Thursday, January 08, 2009
Capt. Feller reels in 6 trophies in 7 weeks
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Dr. Julie Ball and Capt. Fred Feller with citation blueline tilefish.
Capt. Skip Feller runs a headboat business out of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach, which means he spends most of his days on the water putting other people onto fish.
“Skip has had little time to go himself,” said Dr. Julie Ball, who is one of the top trophy fish catchers in the state.
Ball, along with several boat captains, began inviting Feller on fishing outings. The first one, to the Triangle Wrecks in October, yielded him a huge bluefish that weighed 19 pounds, 5 ounces. It briefly led the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.
On Thanksgiving Day, Feller was back aboard Ball’s boat and caught a citation triggerfish.
A short while later, Capt. Ben Shepherd put Feller onto a citation striped bass during a night fishing trip along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
Next came a 10-pound, 15-ounce citation tautog.
“This provoked a discussing among my crew about Skip’s unusually fast-paced progress,” said Ball. “We decided he might as well go for Expert Angler status, which would involve landing six different citation-size species.
By then, other captains had joined the quest: Darrel Foster, Sean Doran, Danny Davis and Wes Feller. The whole fishing community was beginning to take notice. The quest was becoming one of the big stories of the 2008 saltwater fishing season.
Capt. Doran took Feller to the Hot Ditch on the Elizabeth River where he landed a citation speckled trout.
Feller’s gang next decided to take him offshore for tilefish. Thing didn’t look that promising during the early going of this trip, then the tilefish turned on and huge catches up to about 16 pounds began showing up. Feller landed a citation 10 pound, 7 ounce blueline tilefish.
That made six citations in a seven week period.
“Mission accomplished,” said Ball.
BILL
GOING TO SCHOOL ON BASS
Bass fishing pro John Crews of Salem has launched a new venture called Bass Angler Academy. Crews calls it an intensive school “for the serious angler who is tired of getting beat.” It is an opportunity for a weekend angler to learn in a day what takes pros years to obtain, said the Elite series pro and four time BASS Classic qualifier.
The academy is an expansion of a classroom seminar he has been conducting for a bass club for several years, said Crews. It will include on-the-water instruction.
“Anglers can learn boat positioning, using GPS, reading a sonar unit, real-world casting techniques, proper hook sets and much more,” he said.
Several levels of instruction are being offered, from one-on-one, eight-hour sessions to large classrooms. Crew’s Web site is johncrews.com.
Crews recently signed two new sponsorships, Solar Bat, a sunglass maker and Power Pole, the maker of a boat positioning and anchoring system for shallow-water applications.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout, Jan. 8-10, $100,000 in prizes, fishasa.com.
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, 7 p.m., Jan. 9, Moneta Community Center, program on fishing with jigs by Frank Skillman and Mike Snead.
Dove season ends in Virginia Jan. 10.
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.
Nation’s Outdoor Sportsmen’s Show, Dulles Expo Center, Jan. 23-25, nationsoutdoorshow.com.
Virginia Boat Show, Jan. 23-25, Richmond, affinityboatshows.com.
Virginia Outdoor Sportsmen’s Classic, Roanoke Civic Center, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2009, vaoutdoorsportsmensclassic.com.
George Washington National Forest workshop on the forest plan, Jan. 29, 6:30-9 p.m., Rockbridge County High School, Lexington.
Fly Fishing and Wing Shooting Show, Charlotte Merchandise Mart, Jan. 30 & 31.
Virginia’s quail and squirrel seasons closed Jan. 31.
Smith Mountain Lake Striper Club meeting, Feb. 6, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center, program on raising stripers by Ken Mitchell, manager of the Vic Thomas Hatchery.
Virginia’s grouse season closes Feb. 14.
Greater Virginia Sports and Big Game Show, Feb. 20-22, Rockingham County, details from www.vasportsshow.com.
Richmond Boat Show, Feb. 20-22, Richmond Raceway Complex.
Saltwater Sportsman 2009 National Seminar Series, six hours of fishing instruction from the pros, Feb. 21, Virginia Beach Convention Center, $55, nationalseminarseries.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.
Southwest Virginia Boat Show, Feb. 27-Mach 1, Roanoke Civic Center.
Western Virginia Sports Show, Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, Feb. 27-March 1.
Virginia’s rabbit season closes Feb. 28.
Smith Mountain Striper Club swap meet, March 6, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center.
National Capital Boat Show, March 13-15, Chantilly.
Tidewater Boat Show, April 3-5, Hampton.
Youth spring turkey hunting day, April 4, 2009.
2009 spring gobbler season, April 11-May 16.
North Carolina State University Sport Fishing School, May 31-June 4, Hatteras, N.C., $1,445, limited to 45 participants.
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.
