THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, September 20, 1994 TAG: 9409200453
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY LEE TOLLIVER, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 176 lines
A bit of miscommunication cost a Virginia Beach angler a good sum of prize money and a measure of pride in the Virginia Beach King Mackerel Tournament on Sunday.
David Trax caught fish that would have taken first and second place, but officials told him they didn't count because the tournament had been called off for the day due to a small-craft advisory.
The event paid 40 percent of the $100 entry fees for first place and 20 percent for second, meaning Trax and his crew would have boated 60 percent of the prize money.
Trax - a tournament winner in 1991 and 1992 - said there was no clear ruling on whether anglers could fish if a small-craft advisory was issued by the Coast Guard.
The conflict boils down to what was said at the skipper's meeting on Friday night, when tournament director Kenny Taylor addressed the 20 registered captains and their teammates.
Trax, a former Coast Guardsman, raised the weather issue, aware that an approaching cold front would likely bring blustery winds on Sunday.
``He said that anything short of a hurricane and we could fish,'' Trax said. ``It was my understanding that it would be skipper's choice.''
Evidently, three other teams thought the same thing, opting to fish Sunday.
``I'd say it is a safe bet that if you polled some of the other boats that didn't fish, they did so because it was their own choice,'' Trax said. ``It was never broadcast over the radio that the tournament was called.
``Hey, if I can pay my $100 to fish in his tournament, he can get out of bed and put it on the radio.''
But Taylor insists that there was no need for such an effort.
``All he had to do was push the WX button on his radio and listen to the small-craft advisory,'' Taylor said. ``You can't have a tournament with little boats and expect people to fish when the Coast Guard says you're not supposed to be out there.
``I knew the front was coming through, and at the skipper's meeting I said that if it was blowing a hurricane and there was no small-craft advisory, you can fish. But if there is a small-craft advisory, we would not fish. The advisory went out before `lines in the water' at 6 a.m. He should have been monitoring his radio and he shouldn't have been out there in a small boat anyway.''
William Moger of Norfolk won two divisions - king mackerel and cobia - in the tournament. (Results are listed below.)
Sunday's windy conditions postponed many fishing trips for anglers, but the week prior brought in some outstanding results.
White marlin continued to show well off Virginia Beach, while inshore, speckled trout and flounder fishing continued an upswing, especially in Lynnhaven and Rudee inlets.
Bigeye tuna also a showing off the Outer Banks of North Carolina, where white marlin action continued to be hot.
A roundup of recent catches:
Virginia Beach offshore: Blue marlin releases: David Comer Jr., Ashburn, Va., from the Beach Comer; Timothy Foster, Virginia Beach, Poor Girl; Teresa King, Colonial Beach, Shore Bet; Bonnie Hardiman, Richmond, Wahoo.
White marlin releases: Gregory Markham, Bedford, Chris Stuart, Newport News, Claude Sain, Newport News, and Richard Goettler, Lynchburg, all from the No More Excuses; Ronald Jensen, Newport News, and Vincent Lassiter, Grafton, Va. both Breike; Ryan Brown, Norfolk, and Matt Tiffany, Virginia Beach, both My Boy IV; Louis Graves, Fredericksburg, Va., Cotton Picker; Hill Ellett, Virginia Beach, and Ester Vaughan, Virginia Beach, both Sea Thru; S.M. Kampfmueller and Jeff Schubart, both Virginia Beach, Comp Time; William Fessenden, Dena, Va., Dixie;Dale Carlson, Virginia Beach, Jeanie Lee; Michael Jurick, Mechanicsville, Va., Poor Girl; Kitty Falk (3 releases), Virginia Beach, O-Four; Jeff White, Chesapeake, O-Four; Bill James, Whitestone, Va., Quality Time; Tammy Kuhn, Virginia Beach and Dr. Harvey Shiflet, Virginia Beach, Debbie Tiler, Mechanicsville, Va., Vickie Carroll, Montpelier, Va., Dennis Wall, Ashland, Va., and Carl Crispin, Virginia Beach, all Outer Limits; Bill Schonauer, Richmond, Shore Bet; Mark Wawner, Virginia Beach, The Hooker; Bob Poulton, Owings Mills, Md., Jim Moeller, Portsmouth, Randy Blackmon, Newport News, and Bob Spencer, Suffolk, all No Problem; Perry Bailey, Petersburg, Captain's Choice; Ronnie Anderson, Chesapeake, Fin Chaser; Larry Hill, Norfolk, Sea Slammer; Waldo Roberts, Chesapeake, Hooker; Brook Roberts, Reston, Va., and Andrew Parsons, Virginia Beach, both Country Girl; Linda Hinson, Warsaw, Va., Virginia Breeze.
