulated interest in the tournament, which saw a decline in its entries when bluefish grew scarce. The 500-boat limit nearly has been reached. Information is available from Roger Wilkins, 804-453-5325.
LENGTH: Medium: 70 linesby CNB