THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 3, 1995 TAG: 9512030250
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 102 lines
Time is proving Jack Travelstead quite a prophet.
Three years ago, when it became apparent that the entire East Coast gray trout population was in serious trouble, Travelstead said, ``If you think the striped bass situation has been a real mess, you haven't seen anything yet. Wait until we really get into gray trout.''
What the head of fishery management for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission really was saying was that practically no one was going to like what it would take to turn around the plummeting trout population.
For years, the species, also known as weakfish, had been the bread-and-butter fish for Virginia anglers, pound-netters, haul-seiners, gill-netters and other commercial fishermen. But the loaf was being eaten too fast. The fish was being targeted by too many people in too many places.
Now, gray trout are on the threshold of the most stringent harvest controls for an inshore species since the striped bass ban of 1984.
Effective Dec. 21, it will be illegal for anyone to fish for gray trout in federal waters - 3 to 200 miles offshore.
Rod-and-reel fishing for gray trout already is severely restricted in state waters of Virginia and other East Coast states. Virginia, for example, has a 12-inch minimum size and a daily bag limit of but four fish. North Carolina anglers may keep 14 fish, although they must be at least 14 inches long.
In essence, Virginia anglers have stopped fishing for gray trout. Only four have registered trout weighing at least 9 pounds in this year's Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament. As recently as 1980, when the qualifying weight was 11 pounds, some 1,399 registered fish.
Commercial fishermen are under similar constraints. Virginia pound-net fishermen, for example, have been forced to eliminate some of their nets.
In North Carolina, the Division of Marine Fisheries just made permanent what had been a temporary ban on fly-net fishing south of Cape Hatteras.
A handful of big trawlers engaged in this fishery have been blamed for much of the overall decline. The boats are capable of wiping out entire schools as they drag big, mid-depth nets.
The fish are particularly vulnerable to fly-net fishing during the cold months, when they mass, almost dormant, off the North Carolina coast. Statistics indicate that in the past, between 57 percent and 68 percent of the entire East Coast trout catch has been in North Carolina, with as much as 42 percent of it by fly-net fishermen.
Meanwhile, North Carolina commercial fishing interests are hoping that the fly-net ban will convince federal officials to drop the proposed federal-waters ban.
If not, there are strong indications that the matter could end up in federal court. The North Carolina Fisheries Association, representing commercial interests, has indicated it will seek an injunction to halt the ban.
Meanwhile, the debate goes on, with different interests jockeying for their best positions. Which all makes Jack Travelstead look like a true prophet.
NOT ALONE: The gray trout isn't alone in its quandary. A recent report by the International Game Fish Association indicates that 62 percent of the fish stocks found along the northeast coast of the United States are being harvested faster than they are being regenerated.
The report said only 14 percent could stand increased harvest. These include herring, skates and dogfish. The remaining 24 percent are either being harvested at ``fully exploited'' levels, or too little about them is known to substantiate an estimate.
The association is the keeper of international angling records.
THE WINNER: Cheryl Williams of Norfolk was honored Saturday night as 1995 angler of the year by the Bass-N-Babes, an organization of female anglers specializing in largemouth bass.
Brenda Carter was second, followed by Susan Owens and Cathy Williams, all from Chesapeake.
They will represent the locals at the National Bass'n Gal Tournament of Champions at St. Charles, Mo., on the Mississippi River in June. Other top awards went to Johnnie Burdette of Barco, N.C., and Craig Owens of Chesapeake.
FLY TIME: Two seminars for fly fishermen will be staged Saturday in Portsmouth, hosted by Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop in Norfolk. They'll be at the Hunt-Mapp Middle School, 3701 Willett Drive. The first, from 9 a.m. to noon, will be geared for beginners; the second, from 1-4 p.m., will be advanced.
The seminars will be conducted by Brian Horsley, an Outer Banks guide specializing in saltwater fly fishing, and Raz Reid of Florida, who represents several fly-tackle manufacturers. The fee will be $25. For details, contact Bob's Gun and Tackle at 622-9878.
ANOTHER CONTEST: Awards totaling $2,000 will be up for grabs in the second annual rockfish tournament sponsored by the Marina at Marina Shores and J&B Rods, both on Lynnhaven Inlet.
The contest will offer cash for the three heaviest fish, including $1,000 for first place. Fourth and fifth places and the top junior angler will receive custom fishing rods.
The entry fee will be $25 per angler. For details, contact Marina Shores at 496-7000,or J&B Rods at 496-2206.
SHORT CASTS: Holly and Derick Kessing of Virginia Beach each boated 38-pound dolphin on a recent trip out of Key West, Fla. They were aboard the charter boat OMB, skippered by Eddie Agin. Appropriately, her fish was a female, his a male. . . . The third and final segment of Virginia' three-part duck season will open Dec. 11, when the turkey season will reopen in designated counties. The second brant season will open Thursday, while the late muzzleloader season will open Dec. 18 in areas west of the Blue Ridge Mountains. . . . . . . The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission has installed a toll-free number for state residents to register their boats: 1-800-NC VESSEL (1-800-628-3773). by CNB