THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, November 11, 1996 TAG: 9611110129
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
LENGTH: 64 lines
The cold, windy conditions which dominated the weather scene in recent days kept most fishing activity at a minimum. However, a few anglers braved the elements to record impressive hauls.
Steve Harding, that speckled trout guru from Norfolk who last week had five citation-winning catches, was again up to his old tricks.
Fishing on the Southern Branch of the Elizabeth River, he boated specks weighing 8-0 and 6-0, well above the five pounds required for awards from the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament.
Perhaps the week's most unusual catch, however, was the 6-pound flounder pulled from Rudee Inlet at Virginia Beach by Zachary Marston of Virginia Beach, fishing for trout when he hooked the lunker.
Meanwhile, striped bass provided good action in many areas, especially along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, where some of the year's biggest rockfish were boated.
When bridge-tunnel anglers could get out, many reported fish up to 36 inches.
Meanwhile, North Carolina has announced that it will open striped bass fishing Nov. 23 in the Albemarle, Currituck, Roanoke and Croatan sounds.
The season will run through Dec. 29, provided the quota of 14,500 pounds is not reached earlier. Anglers will be limited to two stripers a day, with a 21-inch minimum size.
On the freshwater scene, George Rowe of Windsor scored a double when he boated a 4-pound, 9-ounce pickerel and 22 1/2-inch largemouth bass. Both Lake Prince catches earned citations from the Virginia Fresh Water Fishing Program.
Here's a rundown of other recent catches by anglers from southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina:
VIRGINIA BEACH INSHORE: Speckled trout: Joe Few, Virginia Beach, 7 pounds, 3 ounces, caught from the boat Speckle Crazy at Rudee Inlet; and Severino Tiaba Jr., Virginia Beach, 5-8, no name on boat, Rudee Inlet.
VIRGINIA BEACH OFFSHORE: Bluefish: Mark Wray, Virginia Beach, 17-10, Big Crab. Sea bass: Lawrence R. Thomas, Emporia, Va., 5-0, Nancy Anne.
LOWER CHESAPEAKE BAY: Speckled trout: Donald McItenney, Virginia Beach, 6-4, no name, caught at Willoughby; William Perron, Virginia Beach, 5-15, no name, Elizabeth River; Donald Buhl, Suffolk, 5-10, no name, Back River; John Dunn, Norfolk, 5-8, no name, Elizabeth River; and Vernon Watson, Chesapeake, 5-4, no name, Lynnhaven Inlet.
CHESAPEAKE BAY BRIDGE-TUNNEL: Speckled trout: Richard A. Chrisman, Virginia Beach, 6-8, Attack Cat.
OUTER BANKS INSHORE: Speckled trout: Robert Deacon, Nags Head, 5-10, caught from the surf. Red drum release: Nick Durney, Virginia Beach, surf; Mark Brown, Kill Devil Hills, surf; Kevin Crum, Suffolk, surf; Mike Spicer, Virginia Beach, surf; and Barry Midgett, Avon, N.C., surf.
OUTER BANKS OFFSHORE: Wahoo Kevin Lockerdy, Norfolk, 74-0, Smoker. Yellowfin tuna: Timothy D. Barnett, Buxton, N.C., 81-0, Release. King mackerel: Andy Lee Eure, Windsor, N.C., 39-0, Kirk L. Freeman, Windsor, 34-0, and Ronald C. White, Knotts Island, N.C., 30-8, all Lucky Chip; Lynelle C. Wilkey, Chesapeake, 36-8, and Woody C. Bakinowski, Nags Head, 36-0, both Gambler; and Steve Magliano, Buxton, 35-0, Release.
FRESH WATER: Largemouth bass: Bob Whealton, Chesapeake, 22 1/4 inches, caught at Western Branch Reservoir; and Wayne Staples, Newport News, 7-8, Lake Prince. Yellow perch: David Allmon, Suffolk, 12 inches, Western Branch.
TOURNAMENTS: The team of Russell Gammon and Jim Banks of Virginia Beach won a largemouth bass tournament Sunday out of Bob's Fishing Hole on the Northwest River with a combined catch weighing 10.50 pounds. Second went to Larry Tammaro and John Larook of Norfolk at 9.90. Gammon had the lunker at 2.74. by CNB