Thursday, May 10, 2007
Trophy fish database now online
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
First it was called “the citation program,” then it was renamed the Virginia Angler Recognition Program. I am talking about the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ program that recognizes anglers who catch fish that meet designated weight or length standards.
No matter what you call it, the program provides a rich source of information on where the big ones are caught or no longer are caught. It exposes both hotspots and crashes, information I have used for years in covering angling. I still have reams of citation stats from past years in my basement on a format that looks as if it were spewed out by the giant computer used by Jack Webb on "Dragnet."
I have seen the data highlight numerous trends. Some examples:
>The crash of the outstanding trophy striped bass fishery at Smith Mountain Lake.
>The fall of the Smith River trophy brown trout fishery.
>The blossoming of a world-class trophy blue catfish fishery on the lower James River.
>Virginia’s top muskie habitat evolving from Smith Mountain Lake to the James River to the New River.
>The New River smallmouth fishery building fast and passing the once prominent James River fishery.
> Briery Creek Lake becoming habitat for jumbo largemouth bass.
>The birth of pay trout fishing that quickly dominated trophy trout fishing in Virginia.
>The loss of the marvelous largemouth bass fishery on Back Bay.
>The birth of a yellow perch hotspot at Moomaw Lake.
The data provided so much interesting data for outdoor writers there was no way any of us could utilize it all. Some of the best stuff I simply had to leave out.
No longer do you have to shift through tons of paper to follow fishing trends. Thanks to the work of Mark Taylor, outdoor editor of the Roanoke Times, and the roanoke.com crew, the trophy fish data for the 2006 season now is available online. Simply go to roanoke.com/outdoors.
“That’s where the Internet can be so valuable,” said Taylor.
BILL
OPTIMIST TOURNEMENT TURNS UP NIFTY CATCHES
The 39-year old Cave Spring Optimist Club fishing tournament on Smith Mountain Lake the past weekend accounted for a number of impressive fish. The winning entries:
>An 8.26-pound largemouth bass for Joey Smith of Rocky Mount, who hooked the fish on a plastic worm while casting to riprap the first day of the two-and one-half day tournament. Second in the largemouth category was Maurice Oaks of Hardy, 7.44-pounds; third, Wallace Chitwood, Rocky Mount, 7.18 pounds. Smith also won the largemouth category in 1997.
>Gary Ayers of Rocky Mount won the catfish category with a 32.38-pound flathead he hooked on a 7-inch Rapala tied to 14-pound line. Second was Kevin Carter, Calloway, 30.50 pounds; third, Malcolm Johnson, Union Hall, 27.64.
>The biggest crappie weighed 1.94 pounds and was entered by Steve Orange of Moneta who was fishing Beaver Dam Creek. Second was David Anderson, Moneta, 1.82; third, Mike Tolley, Roanoke, 1.74.
>A 4.6-pound smallmouth bass won for Claude Morgan of Bluefield, W.Va. Second was Richard Arthur, Glade Hill, 4.56; third, David Marsico, Salem 4 pounds. Marsico was the winner last year.
>The reinstated striped bass category was won by Carlos Brown of Hardy who entered a 24.50-pound catch. Gary Ayers of Rocky Mount was second with a 19.50-pound striper. He also won the catfish category.
Check this week’s Bill Cochran Column for more details on the striper fishing.
BILL
KIDS REEL IN WINNING CATCHES
Roger Perdue and Dalton Matney were the winners in the Bill Cochran Youth Tournament, held at Smith Mountain Lake in conjunction with the Cave Spring Optimist Club Fishing Tournament.
Perdue, of Moneta, won the “large fish” category with a 6.42-pound carp. Second in that category was Will Wallace, Moneta, with a 5.98-pound carp; third, Josh Diaz, Moneta, 5.82-pound carp.
Matney, who lives in Roanoke, took the “small fish” category with a .50 bluegill. Second was Christian Orange, Roanoke, .50 pounds; third, Hunter Clark, Moneta, .48.
The youngsters won U.S. Saving Bonds and fishing tackle.
