ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, May 11, 1996                 TAG: 9605130026
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG
SOURCE: LISA APPLEGATE STAFF WRITER 

HOOKED FOR LIFE BASS BUSTERS MIX FISHING WITH POND ECOLOGY

"Ooh! It's a big 'un!" screamed fifth-grader Mike Stevers from the gazebo.

"This is the biggest one yet. It's huge!" he added, as his pole bent sharply down into the murky green water of the Virginia Tech Duck Pond.

"Here it comes!" Stevers said, reeling in a 3-foot long, slimy, dark ... tree limb.

But Stevers, and the other fifth-graders from Kipps Elementary School who invaded the area on a recent sunny afternoon, did manage to catch - and release - more than 100 blue gill and catfish.

For their efforts, the children raised $50 in a fish-a-thon, a two-hour casting frenzy to raise money for the "Bass Busters."

The idea for the after-school club of about 30 fisherboys and girls came from fifth-grade teacher Trevor Ruble and J.R. Stoneking, a senior custodian at the school. The two fishing connoisseurs spend endless hours together pursuing their favorite pastime.

Aside from learning the fine art of casting, finding the right spot for hungry fish, and using the best bait (corn is the key, they say), the group talks about keeping the environment clean for their slick swimmers.

"We teach them it's their responsibility to keep the fisheries clean and pass that on to other kids," Ruble said.

The Bass Busters have gotten information on fishing-hole ecology from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Several local stores have donated equipment.

After spending most of last fall and this spring at either the Duck Pond or Hethwood Park, Ruble said the expert casters are looking for new waters.

"We're hoping for people to let us fish in their ponds. We'd of course leave it better than the way we found it," he said.

Some in the group are just learning to fish. Others, like Catherine Price and Zach Kurtz, have been casting for "years" and say they love the Thursday afternoon outings.

"You get to be with your friends and you get to fish for a couple of hours," Price said.

As Ruble stands near them, cutting their hopelessly entangled lines from the two poles, he smiles with pride.

"Once you get them hooked," Ruble said (referring to his students and not the fish), "they're hooked for life."

LENGTH: Medium:   54 lines
ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO:  GENE DALTON/Staff. 1. Randy Thomason (above) holds one 
          of the fish he caught during the recent club outing at the Virginia 
          Tech Duck Pond. 2. Members of the Bass Busters have their own 
          T-Shirts (below left). color.