THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 31, 1995 TAG: 9512310234
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C13 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 70 lines
Jimmy Kolb, an electrical contractor from Virginia Beach, has been named The Virginian-Pilot's first Angler of the Year. But it is not the only honor the 47-year-old Kolb has earned for 1995.
He also has captured Angler of the Year honors from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament, with the official announcement expected within days.
In addition, Kolb was The Virginian-Pilot's Angler of the Week on Oct. 15 with a 9-pound, 2-ounce gray trout. It was one of only four trout meeting the Virginia tournament's 9-pound minimum in 1995.
During the year, Kolb earned awards popularly known as ``citations'' for 12 species, four more than his closest competitor, Mark Campbell, also of Virginia Beach.
Kolb earned five release awards by catching and freeing amberjack, cobia, black drum, red drum and blue marlin.
He boated citation winners that included a 72-pound cobia, a 30 1/2-pound dolphin, a 6 3/4-pound flounder, a 5-pound, 10-ounce sea bass, a 1-pound spot, a 13-pound, 9-ounce tautog and a 37-pound, 6-ounce flounder.
That's a total of 13. However, the Virginia contest does not give credit in this competition for both released and weighed fish of the same species. Kolb released a cobia in addition to the 72-pounder.
He also released a 44-inch striped bass that would have given him 13 categories. However, he did not enter the fish, thereby allowing one of his fishing cronies, Dr. Jim Wright of Virginia Beach, to earn Release Angler of the Year honors from the Virginia contest.
Had Kolb entered that rockfish, each would have finished the season with releases in six categories.
``I really did it for Dr. Wright,'' Kolb said. ``I didn't want to go head-to-head with him and force a tie-breaker. He was a great help to me all year, in a lot of different ways, not just fishing.
``Besides, I was confident I'd catch a striper big enough to weigh for a citation. But I had a little problem that got in the way.''
The ``little problem'' was a heart attack suffered while fishing, just as the big-striper season was starting to warm up along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
``I missed most of November and all of December,'' he said. ``There's no guarantee that I would have boated a rockfish that was heavy enough. But I really believe I could have. I know where the big ones hang out.''
It takes a 40-pounder to earn a citation.
Kolb said he didn't start the fishing year with an eye toward winning Angler of the Year honors from the Virginia tournament.
``But by the middle of summer,'' he said, ``I started to realize I had a shot at it. That's when I really started fishing hard.''
Kolb owns a 23-foot center-console, the Starship, but also fishes a great deal with crony Ken Taylor on the F-Troop, as well as with Wright on the Therapy and Kitty Falk of Virginia Beach on a boat named 04.
He and his wife, Shelley, live in the Lago Mar section. They have a grown daughter. He also has three grown daughters from a previous marriage.
Kolb's goal for 1996?
``Well, Dr. Wright wants 20 citation categories next year,'' he said. ``Health permitting, I'm going to do everything I can to help him get them. He's a great sportsman and he's been a great friend.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Jimmy Kolb has earned ``citations'' for 12 species in '95, four more
than his closest rival.
by CNB