THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 2, 1994 TAG: 9410020162
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 203 lines
Anglers who boat striped bass weighing at least 40 pounds can earn personalized awards from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament this year.
That's down from the 55-pound fish it took to score a year ago, according to Claude Bain, director of the state-sponsored program.
While the tournament opened March 1, only recently have officials set the striper minimum.
Anglers will still be able to earn special release ``citations,'' as the awards are known, by setting free stripers of at least 44 inches.
The awards will be available only for fish caught during the 32-day open season. That season will be Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Oct. 27 through Dec. 18 in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries and in ocean waters out to three miles. From Dec. 19 through Dec. 31, only catches made in ocean waters will be eligible.
To discourage anglers from keeping big stripers, the species was removed from the tournament's eligibility list in 1983, when it was widely apparent that the rockfish was in extremely short supply.
The release citation was initiated two years ago, when the state opened striper fishing after a ban which lasted more than 23 months.
This year, for the first time, the entire tournament will run through Dec. 19. For years the contest closed Nov. 30. It was first expanded to cover the striper season in 1992.
UNDER NO MANAGEMENT? Virginia would drop out of a multistate agreement to manage coastal stocks of fish under a measure approved recently by the House of Delegates Committee on the Chesapeake Bay and Tributaries.
The measure was introduced during the 1994 legislative session by Del. W. Tayloe Murphy, D-Warsaw, a committee member. It was carried over and now becomes one of the first items the legislature will consider when it convenes in January.
If the bill is approved, Virginia will no longer be a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which includes representatives from 13 East Coast states.
It could also mean that the Virginia Marine Resources Commission will no longer be obligated to abide by ASMFC regulations, such as those limiting catches of striped bass, gray trout and bluefish.
However, some members of the legislative committee have said, off the record, that they are not certain that Virginia would be off the hook, since it was an ASMFC member when the limitations were approved.
``It's a complex subject,'' said Howard Copeland, D-Norfolk, chairman of the legislative committee.
``This isn't something that we really want to do,'' he said. ``But we don't have a choice. Virginia has gotten a bad deal from the ASMFC. If it passes, and I think it will, at the very least it sends the other states a strong message that Virginia is serious about wanting a better deal.''
One of the ``bad deals'' has been the ASMFC's refusal to allow Virginia to increase its 1994 catch of striped bass, even though the coalition has said that by 1995 the species will be ``fully recovered.''
Additionally, Virginia could be sued by the Commerce Department, since a federal bill passed last year gives that agency final say in decisions approved by the ASMFC.
William A. Pruitt, head of the Virginia commission, declined to comment on the bill. ``The administration does not have a position on the bill at this time,'' he said.
THE WINNERS: Nicholas Ball of Virginia Beach and Eugene North of Hampton have been declared Virginia winners in the Plano Big Bass World Championships.
Ball, in the junior division, will receive $250 for catching an 8.82-pound largemouth bass at Indian Lakes. He also be eligible for a $10,000 scholarship.
North, who boated an 8.46-pound bass at Western Branch Reservoir, will receive a free trip to Florida in November for the event's finals, where he will compete for $100,000 for himself and the scholarship for Ball.
FOR THE BIRDS: A lot more than looking at birds will be involved in the second annual Eastern Shore Birding Festival, set for the lower Shore Oct. 8-9.
Activities will include tours of several coastal islands, a hawk-banding project, tours of three national wildlife refuges, tours of The Nature Conservancy's holdings, hikes over a couple of the area's most beautiful farms, art displays, a children's adventure tent and exhibits from more than 20 state, federal and local agencies.
The festival, which promises to become one of the top birding events on the East Coast, is being hosted by the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce. Sunset Beach Motel, near the north end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, is headquarters.
You can get details by calling the chamber at 1-787-2758.
CAROLINA HUNTS: Dates have been set for public duck hunting at Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, one of the Atlantic Flyway's prime waterfowl holes.
A youth hunt will be held Nov. 25-26, with regular hunts set for Dec. 20-21, 23-24, 27-28 and 30-31 and Jan. 3-4, 6-7, 10-11, 13-14 and 17-18.
Those wishing to apply should send a $5 check or money order, along with a 3-by-5 index card with name, address, birthdate and preference of hunting dates (list three two-day periods) to: Mattamuskeet Hunt, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, Route 1, Box N-2, Swan Quarter, N.C. 27885.
SHORT CAST: Tim Kight of Virginia Beach took top honors in the archery division for 7-8-point deer at the recent Virginia Big Game Championship in Harrisonburg, Va. Kight's 8-pointer, killed in Surry County, scored 179 10/16 points under the Boone & Crockett scoring system. . . . Some 80 six-person teams are expected for the 44th annual Nags Head Surf Fishing Tournament, opening Thursday. . . . Tom Hartman, superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore for many years, has announced that he will retire Jan. 1. Hartman has guided the facility through some of its most troubled times. . . . Released fish have accounted for 56 percent of the 2,448 entries in this year's Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament. . . . A correction: The basic bag limit for ducks in Virginia this season will be three birds, not four as reported in a hunting guide published on these pages.
Anglers who boat striped bass weighing at least 40 pounds can earn personalized awards from the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament this year.
