Thursday, November 16, 2006
Vintage year for speckled trout
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
When saltwater anglers look back on Virginia’s 2006 season, a bright spot is going to be the speckled trout fishing.
Claude Bain, director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament calls the outstanding speckled trout fishery “the real story for 2006.”
And it isn’t over. Anglers continue to reel in these colorful and highly popular fish well into November.
The season won’t be remembered for the number of citation trout entered in the tournament; rather, for the abundance of fish weighing 2- to 4-pounds.
I talked to one guide who told me he’d accounted for more than 1,000 trout this season. Another accomplished angler said he’d had two trips when more than 50 trout were hooked and released.
As for citations, the tournament has registered 161, the largest a 12-pounds, 1-ounces trophy taken from the Elizabeth River by Barclay Shepard of Poquoson.
Trout hotspots have been found on both the Chesapeake Bay and ocean sides of the Eastern Shore. Trout also have been caught in the Virginia Beach area. Most recently, inside Lynnhaven and Rudee inlets have accounted for impressive catches.
Large numbers of juvenile trout have been produced three of the last four years, and they are growing up, said Bain. While 2006 isn’t going to be anywhere near a peak citation year for the species, with good winter survival there should be a dandy population around next year. So good that some fishermen already are making plans to gear up for it.
Courtsey of Fred Barnes
This 58-pound, 13-ounce striper landed by Fred Barnes of Chespeake won last year's Mercury Striped Bass World Championship.
Populations were building 1990 to 1995, then the bitter, cold winter of 1995/96 is believed to have caused a die-off.
Following the winter damage of the mid-90s, there was a citation spike as older fish that survived reached maturity. Then came an overall population decline that has now been reversed.
BILL
LOOKING BACK AT THE ELECTION
The NRA lost big when it put all its eggs into the basket of Sen. George Allen and saw him defeated by Democrat Jim Webb in Virginia’s pivotal Senate race. It wasn’t that Webb is some kind of anti-gun nut. In fact, he is reported to be an NRA member, and has said that he fully supports the Second Amendment.
The problem NRA had with Webb is that he is of the same party as Charles Schumer, Hillary Rodham Clinton and Nancy Pelosi, all considered to be major foes of the association. Just as the NRA had envisioned in its worst nightmare, Webb gave the Democrats control of the Senate. Democrats also won control of the House.
But NRA has told its supporters that the election wasn’t all bad. “Americans cast their votes for record numbers of pro-gun candidates, both Democrat and Republican,” the organization said in an election recap sent to many members.
Webb, so it seems, could be included as one of those pro-gun people who got elected, but the NRA worked so hard to defeat him that you have to wonder what kind of relationship will be the result.
More troublesome for the NRA is the reality that Nancy Pelosi will become Speaker of the House and John Conyers is set to take over the powerful Judiciary Committee.
No matter who is in charge, gun ownership isn’t the big issue at the moment
BILL
SNAKEHEAD THREAT: MYTH OR REALITY?
You’ve no doubt heard the horror stories surrounding the sneakhead fish, an Asian intruder said to be a threat to the Potomac River and anywhere else it gets a finhold.
One writer, Ken Penrod, wonders if those fears really hold water, or are they just media hype and bureaucratic zeal. Penrod, who lives in Maryland, came up with some interesting observations in the November 2 issue of “The Fisherman.”
SNAKEHEADS CAN WALK ON LAND: Penrod placed one he caught on a grassy area. It wiggled like a fish, making no progress. Maybe they need a hard surface he thought, but when placed on blacktop the sneakhead wigged like any fish out of water and made no progress.
SNAKEHEADS CAN LIVE FOR DAYS OUT OF THE WATER: A fish Penrod kept out of the water was dead in 15 minutes.
SNAKEHEADS WILL EAT NATIVE FISH: Penrod placed a 12-inch largemouth bass in a livewell with a snakehead for 6 hours. The bass was in great shape when it was released.
SNAKEHEADS WILL DECIMATE THE BASS AND STRIPER POPULATION: If you think that, you don’t have any respect for bass and stripers, said Penrod. “I believe it much more likely to be a largemouth bass that eats a snakehead than the other way round,” he said. “How do you think a snakehead will fare with a 20-pound stripers?”
BILL
OUTDOOR NOTES
You never know what will show up in the annual Mercury Striped Bass World Championship on the Virginia Coast. It might be a 2 pound “schoolie” or a 58-pound, 13-ounce giant, which was the leading catch last year. The ninth annual event is set for Nov. 24-26 and includes competition on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel pier. Details can be found on www.StripedBassWolrdChampionship.com.
