THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 15, 1996 TAG: 9609150195
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bob Hutchinson
LENGTH: 107 lines
Three anglers from Hampton Roads will be among 330 professionals who take to the waters of Buggs Island Lake Thursday for the Bassmaster Virginia Eastern Invitational Tournament.
Included in the 13-man Virginia contingent will be Ivan Morris and Les Ore of Virginia Beach and Curt Lytle of Suffolk as well as Bob Earl Baker of Gloucester. Joe Nichols Jr. of Ahoskie, N.C., also is entered.
But most angling eyes will be on a hot North Carolinian and another Virginian who calls the 46,000-acre impoundment his ``home water.''
The contest offers $196,000 in cash and prizes, including $35,000 to the winner. It's staged by the Bass Angler Sportsman Society.
David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., is the only pro to twice win the event. And two weeks ago the former Bassmaster Classic champion won a big-time tournament in Minnesota.
In other words, Fritts is hot.
But no one is ruling out Woo Daves of Spring Grove, just a long cast from tournament headquarters at South Hill. This is Daves' home lake, where his family opened the impoundment's first marina in 1953.
Daves won the event in 1975, while Fritts claimed the big prize in 1990 and 1993.
This will be the ninth time the event has been at Buggs Island, properly labeled John H. Kerr Reservoir and known to some merely as Kerr Lake.
Many of pro bass fishing's biggest names are passing up the contest, including Roland Martin, Rick Clunn, Orlando Wilson, Guido Hibdon and Paul Elias, all among the sport's all-time money winners.
Competition continues through Saturday, with weigh-ins starting at 3 p.m. each day at North Bend State Park near South Hill.
NEW LOCATION: The Eastern Regional of the Virginia Big Game Contest has a new address: Bruton High School on Rochambeau Drive in York County. It's moving from James Blair Middle School in Williamsburg.
Being held today, the event is a competition of the highest-scoring deer, bear and turkey bagged last season in the eastern section of the state.
Winners will advance to the state contest Sept. 29 at Rockingham County Fairgrounds in Harrisonburg, site of the Western Regionals Sept. 28.
RABBITS DOWN: Last winter's cold, icy weather is expected to have an adverse effect on rabbit hunting when the Virginia season opens in November.
But that doesn't mean cottontails will be scarce. Only that they will not be as plentiful as they have been for the past few years.
So says Mike Fries, a small-game research biologist for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
``We've had great rabbit populations because of a string of mild winters,'' Fries said. ``But last winter was anything but mild and it's going to be reflected in fewer rabbits.''
Heavy snowfall in late winter and early spring covered much of the food needed by rabbits, delaying the breeding season and resulting in fewer broods.
Traditionally, the best rabbit hunting is in western sections of Virginia and on the Eastern Shore. No matter where you hunt, you should find some cottontails, but not a bumper crop.
FOR THE BIRDS: A scientific survey is confirming what many regular visitors to the Eastern Shore seaside already knew: It's a great place for shorebirds.
Spend a spring day fishing between the Shore mainland and the Barrier Islands and you'll probably see at least 20 bird species, some of which you may never have seen before.
You'll see such birds as dunlin, dowitcher, whimbrel, sanderling, plovers, red knot and peep.
Single-day aerial surveys counted more than 85,000 dunlin, 48,000 peep, 48,000 dowitcher and 41,000 whimbrel.
The surveys were conducted by Dr. Bryan Watts of the Center for Conservation Biology at William and Mary and Barry Truitt, manager of The Nature Conservancy's Virginia Coast Reserve, which owns most of the Barrier Islands.
SPECIAL DAY: If you're interested in learning more about hunting, fishing and Virginia's outdoors heritage, mark your calendar for Sept. 28.
That's when the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries will stage the 25th observation of National Hunting and Fishing Day at a new location, Hog Island on the James River in Surry County. The site is near the south foot of the James River (U.S. 17) Bridge.
Numerous hunting, fishing and outdoor clubs in various fields will be represented by experts willing to share their knowledge and experiences.
WORTH A LOOK: If you like dogs and especially if you have a water retriever you want to train, here's some good news.
Richard A. Wolters is perhaps America's greatest hunting-dog trainer as well as the author of a great how-to book, ``Water Dog.'' It's a classic owned by thousands of dog owners.
Now the book is available in a video, also labeled ``Water Dog.'' It's 80 minutes long, priced at $39.95 and can be ordered from Mid-Carolina Media Inc., the producer, by calling 1-800-310-4418.
REWARD TIME: Since Jan. 1, $2,225 has been paid out by the Virginia Sportsman Reward Fund Inc., an independent organization, for tips about wildlife crimes.
The fund received tips on 46 wildlife crimes, such as shooting deer at night.
As a result, 76 people were arrested on 124 charges. Funding is from private sources.
Tips can be directed to the law enforcement division of the Department of Game and inland Fisheries through a 24-hour, toll-free hot line, 1-800-237-5712.
SHORT CASTS: The United States Sailboat Show will be held at City Dock and Harbor, Annapolis, Md., Oct. 10-14, with the United State Powerboat Show at the site Oct. 17-20. Details: 1-410-268-8828. . . . Willie Williams of Chesapeake recently earned his first citation award from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament by releasing an amberjack at Chesapeake Light Tower from the boat Kimbolina. . . . Shark expert John Thurston will talk on that subject at Monday's 7 p.m. meeting of the Portsmouth Anglers Club. Open to anyone, it'll be at the Simonsdale Community Center on Vick Avenue, Portsmouth. . . . Hurricane Fran caused an estimated $40 million to $50 million damage to recreational boats in North Carolina, according to BOAT/U.S., the nation's largest boating organization. . . . Reminder: The minimum size for gray trout caught by Virginia anglers increased from 12 to 14 inches Sept. 1. The bag limit went from four to 10 a day. by CNB