Wahoo: Bill Carroll, Virginia Beach, 54-0, Tom Cat; Danny Baker, Virginia Beach, 43-8, Mary M; Lee Ann Graves, Fredericksburg, Va., 42-8, and Nelson Graves, Fredericksburg, 32-0, both Petrel; Richard Harris, Suffolk, 40, Breike; Hill Ellett, Virginia Beach, 36-4; Tim Nixon, Chesapeake, 32-0, Tom Cat; Daniel Thompson, Norfolk, 30-8, Alibi. King Mackerel: David Trax, Virginia Beach, 23-12, AquaTrax. Dolphin: Lee Ann Graves, Fredericksburg, Va., 32-0, Petrel; Donald Diedrich, Springfield, Va., Nimbus; Neal Clark, Virginia Beach, 21-8, Runaway.
Lower Chesapeake Bay: Cobia: Denny Dobbrus, Chesapeake, 45-0, no name on boat.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel: Flounder: Richard Scharff, Chesapeake, 7-12, Little Rascal; Patricia Davidson, Norfolk, 6-12, Love Is; Thomas Keaton, Richmond, 6-8, no name; Joyce Akers, Norfolk, 6-8, Captain's Quarters; Ken Haywood, Portsmouth, 6-8, Princess Patty.
Eastern Shore: White marlin releases: Mathew Fowler, Silver Springs, Md., Motley Crew; Ronnie Lucas, Onancock, Va., Cliffhanger; George McGhee, Richmond, and Norbert Hicks, Maidens, Va., Are Starr. Wahoo: David Dirks, Davidsonville, Md., 42-0, Monster Fish; Vernon Rogers, Mount Airy,k Md., 42-9, Shamrock. Speckled trout: Eric Nikolaus, Columbia, Pa., 6-15, Get Lucky; Grace Caton, Machipongo, Va., 6-0, no name; Glen Ferry, Melfa, Va., 5-12, no name. Croaker: Newman Scott, Onancock, 3-1, no name. Red Drum: Cary Jarvis, Virginia Beach, 51-8, Bubba-Lu; Arthur Dent, Cape Charles, 46-0, Agitator; Walter Jarvis, Norfolk, 42-4, Bubba-Lu.
Outer Banks inshore: Sea mullet: Stephen Corbin, Culpepper, Va., 2-4. Jack crevalle: Kirby Crutchfield, Nags Head, 22-0. Spanish mackerel: Gerald Eaton, Chesapeake, 8-8, Miss Lisa.
Outer Banks offshore: Blue marlin releases: James Manley, Chesterfield, Va., and Frank Marsee, Petersburg, Va., both Hatteraser; Frank Marcinkowski, Burke, Va., Fin Fantasy; Daniel McClarren, Buxton, N.C., Fighting Chance; Carl Catron, Marion, Va., Harper's Folly. White marlin releases: Michael Dorsey, Hampton, Release; Ronald Anderson and Robert Bonber, both Roanoke, both Sea Creatre; Michael Jones, Portsmouth, Predator; Audrey Edwards and Harry Taliaferro, both Warsaw, Va., asd James Albert and Dan Green, both Petersburg, all Obsession; David Gilliam, Burlington, N.C., Southern Exposure; Michael Jennings, Chesterfield, Va., Hog Wild; Gerald Gaddy and Lawrence Nichols, both Charlotte, both Candlewick Lady; George Cecil, Elliston, Va., Grand Slam (2);Dennis Higdon, Falls Church, Va., Sizzler; Michael Alber, Centerville, Va., Pelican; Edward Hazelwood, Hanover, Va., Bubba Lacey, Sandy Hook, Va., and Michael Slatner, Glen Allen, Va., all Fishing Frenzy; Allyson Jackson, Portsmouth, and Michael Carr, Richmond, both Sea Witch.
