THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300463
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
LENGTH: Long : 140 lines
It looks as if that tremendous run of giant bluefin tuna off Hatteras, N.C., is coming to an end.
Action was slow for a couple days but improved Tuesday. However, many observers said the fish were not as abundant as they had been.
Of course, migrating bluefins are like vacationing tourists: They don't all leave from the same spot, for the same spot, at the same time. In the past, the run has extended into mid-April. However, it doesn't look as though that will be the case this time.
Meanwhile, the fishery has spawned more rumors than the death of Elvis. We're hearing everything from dead fish washing ashore on Ocracoke Island (unconfirmed) to clandestine haulaways in unnumbered boats (also unconfirmed).
The plethora of tales is at least partially due to the fish's value. At about $50 a pound, it doesn't take a computer whiz to figure that a 500-pounder is worth $25,000.
It's illegal to keep a giant tuna unless you have two federal permits. Even then, the limit is one per boat, per year, and the fish are not to be sold.
Anyway, the bottom line is that if you want to catch a giant tuna this season, this weekend might offer your final decent shot.
HUTCH'S PICKS OF THE WEEK
Fresh water: It's a toss-up between largemouth bass and crappie. Big largemouths are being encountered on almost all lakes and streams, while crappie are biting practically everywhere.
Salt water: Once again the nod must go to those Hatteras bluefin tuna, even though the end of the season could arrive by the weekend.
TAPE MEASURE: WHO CAUGHT WHAT
Fresh water: The team of Russell Gammon and Jim Banks of Virginia Beach won a largemouth bass tournament out of Bob's Fishing Hole on the Northwest River with a combined catch weighing 11 pounds, 4 ounces. Second went to Wayne Hayes and Jim Griser of Virginia Beach at 9-2. Banks had the lunker at 3-12.
Connie Easter of Virginia Beach won a Bass-N-Babes tournament on Pembroke Creek, out of Edenton, N.C., with a catch weighing 7-7. Laura Hansen of Suffolk was second at 6-13 and Brenda Carter of Chesapeake third at 6-0. Hansen had the lunker at 4-6.
Allen Horton of Virginia Beach earned an award from the Virginia Fresh Water Fishing Program with a 9-2 largemouth, caught on West Neck Creek.
The north end of Back Bay produced a 1-9 award-winning white perch for Jim Zingler of Chesapeake.
Gene Mercier of Elizabeth City won a catfishing tournament staged by the Tidewater Catmasters on the Chickahominy River. His three-fish catch weighed 31-5. Second went to Butch Miene of Portsmouth at 16-9 and third to Toby Dowdy of Norfolk at 14-2.
Salt water: Tim Keyser, Jim Lawrence and Trent Keyser of Virginia Beach and Troy Keyser of Avon, N.C., had 24 yellowfin tuna weighing up to 67 pounds on a recent trip out of Oregon Inlet, with skipper Richie Howell on the charter boat Gannet.
John Payne of Virginia Beach has earned a citation from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament for releasing a 51-inch striped bass. It was caught at Cape Henry aboard the My Left Knee.
THE FORECAST:
Virginia Beach inshore: Once again, this area will have little to offer. You might be real lucky and find a few speckled trout in deep water inside Rudee Inlet. You could be even more fortunate and encounter a striped bass at Cape Henry. Remember, though, the ocean season on stripers ends at midnight Friday. After that, you can't even get a release citation.
Virginia Beach offshore: There are tautog and sea bass over coastal wrecks, but big bass are scarce and big tautog are not on all sites. Overall, tautog numbers are down from past years. Still, a few big ones are being caught. The secret, as usual, lies in finding a site that hasn't been wiped out. It looks as if a pretty poor Boston mackerel season is over.
