Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.

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Following a 26-year absence, the Cave Spring Optimist Club Fishing Tournament is reinstating striped bass as a category in its 2007 tournament on Smith Mountain Lake.

The May 4-6 event will mark the 39th edition of the contest, which is believed to be the longest running freshwater tournament in the state.

Striped bass will replace walleye in a six-category format that includes cash prizes for the three heaviest largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, catfish, muskie, crappie and striped bass.

The tournament sponsors hope to attract more participants by reinstating stripers and dropping walleye, which haven’t been stocked in the lake for years, said Ike Harris, an Optimist Club member who has worked the event since its inauguration in 1969. The contest last year drew about 600 participants, fewer than half the number registered in the late 70s and early 80s. The club uses the contest as a fundraiser to support its youth events.

Stripers were a tournament category from 1974 through 1981; however, the number registered during that 8-year period averaged a modest six per year. The largest was a 30.95-pound catch taken by Merle Boitnott of Roanoke in 1981.

In the early '80s, the tournament was caught up in a growing controversy over striper tournaments advanced by anglers who thought that money events were a detriment to the species. A number of fishermen, along with the owners of at least two marinas on the lake and a tackle shop in the Roanoke Valley, said they would not support the contest if stripers remained a part of it. State fish officials informed Optimist members that their tournament faced restrictions if stripers were included in the format.

Optimist club members replaced the striped bass with a catfish category in 1982.

Outspoken opposition to striper tournaments appears to have waned; in fact, the Smith Mountain Striper Club has held tournaments for several years without major controversy. With this in mind, Optimist members decided to reinstate stripers this year, but not before they checked what striper club officials thought.

“They said it would be fine,” said Harris, who hopes the new category will attract some striper club members to the Optimist contest.

The striped bass, like the fish in other categories, must be weighed in alive. They must be a minimum of 37 inches in length, which is citation size. Unlike fish in other categories, striped bass will not be kept in a tank until the conclusion of the tournament. They will be returned to the angler immediately after being registered at contest headquarters at the Foxport Marina.

The contest is offering $1,000 for the top fish in categories for stripers, largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, muskie and catfish. Second place is $500; third, $300 and fourth, $150.

Contest tickets are $35 (an additional 50 cents if mailed). Entry forms can be found in tournament brochures located at tackle shops, marinas and businesses in the Smith Mountain Lake area and in the Roanoke Valley. You can ask for a brochure via e-mail.

The contest includes the third annual Bill Cochran Youth Tournament, open at no charge for kids age 12 and under. Prizes include savings bonds.

JAY YELAS ‘HOOKED FOR LIFE’ SPEAKER

Jay Yelas is an angler who has managed to balance faith, family and fishing. He was winner of the 2002 Bassmaster Classic, the 2002 FLW Angler of the Year and the 2003 Bass Angler of the Year. He is author of a book titled “A Champions Journey of Faith, Family and Fishing.”

Yelas is scheduled to be guest speaker at the April 20 Hooked for Life fund-raising banquet and auction in Roanoke. Hooked for Life is an organization that uses the sport of fishing as a tool to share the Christian faith with children and families. The director is Trevor Ruble of Roanoke.

The banquet will be held 4:30 to 8:30 p.m. at St John Lutheran Church in Roanoke. Tickets for the spaghetti dinner are a modest $5. Prizes and auction items include fishing trips, tackle, art, gift certificates and sports items, Ruble said. Information is available at hookedforlife.org.

STRIPER TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO BEACH

The Wal-Mart FLW Striper series will return to Virginia Beach this year, but with some major changes. The 2007 circuit will be composed of four, one-day events: May 19, Atlantic Highlands, N.J.; June 16, New London, Conn.; Sept 22, West Dennis, Mass and Dec. 8, Virginia Beach.

Last year’s inaugural tour consisted of five qualifying events followed by a multiday championship in Virginia Beach in early December. The championship was won by a team from Connecticut who entered a three-day total of five stripers weighing 73 pounds.

The winning team in each event will take home $10,000 cash plus $20,000 toward a boat and motor. The entry fee is $450 per team. Teams can be composed of two to five anglers.

The new format is expected to encourage more local anglers to compete in home-water events without having to trailer their boat over long distances. The Dec. 8 date of the Virginia Beach tournament should mean plenty of stripers in the lower Chesapeake Bay.

Last year’s circuit successfully combined striper fishing and catch-and-release by mandating special devices to keep the fish alive. The success rate was reported to be 98 percent.

Additional information: flwoutdoors.com.

OUTDOOR NOTES

>A good outdoorsmen should know what is biting him. You can accomplish that and much more with the new “Kaufman Field Guide to Insects of North America.” It contains more than 2,350 digitally enhanced color photographs of insects for quick identification along with written text.

>Sportsmen who have relied on the topo maps by the U.S. Geological Survey now have a new option. MyTopo.com has created what it calls a TopoPhoto map which combines topo maps with color aerial photographs, crating a navigation-ready hybrid map.

MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS

Smith Mountain Lake Striper Club meeting, April 5, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center, president is Steve McCallum, SMSC@hughes.net.

Spring gobbler youth day, April 7.

Trout Heritage Day, April 7.

Spring gobbler season, April 14.

Hooked For Life banquet, April 20, Roanoke, will feature bass fishing pro Jay Yelas, information from www.hookedforlife.org.

Seventh Annual Virginia Fly Fishing Festival and Wine Tasting, April 21-22, Waynesboro, vaflyfishingfestival.org.

Botetourt Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, April 28, 6 p.m., Lord Botetourt High School, $45 for single; $60 for couple, includes meal and membership, tickets from Richard Pauley, 540-992-1883 and Ed McCoy, 540-473-2741.

James River Chapter of National Wild Turkey Federation hunt open to disabled sportsmen, April 28, details from Barry Arrington.

Cave Spring Optimist Fishing Tournament, Smith Mountain Lake, May 4-6, brochure at tackle shops, marinas and from KLbirk@aol.com.

Spring gobbler season ends, May 19.

BASS Elite Series, June 7-10, 2007, Smith Mountain Lake, information from bassmaster.com.

Reedville Bluefish Derby, Buzzard’s Point Marine, June 8-9, Reedville reedvillebluefishderby.com.

Outdoor Writers Association of America conference, June 16-19, Hotel Roanoke.

The Western Regional Championship of the Virginia Big Game Show, Sept. 8-9, Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg, information from vpsa.org.

The Eastern Region and State Championship of the Virginia Big Game Show, Sept. 22 & 23, Southampton County Fairgrounds in Franklin, information from from vpsa.org.

DGIF meetings

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, March 27, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, June 5, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, July 17, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Aug. 21, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Oct. 16, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.

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