Sailfish releases: Luther Gilbert, Virginia Beach, Hatteraser; John Chandler, McLean, Va., Rlease; Cindy Hill, Newport News and Eddie Spruce, Rustburg, Va., both Atlantic Blue; Harley Harrah, Chesapeake, and Cheryl VanDyke, Radford, Va., both Eagle Don; Walter Eubank, Powhatan, Va., Hog Wild; Bert Holland, Manakin-Sabot, Va., Right Hook; Gail Burton, Chesapeake, C. Hawk.
Bigeye tuna: Virginia Stele, Barbersville, Va., 105-0, Fast Lane; Charles Erwin, Greensboro, 120-0, Hooker; Glen Pulley, Richmond, 127-0 and Thomas Stembridge, 187-0, both Richmond, both Carolinian; Dan Kieff, Chesterfield, Va., 129, Carolinian; William Hudgins, Gloucester, 100-0, no name; Arthur Defeo, Apex, N.C., 108-0, Phideux; James Culler, Ashboro, N.C., 125-0, Bounty Hunter; Ronnie Preddy, Portsmouth, 102, C. Hawk. Wahoo: Nicole Stephens, Midland, Va., 40-0, Hatteras Blue; Gerald Eaton, Chesapeake, 53-0, Miss Lisa; William Haywood, Portsmouth, 63-8, C. Hawk; David Hargrove, Raleigh, 45-0, no name; Stanley Snead, Chesterfield, Va., 49-0, Pelican. Dolphin: Robert Warren, Ashland, Va., 43-0, Marlin Mania.
Fresh water: Largemouth bass: David Knittle, Chesapeake, 6-4, West Neck Creek. Chain pickerel: Michael Belstlen, Disputanta, Va., 4-3, Lake Cahoon. White perch: Jay Palmer, Portsmouth, 1-10, Western Branch; Pete Rose, Suffolk, 1-7, Western Branch. Shellcracker: Bob Vann, Franklin, 1-1, Western Branch; Joe Miltier, Portsmouth, 1-2, 1-1, Western Branch. Gar: Mie Jones, Portsmouth, 15-0, Western Branch. Channel catfish: William Pulley, Norfolk, 9-7, Whitehurst.
Tournaments: William Moger of Norfolk took firsts in two divisions of the Virginia Beach Anglers Club king mackerel tournament. He won the king division with a 14-8 and first in cobia with a 31-0. Robert Walsh of Virginia Beach won the spanish mackerel division with a 2-8. Bill Mayer of Virginia Beach was second in the king division with a 10-12, followed by Jeff Sherman of Virginia Beach at 9-0.
The Shreeves family of Pasadena, Md., captured three of the 12 divisional championships in the Chesapeake Bay Challenge. The tournament drew 187 anglers. Victor Shreves won the adult flounder division with a 4.04-pound fish. Rick Shreeves won the adult spot division with a 0.56-pound fish, and Ricky Shreves won the junior division croaker dvision with a 1.16-pounder. Other adult winners were Otis Evans of Melfa, Va., with a 5.31-pound gray trout; Stuart Bell of Onley with a 4.21 speckled trout; Diana Dize-Neeson of Virginia Beach with a 1.95 bluefish; and Chuck Albertson of Timonium, Md., with a 1.37 croaker. Other junior (under-16) winners were Chase Scott of Onley, Va., with a 0.95 grey trout; Adam James of Onancock with a 1.66 speckled trout; Michelle Laaksonen of Onancock with a 3.23 flounder; Josh Taylor of Onancock with a 1.66 bluefish; Norman Katrobas III of Onancock with a 1.46 oyster toad; and Andrew Bonniwell of Painter with a .51 spot.
The Sand Fiddlers of Buxton captured the Hatteras Village Team Surf Fishing Tournament. Team members: Eddie Ochs, Zander Brody, Doug Martin, Rick Scarborough, Buddy Jennett and Steve Robinson. Ochs also landed the biggest fish among male anglers - a 28-inch albacore. Becky Masters of the Sand Bunnies and Carla Lutz of All Wet tied for first among female anglers - each catchin 19-inch flounder. All flounder caught in the tournament were released. Finishing behind the Sand Fiddlers were the Rising Tides of Nags Head, Hammered Brothers of Midlothian, Va., Riverside Anglers of Elizabeth City and All Wet from Avon, N.C. by CNB