Ocean View, Lynnhaven: There was a good run of speckled trout at Willoughby Spit, at the west end of Ocean View, early in the week. These fish apparently are headed for Chesapeake Bay spawning grounds. There's a slim possibility of catching a speckled trout or two in deep water inside Lynnhaven. But if you fail, don't be disappointed. Look for a few tautog at the Cape Henry Wreck and other lower-Bay obstructions.
Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel: You can still find a few striped bass around the islands, with the best action after dark. But you can't keep any Bay stripers; the Chesapeake season remains closed. A few tautog are hitting around the islands and along the causeway, but action isn't as hot as it was a year ago. It appears that numbers are down for this slow-growing fish throughout Virginia waters.
Eastern Shore seaside: A few flounder have been boated between Folly Creek and Magothy Bay, with most of the fish coming from Green and Drawing channels, out of Wachapreague. Action should spurt with a few warm days, but another cold spell could bring a temporary end. Offshore, look for some tautog and sea bass over coastal wrecks. The Boston mackerel season remains pretty much a dud. Most of these small, oily fish stayed north of Virginia over the winter.
Eastern Shore bayside: Don't expect much here and you will not be disappointed. A few tautog could be boated over the mussel beds off Cape Charles and around the concrete-ship breakwater and docks of Kiptopeke State Park. And a few striped bass could be taken by shoreline fishermen at Flag Pond and Shad Landing, both near Saxis. But the season for keeping stripers from the Bay and its tributaries remains closed. It's a bit too early for speckled trout to show around Upper Shore creek entrances and too early for black drum off Cape Charles. But with the unseasonably warm winter, earlier-than-usual seasons are possible.
Outer Banks inshore: There was a decent run of 3- to 6-pound gray trout in the surf at Cape Point earlier this week, but there's no guarantee of a repeat. However, small croaker have started showing up along the beach and around ocean piers, with some of the best catches in the Nags Head area. Hatteras fishermen should also get a few speckled trout and puppy drum, again near Cape Point, while it's about time for big red drum to show around Hatteras and Ocracoke inlets.
Outer Banks offshore: While the bluefin tuna run has slowed off Hatteras, some fish should be available this weekend. If not, you'll have to be satisfied with a decent showing of yellowfins, which have been hitting between The Point and a spot just southeast of Diamond Shoals Light Tower. Bigeye tuna are possible in this same area, as are a few wahoo and perhaps a blue marlin, but the king mackerel run in Hatteras Bight has slowed. North Carolina's ocean season on stripers ends at midnight Friday.
Back Bay, Currituck Sound: A few white perch are showing in the north end of the bay, with a few catfish available in larger canals and creeks in that same area. Look for some small crappie, especially around old duck blinds, but largemouth bass will remain scarce. The North River contains some yellow perch and a few white perch.
Norfolk, Suffolk lakes: Both crappie and largemouth bass should offer decent action on most waters. As usual, some of the best bass action will be on Lake Burnt Mills and Western Branch Reservoir, both in Suffolk. The fish are in relatively shallow water, between 9 and 12 feet, and are hitting Jig-N-Pigs. Crappie are around shallow hurdles. Look for fair catches of shellcracker at Westrn Branch and a few pickerel at lakes Cohoon and Meade. Bass will remain scarce on Norfolk-area impoundments, but bream are starting to hit on all waters.
North Landing, Northwest rivers: A couple big largemouths have been pulled from the North Landing and its tributaries recently. Look for scattered bass all along the Northwest, too. The fish are moving to the shallows on both streams as they prepare for the spawning season. As usual, the better hauls in both areas will come from larger tributaries. The best white perch catches should be made on West Neck Creek.
Larger lakes, rivers: Good hauls of striped bass are being made at the mouth of Nutbush Creek and off Satterwhite Park, inside the creek on Buggs Island Lake. A few stripers also are being encountered in Eastland and Grassy creeks. Crappie action has been decent on the lake. Nearby Lake Gaston is producing fair hauls of largemouth bass for live-bait anglers, with some stripers [also available in creek mouths.] by CNB