That's down from the 55-pound fish it took to score a year ago, according to Claude Bain, director of the state-sponsored program.
While the tournament opened March 1, only recently have officials set the striper minimum.
Anglers will still be able to earn special release ``citations,'' as the awards are known, by setting free stripers of at least 44 inches.
The awards will be available only for fish caught during the 32-day open season. That season will be Thursdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from Oct. 27 through Dec. 18 in the Chesapeake Bay and its tidal tributaries and in ocean waters out to three miles. From Dec. 19 through Dec. 31, only catches made in ocean waters will be eligible.
To discourage anglers from keeping big stripers, the species was removed from the tournament's eligibility list in 1983, when it was widely apparent that the rockfish was in extremely short supply.
The release citation was initiated two years ago, when the state opened striper fishing after a ban which lasted more than 23 months.
This year, for the first time, the entire tournament will run through Dec. 19. For years the contest closed Nov. 30. It was first expanded to cover the striper season in 1992.
UNDER NO MANAGEMENT? Virginia would drop out of a multistate agreement to manage coastal stocks of fish under a measure approved recently by the House of Delegates Committee on the Chesapeake Bay and Tributaries.
The measure was introduced during the 1994 legislative session by Del. W. Tayloe Murphy, D-Warsaw, a committee member. It was carried over and now becomes one of the first items the legislature will consider when it convenes in January.
If the bill is approved, Virginia will no longer be a member of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which includes representatives from 13 East Coast states.
It could also mean that the Virginia Marine Resources Commission will no longer be obligated to abide by ASMFC regulations, such as those limiting catches of striped bass, gray trout and bluefish.
However, some members of the legislative committee have said, off the record, that they are not certain that Virginia would be off the hook, since it was an ASMFC member when the limitations were approved.
``It's a complex subject,'' said Howard Copeland, D-Norfolk, chairman of the legislative committee.
``This isn't something that we really want to do,'' he said. ``But we don't have a choice. Virginia has gotten a bad deal from the ASMFC. If it passes, and I think it will, at the very least it sends the other states a strong message that Virginia is serious about wanting a better deal.''
One of the ``bad deals'' has been the ASMFC's refusal to allow Virginia to increase its 1994 catch of striped bass, even though the coalition has said that by 1995 the species will be ``fully recovered.''
Additionally, Virginia could be sued by the Commerce Department, since a federal bill passed last year gives that agency final say in decisions approved by the ASMFC.
William A. Pruitt, head of the Virginia commission, declined to comment on the bill. ``The administration does not have a position on the bill at this time,'' he said.
THE WINNERS: Nicholas Ball of Virginia Beach and Eugene North of Hampton have been declared Virginia winners in the Plano Big Bass World Championships.
Ball, in the junior division, will receive $250 for catching an 8.82-pound largemouth bass at Indian Lakes. He also is eligible for a $10,000 scholarship.
North, who boated an 8.46-pound bass at Western Branch Reservoir, will receive a free trip to Florida in November for the event's finals, where he will compete for $100,000 for himself and the scholarship for Ball.
FOR THE BIRDS: A lot more than looking at birds will be involved in the second annual Eastern Shore Birding Festival, set for the lower Shore Oct. 8-9.
Activities will include tours of several coastal islands, a hawk-banding project, tours of three national wildlife refuges, tours of The Nature Conservancy's holdings, hikes over a couple of the area's most beautiful farms, art displays, a children's adventure tent and exhibits from more than 20 state, federal and local agencies.
The festival, which promises to become one of the top birding events on the East Coast, is being hosted by the Eastern Shore Chamber of Commerce. Sunset Beach Motel, near the north end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, is headquarters.
You can get details by calling the chamber at 1-787-2758.
CAROLINA HUNTS: Dates have been set for public duck hunting at Lake Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge in North Carolina, one of the Atlantic Flyway's prime waterfowl holes.
A youth hunt will be held Nov. 25-26, with regular hunts set for Dec. 20-21, 23-24, 27-28 and 30-31 and Jan. 3-4, 6-7, 10-11, 13-14 and 17-18.
Those wishing to apply should send a $5 check or money order, along with a 3-by-5 index card with name, address, birthdate and preference of hunting dates (list three two-day periods) to: Mattamuskeet Hunt, Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge, Route 1, Box N-2, Swan Quarter, N.C. 27885.
SHORT CAST: Tim Kight of Virginia Beach took top honors in the archery division for 7-8-point deer at the recent Virginia Big Game Championship in Harrisonburg, Va. Kight's 8-pointer, killed in Surry County, scored 179 10/16 points under the Boone & Crockett scoring system. . . . Some 80 six-person teams are expected for the 44th annual Nags Head Surf Fishing Tournament, opening Thursday. . . . Tom Hartman, superintendent of Cape Hatteras National Seashore for many years, has announced that he will retire Jan. 1. Hartman has guided the facility through some of its most troubled times. . . . Released fish have accounted for 56 percent of the 2,448 entries in this year's Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament. . . . A correction: The basic bag limit for ducks in Virginia this season will be three birds, not four as reported in a hunting guide published on these pages. by CNB