THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 20, 1996 TAG: 9610190533
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Bob Hutchinson
LENGTH: 115 lines
So many striped bass are now swimming around in the Chesapeake Bay that it's easy to say, as per the beer commercial, that ``it doesn't get any better than this.''
Wrong!
As great as striper fishing is, as many rockfish as there are around, it's going to get even better.
Virginia's juvenile striped bass index, a scientific measure of how many baby stripers are available, is the highest since scientists started the survey in 1967.
The late 1960s were the halcyon days of striper fishing in Virginia, before excessive harvests and other factors almost wiped them out.
The 1996 index was 23.05, which means nothing until you compare it to the previous record - 18.1 in 1993 - and to the historical average of 5.56.
The survey is conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and is financed by the Marine Resources Commission. It involves a series of beach haul-seine surveys each summer.
So what does this mean to anglers? That they should find even more keeping-size stripers in the future, probably starting in 1999.
There's a plethora of 1993 fish that now measure between 18 and 22 inches, while the masses from the 1992 spawn are now between 7 and 9 pounds. These are the two dominant sizes anglers can expect to encounter during the 1996 Chesapeake Bay striper season, which opened Thursday and runs through Dec. 31.
Becky Norton Dunlop, Virginia's secretary of natural resources, credited catch restrictions, in place since 1983, for the turnaround.
``It demonstrates that conservation measures have helped improve the biological health of the stock,'' she said.
FEW CHANGES: In spite of the good news, don't expect many changes in 1997 striper seasons and limits when they are finalized by the Marine Resources Commission later this month.
The commission staff has recommended only two date changes for 1996. One would change the trophy-fish season from May 1-15 to June 1-15, and the spring season from May 16 through June 15 to May 1-31.
Bag limits are likely to remain unchanged, as are minimum sizes.
DANGEROUS WATERS: If you're planning to fish along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel during the striper season, a warning: Be careful, especially at night.
All sorts of heavy equipment is anchored adjacent to the crossing as workers build a parallel causeway. Work is not to be completed until 1999.
Most of the equipment is anchored on the west or Bay side of the crossing, and much of it is attached by steel cable to big, yellow floats, some as much as 200 yards from work barges.
I'll be surprised if there aren't some serious boating accidents, especially at night, when so many anglers are vying for fishing space along the crossing.
N.C. STRIPERS: To clarify a point, North Carolina has not yet set its rockfish season for ``inland coastal waters,'' including the striper-rich Roanoke and Albemarle sounds.
It looks as though the season will open around Thanksgiving, perhaps the week before. And it looks as though the minimum size will be 21 inches.
As for the bag limit, it could be anywhere from one to three fish a day.
North Carolina operates under a quota system, so a one-fish bag equates to a longer season, while a three-fish bag equates to a shorter season.
The final decision on the bag will rest with the state's Division of Marine Fisheries, expected to make an announcement within the next few weeks.
TOP QUACKER: Steve Early of Ahoskie, N.C., has won the North Carolina Duck Calling Contest for the second straight year.
Early, 29, claimed the title last weekend in competition at the Whalehead Club at Corolla on the Northern Outer Banks. It was sponsored by the Currituck Wildlife Guild.
Second went to Karl Helmkamp, 17, also of Ahoskie.
Early used a Down Easterner duck call, which he manufactures and sells nationwide. It is the only such call commercially produced in the state.
Early operates a unique retail/catalog store in Ahoskie - S.W. Early Waterfowl Supply Co.
FINAL SESSIONS: After a two-year study and 19 public-input meetings, the group looking into how North Carolina manages its fisheries will hold its final two meetings this week.
The Moratorium Study Committee, as the group is known, will present its findings and recommendations to the General Assembly in November.
Primary areas of focus have included structure of the Marine Fisheries Commission, licenses, gear, law enforcement and habitat. A saltwater recreational fishing license is one thing expected to come from the work.
Meanwhile, the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina has said it will oppose any effort to separate habitat recommendations from the committee's complete report.
``This appears to be a thinly veiled attempt by the N.C. Fisheries Association (a commercial fishing organization) to kill the remainder of the package, specifically the saltwater fishing license,'' said CCA-NC executive director Richen M. Brame.
The fisheries association has said it would ask the committee to release habitat proposals from the package so their implementation would not be delayed.
The final meetings Thursday and Friday will begin at 8:30 a.m. each day in the Crystal Coast Civic Center, Highway 70 East, 3505 Arendell Street, Morehead City. They will be open to the public.
SHORT CASTS: The Sea Gull Fishing Pier, Restaurant and Gift Shop on the South Island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel will close Oct. 29 due to construction of the parallel span. Reopening is scheduled for next spring. . . from 6-10 p.m. Monday at the Quality Inn Lake Wright on Northampton Boulevard. Open to the public, it'll be conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service. . . . The Ruffed Grouse Society, dedicated to improving habitat for this splendid game bird, will contribute more than $6,500 to Virginia projects this year. The international organization was founded more than 30 years ago at Monterey, in Virginia's Highland County. It is headquartered in Pennsylvania. . . . During 1995, Virginia anglers released more than 5.6 million croaker, 1.1 million spot, 3.1 million flounder, 2 million sea bass and 370,000 striped bass. They retained more than 5.1 million croaker, 2.7 million spot, 653,000 flounder, 939,000 sea bass and 148,000 striped bass. The figures are from the Marine Recreational Fisheries Statistics Survey. by CNB