THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, December 5, 1994 TAG: 9412050130
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
Over the weekend, hundreds of anglers continued to enjoy the renaissance in Virginia striped bass fishing, especially along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. But few probably enjoyed it any more than a trio aboard the boat Mary P.
Larry Voss of Virginia Beach, Cary A. Clark of Chesapeake and Sonny Boardman of Marietta, Ga., each caught and released a striper longer than the 44 inches required to earn a special release citation from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament.
Voss' striper measured 48 inches, which probably was between 45 and 52 pounds. Boardman scored at 47 inches and Clark at 46. They were unavailable for details but but told Tommy Trant, manager of Lynnhaven Waterways Marina in Virginia Beach, that the fish were caught ``at the Eastern Shore.''
That could mean the Smith Island Flats, northeast of the high-level span of the bridge-tunnel. That was a hot spot for big December stripers 25 years ago - the last time there were good numbers of large fish around.
The stripers were not the only big rockfish registered in Virginia over the weekend.
John Galloway of Virginia Beach weighed a 40-pound, 10-ounce striper at Fisherman's Wharf Marina at Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach.
Andy Lighon of Norfolk had the top catch in a striper tournament staged over the weekend by the Tidewater Anglers Club of Norfolk. The fish, also from bridge-tunnel waters, weighed 29-6.
Wayne Kruse of Topping, Va., won a striper tournament staged out of Deltaville by the Atlantic Coast Conservation Association. His winning catch weighed 44.6 pounds. by CNB