Thursday, November 05, 2009
Virginia bass angler earns spot in Classic
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
For a time, it appeared that Virginia wouldn’t have an entry in the 2010 Bassmaster Classic, but Jeff Freeman, 37, of Max Meadows changed that.
Freeman became one of the last fishermen to qualify for the Classic when he finished first among Atlantic Division anglers during the weekend Federation Nation Championship. He placed seventh overall in a field of 54. His three-day total catch on the Harris Chain of Lakes in Florida was 24 pounds, 5 ounces.
The federation championship winner was Randy Phillips of Oxford, Mass with 31 pounds, 1 ounce.
This isn’t the first time Freeman has been in the federation spotlight. In 2007 he won the championship on Florida’s Lake Tohopekaliga, which vaulted him to the Bassmaster Classic that year through what is know as the “working man’s” route. He was ill during much of the Classic and finished 28th on South Carolina’s Hartwell Lake.
The 2010 Classic is set for Feb. 19-21 on Alabama’s Lay Lake near Birmingham.
Freeman’s federation catch was boosted by a 5-pound, 11-ounce bass, the big fish of the second day of the tournament. He is co-owner of the Old Fort Western Store in Wytheville.
BILL
A BETTER GRIP FOR BASS
For years, anglers have been told that the best way to grip the bass they catch is by the lower lip. That immobilizes them, which comes in handy when you want to hold them up for your buddy to see or for a photograph. It also keeps them from flopping around and possibly putting a hook into hand.
As it turns out, the lower-lip grip can put undue stress on a fish, even break its jaw. In fact, some biologists say that happens quiet often. The Texas Parks & Wildlife Department even has a new poster asking anglers to avoid the vertical grip.
The current method being touted for handling a bass is to wet your hands and support the fish horizontally at both ends, keeping as much stress off the fish as possible. This is much like anglers handle a trout, but it also sounds like a good way to lose a bass.
It is going to be hard to put aside old habits. The Bassmaster Magazine reported on the “right” grip in its September-October issue. Yet, in the November issue, the lower-lip grip still ranked 10-to-1 in the pictures of bass being held up for display.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
- FLW Outdoors has reinstated the FLW Series Eastern Division in its 2010 tournament format. The division had been dropped due to economic conditions. Four tournaments are scheduled for the division next year, none in Virginia. The series fields 150 pros and 150 co-anglers.
- Jim Casada, who has fished the Great Smoky Mountains National Park since age 9, has written a 448-page book on his experiences and recommendations. The new book’s title is “Fly Fishing in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park -- An Insider’s Guide to a Pursuit of Passion.” It was written in conjunction with the park’s 75th anniversary. Copies can be ordered ($37.50 plus $5 shipping) from Casada at jimcasadaoutdoors.com.
- A 6-pound, 12-ounce speckled trout entered by Butch Travis of Virginia’s Eastern Shore was the winner of the Speck-tacular Tournament on the Virginia Coast. The event was sponsored by Chris’s Bait and Tackle and the Northampton County Chamber of Commerce.
- A group called Friends of the Montebello Fish Hatchery has established a short trail on the trout hatchery property in Montebello with help from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. It offers a variety of nature’s wonders, said Paulette Albright, one of the trail’s organizers. A dedication is scheduled Nov. 12, 2 p.m. at the hatchery.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
Here are the standings in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament:
BLACK DRUM: 84 pounds, 12 ounces, William Brown, Hampton, Inner Middle Ground; C-13
BLUELINE TILEFISH: 20 pounds, 10 ounces, Kenneth Bowe, Chester, Norfolk Canyon.
COBIA: 105 pounds, 8 ounces, Wes Blow, Newport News, lower Chesapeake Bay.
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: 5 pounds, 1 ounce, Thomas Shepard, Virginia Beach, Hanks Wreck.
KING MACKEREL: 33 pounds, 1 ounce, Ed Cromwell Jr., Virginia Beach, inshore waters off Virginia Beach.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 12 ounces, Bill Pope, Norfolk, Sandbridge Pier.
POMPANO: 2 pounds, 6 ounces, Ben Shepherd, Chesapeake, First Island of Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
SEA BASS: 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Wei Zhohg Zheng, Saranac, N.Y., Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.
SHEEPHEAD: 17 pounds, 4 ounces, Lesley Inge, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 14 pounds, 14 ounces, state record, Roland Murphy, Fredericksburg, the Cell.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 7 pounds, 2 ounces, Sophia Vella, The Plains, Great Wicomico River.
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: 72 pounds, 4 ounce, Lonnie Brock, Virginia Beach, 100 Fathom off Virginia Beach.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, Nov. 6, Moneta Community Center, officers to be elected.
Quail and pheasant season, Nov. 7-Jan. 30
Woodcock hunting season, Nov. 7-21; Dec. 26-Jan. 9, three per day.
Firearm’s deer season November 14.
Smith River Trout Unlimited meeting, Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m. at Rania’s Restaurant in Martinsville, program by Scott Smith, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ biologist on the Smith River fishery, guests welcome, meals available, information from Al Kittredge or smithrivertu.com.
Youth spring turkey hunt day, April 3, 2010.
Spring gobbler season, April 10-May 15, 2010.
BASS Elite Blue Ridge Brawl, April 15-18, Smith Mountain Lake.
North Carolina State University Sport Fishing School, May 30-June 3, 2010, Hatteras, N.C.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
