Thursday, December 11, 2008
60-pound stripers showing up in Chesapeake Bay
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Some 60-pound-plus striped bass are beginning to show up in the catches of anglers fishing the lower Chesapeake Bay. Most of the jumbo fish are being taken by anglers drifting live eels from the Cape Charles area south to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. Some anglers are having success by vertically dropping jigs around the pilings of the bridge-tunnel.
One party of anglers reported catching five stripers all better than 45 pounds while drifting eels around the High Rise area of the bridge-tunnel. Their largest fish weighed 63 pounds. It hit a small, 6-inch size eel.
The leader of the Mercury 2008 Striped Bass World Championship, headquartered in Virginia Beach, is a 50-pound, 2-ounce striper caught by Charles Cummins of Providence Ford, Va.
But don’t let the big catches mislead you. Fishermen have had to deal with harsh weather; frequent winds and cold temperatures. What’s more, the stripers appear to be scattered.
In the meanwhile, water temperatures have been crashing and are in the upper 40s in some sections of the lower Bay. The big issue: will cold temperatures send the fish southward earlier than usual, thus shortening the winter sport.
The Bay striper season continues through the end of December. After that, the action traditionally shifts to the ocean front where the season continues.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>>Law-abiding gun owners with right-to-carry permits can possess firearms on national park and national wildlife refuges, the result of an amendment to the U.S. Department of Interior’s firearm’s regulations. The federal law was made to be consistent with the state law where the federal lands are located.
>>The world’s largest and richest fantasy sports game has nothing to do with baseball or football. It’s all about bass fishing. FLW Fantasy Fishing is offering $10 million in cash, including a $1 million first place prize and six guaranteed $100,000 prizes. Visit fantasyfishing.com .
>>The National Wild Turkey Federation has been conducting a telephone survey of hunters to determine how the organization can better serve its members and wildlife resources. Questions range from what the federation’s goals should be to how its fund-raising banquet can be improved.
>>Zebra mussels, an exotic species that can cause damage to water works and the environment, have been found in the Maryland portion of the Susquehanna River which drains into the Chesapeake Bay.
>>The International Game Fish Association’s Silver Anniversary Auction contains all kinds of goodies for anglers and you can participate online. See igfa.org.
>>What is the best time to catch a striped bass off the Sea Gull Fishing Pier on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel? Well four of the seven big fish on the leader board of a pier tournament were taken from 4-5:30 p.m., which would be just before and after dark.
BILL
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
Here are the standings in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament:
BLACK DRUM: 87 pounds, 3 ounces, Paul Elliott, Surry, Latimer Shoals (C-2 Buoy).
BLUEFISH: 21 pounds, 8 ounces, Charles Southall, Poquoson, Triangle Wrecks.
BLUEFIN TILEFISH: 19 pounds, 9 ounces, Sidney Long, Jr., Branchville, Norfolk Canyon.
COBIA: 94 pounds, 6 ounces, Wesley Smith, Virginia Beach, Bluefish Rock.
CROAKER: 4 pounds, 14 ounces, B.W. Wild, Virginia Beach, Lynnhaven Inlet.
DOLPHIN: 66 pounds, Todd Conner, Midlothian, Norfolk Canyon.
FLOUNDER: 13 pounds, 9 ounces, Christopher Mounie, Suffolk, Third Island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
GRAY TRIGERFISH: 5 pounds, 8 ounces, Nick Wright, Virginia Beach, inshore waters of Virginia Beach.
GRAY TROUT: 9 pounds, 8 ounces, Joseph Hudgins, Jr., Chesapeake, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (4th island).
KING MACKEREL: 62 pounds, 3 ounces, James McDonald, Virginia Beach, Sandbridge Pier.
KINGFISH: 2 pounds, 10 ounces, Kenneth Godsey, Norfolk, Sandbridge Pier.
POMPANO: 2 pounds, 8 ounces, Ron Pennington, Annandale, Kiptopeak Pier.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 8 ounces, Reggie Myrick, Portsmouth, wreck off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPSHEAD: 14 pounds, 5 ounces, Kay Alley, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. .
SPADEFISH: 14 pounds, 1 ounce, Josh Durvin, Dunnsville, The Cell.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 6 pounds, Alfred Simpson, Virginia Beach, Sandbridge Pier.
SPECKLED TROUT: 12 pounds, 12 ounces, Bartley Tuthill, Portsmouth, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 8 ounces, Michael Whittaker, Chesapeake, 664 Bridge-Tunnel.
STRIPED BASS: 73 pounds, state record, Frederick Barnes, Chesapeake, off Virginia Beach.
SWORDFISH: 190 pounds, Aaron Peckham, Virginia Beach, Norfolk Canyon.
TAUTOG: 20 pounds, 6 ounces, Michael Shreve, Glen Burnie, Md., Monroe Wreck.
TUNA, BLUEFIN: 226 pounds, Kim Schwallenberg, Edgewater, Md., off Wachapreague.
TUNA: 305 pounds, Rick Wyatt, Norfolk, Norfolk Canyon.
YAHOO: 69 pounds, Brian Davis, Virginia Beach, Norfolk Canyon.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Virginia Beach National (Striped Bass) Tournament, Dec. 13, fishasa.com.
Bay Creek Resort Contender Cub (striped bass), Dec. 30, Cape Charles, 757-650-4509.
Matthews Rotary Rockfish Tournament, Dec. 31, dnfitch@wildblue.net.
Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout, Jan. 8-10, $100,000 in prizes, fishasa.com.
Fishing Expo, Jan. 16-18, Richmond Raceway, featured pros include Kevin Van Dam, richmondfishingexpo.com.
George Washington National Forest workshop on the forest plan, Jan. 20, 6:30-9 p.m., Augusta County Government Center, Verona.
George Washington National Forest workshop on the forest plan, Jan. 29, 6:30-9 p.m., Rockbridge County High School, Lexington.
Virginia Outdoor Sportsmen’s Classic, Roanoke Civic Center, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2009, vaoutdoorsportsmensclassic.com.
Board meeting of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to consider hunting/trapping regulations, 9 a.m., Feb. 26, DGIF headquarters, 4000 West Broad St., Richmond.
Youth spring turkey hunting day, April 4, 2009.
2009 spring gobbler season, April 11-May 16.
Board meeting of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to finalize hunting/trapping regulations, 9 a.m., June 2, DGIF headquarters, 4000 West Broad St., Richmond.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