BILL
WORLD RECORDS PENDING
Two potential world record catches have been landed by anglers fishing Virginia’s saltwater.
Roger Burnley, of Virginia Beach, caught a 49-pound, 9-ounce snowy grouper off Virginia Beach. Burnley was aboard a boat owned by Ken Neill, which established the world record last year with a 37-pound, 9-ounce fish.
Dr. Julie Ball with pending world record tautog.
Dr. Julie Ball of Virginia Beach landed a 14-pound, 14-ounce tautog, which topped the current 11-pound, 6-ounce woman’s 12-pound class world record.
Fishing off the coast of Virginia, Burnley hooked his grouper by dropping a frozen cigar minnow more than 500 feet on the edge of the Norfolk Canyon.
Bell landed her tautog on a wreck out of Lynnhaven Inlet in Virginia Beach.
BILL
OUTDOOR NOTES
>An apprentice hunting license, one that would make it easier for newcomers to try the sport of hunting before having to take a hunter-education course, was discussed by a committee of the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Tuesday. Steve Grey, former director of the Ohio Natural Resource Department, was present to endorse the concept which is used in his state. The license works much like a learner’s permit for driving a vehicle. It would have to be approved by the General Assembly.
>Tom Gunter, “Mr. Shad” in Virginia, is retiring from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Gunter spent three decades with the agency, his best known work in shad restoration. His boss, Gary Martel, said Gunter had “dogged determination and political tact.” There are an estimated 100 million more fish finning about in Virginia as a result of his work.
>An estimated one-quarter million rainbow trout died in a sudden disease outbreak in an Idaho hatchery, a loss of about 8 percent of the state’s annual output of catchable-size trout. Meanwhile, Maryland officials destroyed about 20,000 hatchery trout bringing the total slaughter to 156,000 in that state’s battle against Whirling Disease.
>The 2009 SHOT Show will be held in the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Fla. rather than the new Las Vegas Sands Expo and Convention Center where it had been scheduled. Construction delays at the Sands were behind the switch, sponsors say.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER TOURNAMENT
Leading entries in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament:
BLACK DRUM: 82 pounds, caught by Ray Willett, Parksley, at Hog Island Bay.
BLUEFISH: 16 pounds, Peter Carey of Fredericksburg in the lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
BLUELINE TILEFISH: 19-pound, 14-ounce state record, Rick Wineman, Yorktown, ocean off Virginia Beach.
CROAKER: 3 pounds, 3 ounces, Cecil Smith, Shacklefords, lower York River.
FLOUNDER: 10 pounds, 9 ounces, Josh Garrison, Virginia Beach, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 3 ounces, Julie Ball, Virginia Beach, ocean off Virginia Beach.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 7 ounces, David Howard, Leesburg, ocean off Virginia Beach.
SPECKLED TOURT: 11 pounds, 5 ounces, Daniel Peters, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 1 ounce, Joe Few, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
STRIPED BASS: 62 pounds, 1 ounce, Wayne Rickman, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.
TAUTOG: 17 pounds, 1 ounce, Joe Hart, Virginia Beach, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Spring gobbler season ends, May 19.
Inaugural Great Dismal Swamp Birding Festival, May 11-13, guided walks, bus trips and family activities, all free. For information and registration call 757-986-3705.
“Learn to Fly Fish” workshop, 8:30 a.m., May 12, River Rock Park, Harrisonburg, $49, lunch and equipment provided, sponsored by the Massanutten Chapter Trout Unlimited, information from anthonydy@erols.com.
Spring/summer squirrel hunting season, June 2-23.
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.
17th annual Antique and Classic Boat Weekend, Smith Mountain Lake, Aug. 10-12, Mariners Landing, information from woodenboats.net.
The Western Regional Championship of the Virginia Big Game Show, Sept. 8-9, Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg, information from vpsa.org.
Hunters for the Hungry banquet, Sept. 8, Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi dealership, Salem, inquire about tickets at Hunt4hungry@cs.com.
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, 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.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
