Thursday, October 21, 2004
Bill Cochran's Outdoors: Tournament a tonic for Smith Mountain Lake
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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Smith Mountain Lake has had its share of punches in the belly recently.
Many of the lake’s big striped bass have died off, the apparent victims of a parasite that clings to the mouth and gills of the fish like so many turn-your-stomach body piercings. The smallmouth bass population has declined, possibly the result of poor spawning conditions.
The recent floods washed all kinds of trash into the lake from the Roanoke Valley and beyond. Bobbing about in the murky current were steel barrels, tires, logs, tree limbs, plastic bottles, even raw sewage.
There is the threat of ugly development along the lake’s shoreline in the form of multistory buildings that shut off views of the sunrise and sunset, thus threatening to turn an area of beauty into just another place to hang your hat.
Then last week came a breath of fresh air, a fall tonic, a shot in the arm -- use whatever cliché you wish. I am talking about the CITGO Bassmaster Northern Open.
The fishing was tough. It always is in the fall at Smith Mountain. Forget the pre-tournament hype that discolored water from the flood would result in livewells stuffed with a bounty of bass. Smith Mountain is a Scrooge when it comes to giving up bass in October, no matter if the water is clear or muddy, high or low, warm or cold, whitecaped or calm.
Yet some respectable catches thumped on the digital tournament scales, fat fish in the 4- to 7-pound class. Bearing the heaviest load was winner David Dudley of Lynchburg, with a three-day total of 33-pounds, 14-ounces. Dudley took home cash and prizes valued at $50,000, which gives him a pro-bass career total (most of it coming from the FLW tour) that approaches $2 million. And he’s only 29.
Dudley grew up on the lake, fishing it as a kid with his dad, James, a notable regional angler who once qualified for the prestigious Basssmaster Classic. In the old days, competitors called James “Dudly Do Right.” Maybe David should be called “Dudley Do Well.”
There were plenty of other contestants who didn’t do well. The 50 pros who advanced to the final day of competition landed but six (five bass) limits. They brought a scant 118 keepers to the scales, and we are talking about guys who are on the list of the greatest bass anglers of all time.
Yet contestant after contestant approached the weigh-in mike with praise. None say, “You’d better hope you go to Heaven when you die, because this is how the fishing will be in Hell.”
Just the opposite. They praised the lake, they praised the fishing, they praised the bass if they caught any, they praised the bass when they didn’t catch any, they praised how well the tournament was put on, they praised their fishing partners. They especially praised the often-cheering spectators who turned out to watch.
Roanoke Times Outdoor Editor Mark Taylor estimated a “crowd of at least 2,000 fans.” That’s a bunch for anything less than the Bassmasters Classic. Some said it was the biggest crowd ever for an Open Tournament.
“Why have we not been here before?” shouted master of ceremonies Fish Fishburn.
“This lake is awesome,” said eighth-place finisher Mike Iaconelli, the 2003 Classic winner. Offstage, Iaconelli said “Fall is a tough time anywhere you go.”
It is not uncommon for the pros to turn a weigh-in into a bragfest. Their sponsors don’t want them to be a sourpuss. You get the feeling they’d have generous things to say even if they were fishing a sewage lagoon and all the spectators booed when they approached the weigh-in.
The difference this time: they appeared to be sincere.
Dale Wilson, the dean of guides on Smith Mountain was happy, not necessarily with his 29th place finish or even the $1,513 check he took home, but with what fellow tournament fishermen were saying about the event.
“The people I’ve talked to, who have fished a lot, they were thoroughly impressed with the number of spectators who turned out and the hospitality. They said they were treated nice and things ran smoother here than anywhere they’ve ever been. I think they will come back.”
The “they” Wilson referred to is BASS, and he believes the organization will return with a higher level of competition, the Elite Series.
Scott Martin hopes so, too. He was the one wearing an even bigger grin than Dudley at the final weigh-in. He is the director of commerce and leisure services in Franklin County. Franklin and Bedford counties contributed $15,000 in seed money to lure the tournament to Smith Mountain. Some people had laughed when organizers said the event could give the local economy more than a one-million-dollar boost.
There was little such laughter the final day.
Details on the tournament can be found at bassmaster.com.
