Thursday, July 23, 2009
BASS changes dates of Smith Mountain Lake tournament
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
BASS has announced that it is switching the date of the 2010 Blue Ridge Brawl on Smith Mountain Lake from the dog days of August to the dogwood blooms of April. The Bassmaster Elite series event is scheduled for April 15-18 rather than the previously announced Aug. 12-15.
BASS also is eliminating three other Elite Series events. The adjustments come at a time when a tough economy has impacted both participating pros and sponsors.
The new format will consist of eight regular-season Elite Series events followed by the Bassmaster Elite Series postseason, BASS officials reported.
The tournaments eliminated are:
- Battle on the Border, April 15-18, Lake Amistad, Texas
- Empire Chase, July 21-24, Lake Champlain, N.Y.
- Champion’s Choice, July 29-Aug. 1, Lake Erie, N.Y.
Smith Mountain not only survived the cut, but the move to April should sharply enhance catches and increase excitement at the weigh-ins, which will mean better publicity for the region.
August would have been a tough test for Smith Mountain, a time when the bass can appear to be locked in deep-water vaults while the water is whipped to a froth by endless flotillas of boats and personal watercraft. As for April, that is the time that Smith Mountain bass fishing can hang in there with the best of them.
BILL
TARPON, THE WEATHER AND JACK BRADY
Tarpon arrived on Virginia’s Eastern Shore early summer, then appeared to vanish. Word is that the temperature-sensitive fish have been impacted by cool weather. That’s no doubt the case, considering only one catch and release had been recorded by mid-July in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.
But there may be another factor. Jack Brady.
Brady is a 75-year-old guide who lives in the village of Oyster. He is one of a handful of Virginia tarpon fishing experts. Last year, Brady’s boat accounted for about half of the 13 tarpon registered with the state.
This season, Brady is going at a slower pace following late-May open-heart surgery. He is beginning to get back on the water, but is limiting the number of clients that he accommodates.
So 2009 may be remembered as a lean tarpon season in Virginia, thanks to a cool summer and a veteran guide who is operating at a slower pace.
BILL
PATCH KEEPS PESTY INSECTS AWAY
Lee Tolliver has this to say about North Carolina’s Pasquotank and North rivers, where he does most of his fishing:
“The bugs are basically on steroids. Horse flies are the size of quarters. Yellow and green flies attack in swarming packs. And a dozen “skeeters” easily can carry away a small dog.”
Sure, he is stretching it, but no question insects are a pain for outdoorsmen. There is Deet and other products you can spray on your body, but wouldn’t it be nice if you could just slap a patch on your arm or leg and it would take care of the problem?
Enter the Don’t Bite Me! patch. Put it on your arm or leg and it promises to cause your body to emit a faint order that’s unattractive to insects.
But does it work? Tolliver, the outdoor writer for the Virginian-Pilot in Norfolk, tried it and gave it a four-star rating.
Downside? The B1-infused patch can give you a caffeine-like rush.
“I found it hard to stay still,” said Tolliver, “but I also had a lot fewer bites.”
A five-pack box of patches costs about $5 and can be purchased in most drug and grocery stores.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
- Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine is not on the list of 16 governors who have signed onto a newly formed Congressional Sportsman’s Foundation bipartisan caucus dedicated to protecting the interest of hunters and anglers. Gov. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Gov. Mike Rounds, R-SD, are co-chairmen.
- When inline muzzleloaders became legal for use during the Virginia’s special black-powder deer season, a lot of us jumped at the chance to use one. A popular and proficient brand was Knight. Well, say good night to Knight. The company says it is closing, citing a sharp decline in sales lately after 24 years of business. You have to wonder: is the downturn is the result of a poor economy or declining interest in the novelty of black-powder hunting? Or both?
- The Virginia Tech Bass Fishing Team and the university are splitting the $10,000 top prize that the team won during last weekend’s National Guard FLW College Fishing Northern Division Tournament on Lake Ontario. At the top of the class were Tech anglers Ryan Slate and Caleb Brown who entered six bass that weighed 18 pounds, 15 ounces, the best of 40 teams in the event.
- I am going to say that the gun show crowd doubtlessly is the safest and most knowledgeable of all people attracted to firearms, so it was an embarrassment when an antique rifle accidentally discharged superficially injuring the man who was handling it during the Salem Gun Show Saturday. Treating every gun as if it were loaded applies even to gun shows.
- Years ago, when Walter Cronkite was at the top of his game as the most-watched newscaster in America, I met him at the New York Boat Show. It was early in the day and we had the media room to ourselves. He could have blown me off as a young writer from a modest-size newspaper, but he was friendly and unpretentious, a man with an obvious interest in people and boats. I thought about that last week when he died at age 92.
- A number of pro-gun organizations have expressed fear that Judge Sonia Sotomayo would take an axe to the Second Amendment if she is appointed to the Supreme Court. The concerned organizations include the National Rifle Association, Gun Owners of America and the Citizens Committee for the Right to Keep and Bear Arms.
- The Wildlife Management Institute has praised the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries for “moving to reclaim a leadership role in restoring wild northern bobwhite” as part of the state’s new Quail Action Plan. An earlier effort in 1996 “arguably was the first modern statewide quail initiative,” the institute said. While it was ended early due to the lack of funding, it resulted in new technologies for using warm season greases to benefit quail.
