ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, April 7, 1996 TAG: 9604090009
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: OUTDOORS
You have to figure Mike Huffman will be the most nervous guy among the 263
anglers in the Mr.Bass Tournament scheduled Saturday and Sunday at Smith
Mountain Lake. And he's not even a contender.
Huffman is the host, the tournament director, the fellow who convinced the
Virginia State B.A.S.S. Federation that 20,000-acre Smith Mountain is the
place to be in April. He is counting on an eye-popping catch to prove it.
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
What you have is the federation's biggest tournament ever coming to a lake that has a Scrooge-like reputation among competitive fishermen.
Welcome to the new Smith Mountain Lake, Huffman is telling bass fishermen who may be asking, ``Why not go to Kerr or Gaston or Anna?''
``We have the possibility of it taking 30 pounds to win Mr.Bass - that's for two days,'' said Huffman, who lives in New Castle. ``Some fishermen say it will take 35 pounds.''
Huffman isn't talking about team weights. This is a solo contest that has a daily limit of five bass.
``If you catch four 3-pounders and have a kicker [one bigger] fish, you have a shot at it - if you can do that two days in a row,'' Huffman said. ``They are there. I hope they are in the pre-spawn stage and are hungry. But Mother Nature can take a positive situation and turn it nasty in a heartbeat.''
If the lake yields the kind of bragging-size catch Huffman believes it is capable of producing, there is a good chance the Mr.Bass tournament will become an annual event at Smith Mountain, he said. That can mean big bucks for the region, a fact not overlooked by area chambers of commerce who have scheduled a golf tournament, a kids fishing tournament and a reception.
``Each fisherman, on the average, will spend $125 a day,'' Huffman said.
The tournament is open to the top two fishermen from the federation's 154 bass clubs across the state. The big turnout is strong evidence that anglers are learning Smith Mountain's bass population has rebounded.
``I would say Smith Mountain Lake is the third-best place for bass in the state,'' said Huffman, who spends considerable time on the tournament trail. ``Kerr is better because it has more area and more fish. The Potomac River is awesome for bass, now that they have cleaned up the river and the grass is back.''
The assessment of Huffman is supported by data from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Last year's tournament results compiled by the agency showed Smith Mountain with the best competitive catch rate of any impoundment in the state. It was 12th in 1994. Only the Potomac and Rappahannock rivers ranked higher last year.
Smith Mountain accounted for 63 largemouth bass citations in 1995, which ranked it fourth in the state. Its 36 smallmouth citations gave it a third-place ranking and included the second-heaviest fish reported, a 6-pound, 4-ounce trophy.
A slot limit, which protects breeder bass, and the practice of catch-and-release have made a difference, Huffman said.
``We didn't like the slot limit when it was proposed, but we bit the bullet and went along with it,'' he said. ``Now Smith Mountain Lake will hold its own with any of them.''
Mr.Bass will award $12,000 to the 20 fishermen who weigh the best catches at Waterwheel Marina. It also will send two anglers and an alternate to Eastern Division B.A.S.S. competition in Pennsylvania in the fall.
LENGTH: Medium: 65 linesby CNB