ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, March 6, 1997 TAG: 9703060057
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: OUTDOORS
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
Warmer temperatures have sent hungry bass to shallow water where they are being hooked by fishermen who realize success is dictated as much by the thermometer as by the calendar.
The fishing hot spots are Anna, Kerr and Chickahominy lakes, but much of the state's other bass water also is productive, including Smith Mountain, Claytor, Philpott, Gaston and Briery Creek lakes.
The New River fit that category until rain this week put it out of its banks and turned it muddy.
``They were pulling some major bass out of here,'' Wayne Gentry said of the New. The water temperature had jumped to 52 degrees, and the smallmouth bass were latching onto spinnerbaits and jig-and-pigs, said Gentry, who sells tackle at his 7-Day Market in Pearisburg..
Joe Williams, a biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, reported a 6-pound, 4-ounce smallmouth from the Montgomery County portion of the river and a 7-pound, 2-ounce catch from the Giles County section.
Gentry predicted Wednesday that the impact of high water will be temporary.
``Those bass are still there, waiting,'' he said. ``When the water goes back down, they will hit.''
The New's output of trophy bass has been on the upswing. The count of citation smallmouth - bass a hefty 6 pounds or more - was 33 in 1994; 81 in 1995 and 93 last year. Only the James River topped it last season, with 94 citations. Smith Mountain Lake was third, with 44 citations.
Words like ``wild'' have been used to describe the fishing at Lake Anna. David Fauntleroy, at Anna Point Marina, reported that jerk baits worked in 4 to 8 feet of water are ``tearing up the bass.''
Mike Branham of Stafford landed a 10-pound, 7-ounce largemouth on a Rattlin' Rogue lure. Much of the Anna action is in the Pigeon Creek to Sturgeon Creek section, where 7-pound catches have been common.
Also grabbing attention at Anna is a 25-pound, 5-ounce striped bass, caught by Steve Coleman of Woodbridge. Old-timers at Anna believe it may be a lake record, although well short of the 45-pound, 10-ounce state record landed two years ago at Smith Mountain Lake.
Chickahominy Lake has been turning out impressive catches of largemouth bass up to 7 pounds, some of them hitting plastic worms.
Last season Anna and Chickahominy had 63 largemouth citations apiece. Lake Prince, Western Branch and Lake Chesdin were the leaders, each with 81. Smith Mountain had 53.
The annual Smith Mountain Lake Ruritan bass tournament set for March 15 will be a test of how good the early bass fishing is at the lake. The tournament fee is $60 per team, which is $10 more than reported on the Monday Outdoor Page.
Kerr Lake isn't known as a trophy bass factory, but it accounts for good numbers of 2- to 4-pound largemouths. Fish that size have penetrated shallow water at Kerr, where they are hitting Shad Raps, Speed Shads and spinnerbaits. The lake level has pushed above the 300-foot mark and the bass have followed the flow into the shoreline willows. The upper lake is muddy.
BIG BUCK SNUBBED: The 19-point Floyd County buck killed by Ronnie Perdue of Salem during the muzzleloading season was the highest-scoring deer at the Dixie Classic last weekend, but it didn't win the hearts of the show judges. The ``Best of the Show'' trophy at the Raleigh, N.C., event went to a North Carolina buck that scored 2093/8. That perplexed Perdue, whose buck was a fraction over 215 according to the Boone and Crockett system.
``It was the biggest and best looking one there, and that included bucks all the way from Canada,'' said Perdue. ``The judges are going to have to live with that.''
BIG BUCKS FOR ELK: The Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation banquet in Roanoke raised $35,000 for elk restoration projects. Included was a $5,000 gift from N.B. Handy Co.
STILL MORE BIG BUCKS: Ricky Clunn, the only angler to win four BASS Master Classics, also is making a name for himself on the new Wal-Mart FLW Tour. He won the $100,000 top prize at the recent FLW event in Mississippi.
LENGTH: Medium: 76 linesby CNB