The Virginia Outdoors Plan, the state’s official document regarding land conservation, outdoor recreation and open space planning, has been revised and is open to comments during a series of meeting across the state. Details can be found on www.dcr.virginia.gov/prr/vop.htm#mtgs.
The Future Fisherman Foundation has $200,000 available in grant funding for physical education teachers to incorporate fishing and boating education into their curricula, offering up to $5,000 per grant to help foster active leisure lifestyles and ethical attitudes about the outdoors. Information from www.futurefishermen.org and www.takemefishing.org.
West Virginia officials anticipate that about 320,000 hunters will take part in its bunks-only season Nov. 20-Dec. 2. A concurrent antlerless deer season will be open in 37 counties or portions thereof on private land only. Participants must purchase a special antlerless license to take part in it. Officials say deer hunting has a $233 million economic impact in the state.
BASS has announced that it will license its Bassmaster Weekend Series to American Bass Anglers. As in the past, the series will advance its champion to the Bassmaster Classic. The American Bass Anglers was formed for anglers in the military, but is now open to fishermen across the country.
BILL
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT.
Citations in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament are running about 700 fewer than this time last year. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 83 pounds, 13 ounces, Charles Porter, Birdsnest, caught at Oyster Bay.
COBIA: 109 pound pending state record, Joseph Berberich II, Hayes, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
CROAKER: 5 pounds, 4 ounces, William Bull, Jr., Poquoson, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
DOLPHIN: 56 pounds, 6 ounces, Richard Koch, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 13 pounds, 13 ounces, Lewis Graves, Sr., Fredericksburg, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 5 pounds, 13 ounces, Earl Sari, Chesapeake, ocean off Virginia Beach.
GRAY TROUT: 12 pounds, 4 ounces, Marvin Williams III, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
KING MACKEREL: 39 pounds, David Worton, Norfolk, off Virginia Beach.
KINGFISH: 2 pounds, 3 ounces, Robert Vick, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
POMPANO: 2 pounds, Bruce Williams, Virginia Beach off Eastern Shore.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 2 ounces, Steve Harding, Norfolk, off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPSHEAD: 17 pounds, 13 ounces, Arun Nhek, Newport News, lower western Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 14 pound state record, Austin Edwards, Powhatan, Cell in the Chesapeake Bay.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 6 pounds, 13 ounces, Charles Quann, King George, upper western Chesapeake Bay.
SPECKLED TROUT: 12 pounds, 1 ounce, Barclay Shepard, Poquoson, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 7 ounces, Herman Jones, Norfolk, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
STRIPED BASS: 68 pounds, 1 ounce state record, Clay Armstrong, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.
TAUTOG: 18 pounds, 1 ounce, Paul Hurtubise, McGaheysville, off Virginia Beach.
TRUE ALBACORE: 40 pounds, John Hanna, Seaford, ocean off Virginia Beach.
TUNA, BLUEFIN: 168 pounds, Cory Cinque, Annapolis Md., off Eastern Shore.
TUNA: 260 pounds, John Travers, Damascus, Md., off Eastern Shore.
WAHOO: 91 pounds, Aurelio Diaz, Jr., Glen Allen, off Virginia Beach.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
General firearms deer hunting season opens Nov. 18 in Virginia.
Turkey season opens for one day on Nov. 23.
Smith River Trout Unlimited Chapter meeting, 7 p.m. Dec. 7, Ranias’ Restaurant, Martinsville, information form Al Kittredge, aakitt@earthlink.net.
Ruffed Grouse Society Highland Drummer Chapter banquet, Dec. 9, State Fair Grounds (Underwood Building) Lewisburg, W.Va, information from Todd Spencer, 304-645-7039.
Turkey season reopens Dec. 11 in many counties.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Dec. 12, 4000 W. Broad Street, Richmond.
Final portion of the dove season, Dec. 28-Jan. 15.
Western Virginia Sports Show, Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, Feb. 16-18.
CITGO Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 23-25, Birmingham, Ala.
The National Wild Turkey Federation’s 2007 National Convention and Sport Show, Feb. 22-25, Gaylord Opryland Resort, Nashville, Tenn.
BASS Elite Series, June 7-10, 2007, Smith Mountain Lake, information from www.bassmaster.com.
Outdoor Writers Association of America conference, June 16-19, Hotel Roanoke.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
