THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, January 29, 1995 TAG: 9501290278
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: - Bob Hutchinson
LENGTH: Short : 42 lines
Here's a tip passed on by Roney Leightner, a retired banker who lives in Portsmouth but spends a lot of time combing the beaches and breakers of the Outer Banks.
While fishing the surf at Hatteras one day last fall, Leightner noticed that the fellow next to him was consistently catching speckled trout. Yet others in a group of about 20 were scoring only occasionally.
After observing the fellow for several minutes, Leightner discovered the key to his success.
``He was casting farther than the rest of us,'' Leightner said. ``He was reaching the fish regularly and we were picking up only stragglers inshore of the school.''
A closer look revealed that although both were using the same weight lure, the successful angler was using a lighter line, either 6- or 8-pound test.
``But the big thing,'' Leightner said, ``was that the wind was blowing right straight into our faces and this guy was keeping his casts low, just above the surface. He was casting sidearm.
``He was encountering less wind,'' Leightner said. ``I thought about how many times I had seen gulls and other birds flying into the wind.
``They stay just above the water because there's less wind resistance. It's the same principle.''
Leightner said he changed to 6-pound-test line and started casting sidearm, keeping the lure just above the breakers, and immediately had a strike.
Then the fish moved offshore, out of everyone's casting range.
``But I sure learned something,'' Leightner said. MEMO: Do you have an outdoor tip worth sharing? Mail it to: Bob Hutchinson,
The Virginian-Pilot, 150 West Brambleton Ave., Norfolk, Va. 23510, or
call 446-2342.
by CNB