
DATE: Sunday, October 5, 1997               TAG: 9710040437

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C15  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Bob Hutchinson 

                                            LENGTH:  111 lines

STATE MAY GIVE TUNGSTEN-IRON A SHOT

When the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries meets Oct. 23, it is expected to approve the use of tungsten-iron shot for waterfowling.

But the ruling would not have an effect on the first part of Virginia's three-section duck season, which opens Wednesday and ends Saturday.

Because of poisoning in birds, lead shot has been banned for waterfowling for several years. Hunters have been required to use steel, lighter than lead but with less killing power.

While tungsten-iron also is lighter than lead, it's heavier than steel. Only recently was it approved by the federal government, with the final decision left up to the states.

Open to anyone, the board meeting will begin at 9 a.m. at the agency's headquarters, 4010 West Broad St., Richmond. Details: Phil Smith, 1-804-367-1000.

STRIPER EVENTS: Three fishing contests targeting Chesapeake Bay striped bass have been announced and more are expected.

First up will be the 1997 Bayliner Rockfish Tournament Nov. 22-23, hosted by Lynnhaven Marine in Virginia Beach. The entry fee will be $30 per person, with $1,500 in prize money, including $1,000 for the heaviest 4-fish total for the two days.

You can get details from Cory Nason at 460-1900.

The inaugural Kiptopeke Rockfish Tournament will be Nov. 30 through Dec. 7, hosted by Chris' Bait and Tackle and the Edgewood Motel near the north end of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

The fee will be $25 per person and the three anglers with the heaviest fish will split 90 percent of registration fees.

You can get details from Chis Snook at 331-3632.

On Dec. 6, the Coastal Conservation Association and Green Top Sporting Goods of Richmond will stage their annual rockfish contest with headquarters at the Rappahannock Yacht Haven in Deltaville.

This was the one which produced a state-record 61 3/4-pound striper and a $50,000 bonus last year for James R. Muse of Richmond.

This year's event will repeat that state-record offer, with an additional $13,000 in prizes.

The entry fee will be $150 per boat, with a maximum of 200 boats. You can get details from Bob Merten, Richmond, 1-804-741-9828.

SURF EVENT: The annual Nags Head Surf Fishing Tournament, one of the oldest fishing contests on the East Coast, opens Thursday.

In its 47th year, the contest will pit six-person teams from throughout the East Coast, including scores from Virginia and North Carolina.

Team competition Thursday and Friday will be followed by an individual event Saturday, open to anyone. The contest will be headquartered at George's Junction near Mile Post 11 in Nags Head.

CLOSE RACE: The Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament runs through December but it probably would suit Carolyn Brown of Virginia Beach if it ended today.

Brown, a schoolteacher, is in line to become the first female to win Angler of the Year honors since that program was added to the contest in 1990. The honor goes to the angler registering citation-winning fish in the most categories.

She has 12 citation winners this season, two more than defending titlist James C. Wright and three more than former winner Jimmy Kolb, both of Virginia Beach.

Brown also leads in the Release Angler of the Year category with eight, followed by Wright, Julie Ball of Chesapeake and Cheryl Paige of Virginia Beach, each with six.

This year's two winners will have the distinction of knowing they were the last to do so. Claude Bain, tournament director, has announced that the programs will not be renewed in 1998.

Meanwhile, Dane Wray of Virginia Beach has become the first junior to earn "Expert Angler'' designation from the contest by registering six citations for different species in a year.

Wray, 12, is the son of Mr. and Mrs. Steve Wray.

SHORT CASTS: David L. Trax III of Virginia Beach has taken the king mackerel lead in the annual Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament with a 32-pounder, boated off Virginia Beach on the Aqua Trax. . . . State Sen. John H. Chichester (R-Fredericksburg) has been named by Gov. George Allen to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, replacing Del. Harvey Morgan (R-Gloucester), who resigned. The commission includes representatives from 15 states and regulates overall fishing along the East Coast. . . . A photography workshop conducted by noted nature photographer Bill Lane will be held Oct. 31 through Nov. 2 at False Cape State Park in Virginia Beach. Details: Gary Williamson, chief ranger, 426-7128. . . . If you have any fishing memorabilia you don't want, the International Game Fish Association is looking for you. The organization, recognized keeper of world angling records, is looking for almost anything along that line for its World Fishing Center, to open in Pompano Beach, Fla., late next year. Details: 1-954-941-3474. . . . Mississippi has become the latest state to require completion of a boater education course before operating any watercraft. The law applies to anyone born on or after June 30, 1980. . . . More than four tons of fingerling catfish will be stocked in 64 lakes around the state by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Included are several impoundments in Hampton Roads. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

DATES TO REMEMBER

Oct. 8: First segment of three-part duck season opens.

Oct. 11: Early archery season for bear opens. First of three-part

duck season closes.

Oct. 15: Raccoon and opossum hunting seasons open.

Nov. 3: Black powder season for whitetail deer opens east of the

Blue Ridge Mountains.

Nov. 10: Black powder season for whitetail deer opens west of the

Blue Ridge Mountains.

Nov. 17: General firearms season for deer opens statewide.

Dec. 31: Ocean striped bass season closes, 2-fish bag limit,

28-inch minimum, no maximum. Striper season closes in Chesapeake Bay