THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, February 18, 1996 TAG: 9602180192
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 108 lines
When Virginia turned the freshwater trout season into a year-round affair this year, it did away with the decades-old romance of ``opening day'' for thousands of anglers.
But not for the 400 or so kids who make the annual pilgrimage to the Rose River in Madison County, northwest of Charlottesville.
There, ``opening day'' is alive and well and set for March 16, thanks to Trout Unlimited, Jimmy Graves of Graves Mountain Lodge and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
For 16 years, Graves has opened up a 3/4-mile stretch of his riverfront property at the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains for kids. They can fish for trout, stocked by the game department, with Trout Unlimited members on hand to assist the young anglers.
Although the stream is on private land, it is open to the public year-round. However, no other fishing is allowed the day before and the day of ``Kids' Day,'' which begins at 9 a.m.
The site, between Criglersville and Syria, is along a hard-surface road, with lots of free roadside parking and plenty of room for family picnics. Some families have not missed the event since it began.
But it looked as though the good times might end when the state's trout program, which had run from March through January, went year-round.
However, Graves and Trout Unlimited worked out the details for what has become a late-winter ritual attracting young anglers from as far away as Hampton Roads.
Fishing is open, without any charges whatsoever, to boys and girls age 12 and under. However, state size and creel limits are enforced. Most of the stocked fish are rainbow trout.
Fishing above and below the designated area is available year-round to licensed adults, also welcomed on the nearby Robinson River.
You can get additional details by calling 1-540-923-4231.
TOP GUIDE: The 1996 Virginia Freshwater Fishing Guide is available free from the game department.
The 32-page tabloid covers all major waters in the state's 10 regions, with most of the information provided by the agency's area fishery biologists.
It also lists names, locations and watershed sizes, as well as telephone numbers for concessions offering rental boats at public-access fishing facilities throughout the state.
Other contents include minimum-size requirements for the state's freshwater fishing program, an updated listing of Virginia's record freshwater fish, a trout guide, a list of handicapped-accessible fishing facilities, outboard horsepower limits for various waters and a rundown of appropriate topographical maps.
The guide was compiled and edited by the agency's Spike Knuth. It is available from the department's 10 regional offices, its Richmond headquarters and most major hunting and fishing license agents.
CLASS TIME: School bells soon will be ringing for Hampton Roads outdoor enthusiasts:
Bill Sugg of Suffolk, one of the area's top anglers, will stage his annual saltwater fishing class at Lockhart's Crab House at 8440 Tidewater Drive in Norfolk, starting March 5. The class will meet from 7 to 10 p.m. each Tuesday for six weeks. Sugg will be assisted by some of the area's top anglers and charter guides. The fee will be $60. For details, contact Sugg at 255-2833.
Jim Clay and Tom Duvall of Winchester will bring their popular turkey-hunting seminar to Norfolk on March 2 for its sixth appearance. It's sponsored by Bob's Gun and Tackle Shop in Norfolk. The show is being moved across Brambleton Avenue from Scope to the Howard Johnson Hotel. For the first time, a $3.25 admission will be charged, with tickets available from the store. Seating will be limited.
Eric Burnley of Virginia Beach has rescheduled his saltwater fishing workshop for March 2. It was a weather victim Feb. 3. Hours will be 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tickets are $25, $20 for those under age 16 and for women. For details, contact Burnley at 430-1903.
HERE AND THERE: A Japanese company has announced that it will begin marketing a synthetic biodegradable fishing line in March. Now, when you lose a fish, you can honestly say, ``It wasn't my fault. The line was getting old.'' . . . The Alabama State House has voted 72-0 to make it a misdemeanor for anti-fishing campaigns to interfere with sport fishing. Similar approval is expected from the state's Senate. . . . George Duckwall of Forest, Va., head of the game department's cold-water fishery program, will present a program at the March 14 meeting of the Tidewater Chapter of Trout Unlimited. Open to anyone, it'll begin at 7:30 p.m. in the Regional Building, 723 Woodlake Drive in the Greenbrier section of Chesapeake. . . . The Fox Hill Landing public boat ramp at Dandy Point in Hampton has been closed for improvements and is scheduled to reopen in mid-April. . . . More than $1,850 in reward payments were made through the Virginia Wildlife Crime Line in 1995. Most tips were for game-law violations. More than 60 arrests were made. The toll-free number for reporting suspected violations is 1-800-237-5712. The line is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week. . . . Many duck hunters agree that the recent season was the best in 20 years or more. This was particularly true from Maryland south through Texas, an area that benefited from cold, stormy weather farther north early in the season. Virginia's final waterfowl-hunting season closes Feb. 29, when snow geese are removed from the legal list. . . . Anyone who joins the non-profit National Arbor Day Foundation by month's end will receive 10 free guaranteed-to-grow redbud trees. Membership is $10. The address: Ten Redbud Trees, National Arbor Day Foundation, 100 Arbor Avenue, Nebraska City, Neb. 68410.
SHORT CASTS: Fred and Margaret Anne Levitin of Virginia Beach caught and released four blue marlin, two sailfish and a white marlin on a recent trip to Venezuela. They fished with the Gigi Fleet out of a small resort near Caracas. Sound management area opened Friday and will run through April 15. . . . David Anderson of Norfolk has earned a citation award from Virginia's freshwater fishing program with a 6-pound, 12-ounce walleye caught at Lake Smith. . . . At its annual soiree Saturday night, the Virginia Beach Anglers Club presented its top awards to Cheryl Paige, Bob Pride, Gene Farrar, Jimmy Kolb and Dr. Jim Wright. by CNB