ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, April 4, 1996 TAG: 9604040050
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: OUTDOORS
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
Dr. Dave Gladwell isn't your typical, good-old-boy bait fisherman. He is an artificial-lures angler, an advocate of catch-and-release, a collector of antique tackle. In 1986, he landed a 12-pound, 9-ounce state-record rainbow trout on a fly rod.
But there he was the other day, at Worsham's Grocery near Briery Creek Lake, buying minnows.
``I didn't even really want to get any minnows,'' he said, blaming the idea on his fishing buddy, Bill Bowen. After all, many of the jumbo largemouth bass at Briery Creek are being hooked on minnows, Bowen had told him.
``Are these minnows guaranteed?'' Gladwell asked Sandy Fore, the store's owner.
``They are guaranteed to catch fish or die trying,'' she said.
Until this spring, Gladwell hadn't been to Briery Creek for several years. But word of big bass finning about in the 845-acre, state-owned impoundment near Farmville had gotten his attention - especially the report about one angler catching and releasing two 12-pounders.
But when Gladwell and Bowen, both Bedford County residents, drove down on a recent cold, windy day, they didn't get a strike.
Last week, Gladwell had blocked off a day from his work as an optometrist to fish Chickahominy Lake. When that trip fell through, he and Bowen decided to return to Briery Creek Lake, stopping off at Worsham's to buy minnows.
``We got on the water about 9:30 or so that morning,'' he said. ``Bill picked up a bass about 15 or 16 inches [long] on a spinnerbait. We were throwing out minnows on one line and letting them sit, then we were casting spinnerbaits. I don't bait-fish. I just took one of the smallest hooks I could find that I use for plastic worms and hooked the minnow on it.''
With the exception of the fish Bowen caught, the day was going slowly. Then, a huge bass suddenly turned things around.
``Right at noon, the line that had my minnow on took off,'' Gladwell said.
Gladwell and Bowen had just made a cast with their spinnerbaits and had to reel them in at knuckle-banging speed to get them out of the way. Then, Gladwell grabbed his minnow rod and Bowen got his out of the way.
``It was hilarious,'' Gladwell said.
The huge bass Gladwell had hooked suddenly rolled to the surface, flaring its gills.
``You could see its big mouth,'' Gladwell said. ``We got the bass up to one side of the boat, then he took off, and then we got him up on the other side of the boat and Bill was able to get the net on him - or her, I am sure. I'd never see a bass that big.''
Back at Worsham's, the fish weighed in at 14 pounds.
``I like catch-and-release, but I kept this one,'' Gladwell said. ``It will go on my wall.''
The bass measured 27 inches and had a 22-inch girth, but it isn't the biggest from Briery Creek this spring. Albert Finchum, who operates PC Pullover, a store near the lake, weighed a 15-pound, 1-ounce largemouth for Tom Hubbard of Fredericksburg. Finchum also reported weighing bass for other fishermen that were 14, 13, 12, 11 and 10 pounds. Most were caught, weighed and released, he said.
Bass have been turning on at other lakes, including Smith Mountain, where several 8-pounders have been weighed at Campers Paradise.
Philpott is having some of its best bass days in memory, said Judy Helms at Rakes Sports Center in Bassett. One angler reported catching 23 bass, and another said he got 20.
Trophy largemouth bass also are coming from Lake Anna, where John Moore of Winchester landed a 101/2-pounder on a plastic worm while fishing from a rental boat. Several 8-pounders have been reported from Anna.
At Claytor Lake, Gary Howell of Dublin weighed a 5-pound, 1-ounce smallmouth bass.
LENGTH: Medium: 72 linesby CNB