- The Virginia Marine Resources Commission is asking saltwater anglers who have a boat license -- the kind that covers everyone on their craft -- how many different individuals without a license they take fishing annually. Research, maybe, but it sounds a lot like a new license structure is in the making.
- The Overall Best of Show award during the recent International Convention of Allied Sportfishing Trades (ICAST) Show in Orlando, Florida went to the Hobie Cat Mirage Pro Angler boat/kayak.
- The National Wild Turkey Federation is opening a retail store, called “Turkey Shoppe on Main,” near its headquarters in Edgefield, S.C.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
Catches of big flounder are heating up along the coast of Virginia, resulting in a new leading entry in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Also there are new leaders in the blueline tilefish and bluefin tuna categories. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 84 pounds, 12 ounces, William Brown, Hampton, Inner Middle Ground; C-13
BLUELINE TILEFISH: 20 pounds, 5 ounces, Kenneth Bowe, Chester, Norfolk Canyon.
COBIA: 105 pounds, 2 ounces, Keith Cole, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
CROAKER: 5 pounds, 3 ounces, Nathan Clendenin, Richmond, lower York River. .
DOLPHIN: 39 pounds, Robert Manus, Ark, Triple Zero’s.
FLOUNDER: 12 pounds, 12 ounce, Mike Perron, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 4 ounces, Julie Ball, Virginia Beach, wreck off Virginia Beach.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 11 ounces, Tarah Gilmore, Chesapeake, Sandbridge surf.
SEA BASS: 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Rob Collins, Norfolk, wreck off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPHEAD: 14 pounds, 4 ounces, Lesley Inge, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 14 pounds, 14 ounces, state record, Roland Murphy, Fredericksburg, the Cell.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 4 pounds, Jacob Hogan, Bowling Green, Ind., inshore wreck.
SPECKLED TROUT: 13 pounds, 14 ounces, Michael Whittaker, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 2 ounces, Chris Brooks, Virginia Beach, Elizabeth River.
STRIPED BASS: 66 pounds, 8 ounces, Pete Johnson, Hampton, Smith Island.
TAUTOG: 21 pounds, 13 ounces, Skip Feller, Virginia Beach, wreck off Virginia Beach.
TUNA (BLUEFIN): 168 pounds, Paulette Johnson, Uniontown, Ohio, 100 Fathom off Virginia Beach.
TUNA: 230 pounds, Jeff Creekmore, Chesapeake, Norfolk Canyon.
WAHOO: 51 pounds, Steven Carter, Heathsville, Norfolk Canyon.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Outdoor Classic show, Roanoke Civic Center, July 31-Aug. 2, information from outdoorclassicva.com.
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, Aug. 7, 7 p.m., program on fly fishing with Dover England, Moneta Community Center.
Pirate’s Cove Billfish Tournament, North Carolina Outer Banks, Aug. 10 and 11, information form Kevin Crum.
Look for displays by Trout Unlimited and Hunters for the Hungry at the Aug. 15 Celebrate Catawba event at the Catawba Community Center in Roanoke County. The displays, crafts, food and music are designed to call attention to the Catawba Valley and how it can be kept natural.
Triangle Bowhunters of Montgomery County 3D tournament Aug. 16, check vfaa.org for for details or contact Jim Overfelt.
Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA banquet, Aug. 29, Salem Civic Center. Address questions or ticket purchase to Mike Kessler or Al Milton.
September goose hunting season, Sept. 1-25, 10 per day.
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, Sept 4, program by Captains Spike and Kathy Franceschini, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center.
Dove hunting season, Sept. 5-26; Oct. 7-Nov. 7 and Dec. 25-Jan. 9. Bag limit 15 daily.
Rail hunting season, Sept. 8-Oct. 3; Oct. 5-Nov. 17.
Hunters for the Hungry banquet, Sept. 12, 5:30 p.m., Roanoke Moose Lodge #284, 3233 Catawba Valley Drive, Roanoke County, $20 single, $35 couple, children under 12 free, tickets from Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi, Jeff Fletcher, 540-985-6523 or Fred and Phyllis Wells, 540-992-3874.
Virginia Big Game Western Regional Contest, Sept. 12 and 13, Rockingham County Fairground, Harrisonburg, information from vpsa.org or John Ritenour, 540-434-8028.
Triangle Bowhunters of Montgomery County 3D tournament Sept. 13, check vfaa.org for details or contact Jim Overfelt.
September teal hunting season, Sept 21-30, east of I-95 only, four daily.
Virginia Big Game Eastern Regional and State Championship, Sept. 26 and 27, Southampton County Fairground, Franklin, information from vpsa.org or Kenneth Pickin 757-229-0409.
Hunters for the Hungry Sporting Clays Benefit Shoot, Sept. 27, Flying Rabbit Sporting Clays, Mount Crawford, $50 per shooter, prizes and lunch provided, information from 540-574-2529.
Snipe hunting season, Oct. 8-12; Oct. 21-Jan. 30.
Woodcock hunting season, Nov. 7-21; Dec. 26-Jan. 9, three per day.
BASS Elite Blue Ridge Brawl, April 15-18, Smith Mountain Lake.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
