Sunday, May 04, 2008
Tourney about more than fishing
Mark Taylor
Mark Taylor's Outdoors column and notebook appears regularly in The Roanoke Times.
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MONETA -- The sun was heading toward the horizon Friday night and the fish were starting to bite at Smith Mountain Lake.
The guys of "Fish Camp," who are among the roughly 500 anglers entered in the Cave Spring Optimist Club's 40th annual fishing tournament, were doing what they're always doing right about this time of evening.
Eating.
They loomed over plates piled high with T-bone steaks, green beans, macaroni salad and biscuits, washing it all down with sweet tea and sodas.
"No one can say we don't eat good," Ronnie Firestone said between bites.
They fish, too. Of course.
But for this big group -- 17 this year -- the tournament isn't just about bass and stripers and crappies. It's about friends, fun and, as we've already established, food.
And, really, you could say the same thing about many of the fishermen for whom this tournament is a big annual affair. The contest wouldn't have lasted four decades if fishing were the only draw.
This particular group got rolling about 20 years ago.
"We started camping at Crazy Horse," said Gordon Perdue, a 55-year-old from Roanoke. "Then we moved up to a 21-foot trailer.
"We had eight guys in there."
They graduated from that, too, eventually renting a house for the long tournament weekend. They've had as many as 20 men in a single abode.
"There were air mattresses everywhere," said Mike Martin, who is famous in this group for his biscuit-and-gravy breakfasts.
When county rules were passed to limit occupancy in rentals, the men had to start renting a second house. This year their two places are next to each other, not far from Hales Ford Bridge.
There's plenty of room at the docks for all their boats, which range from borderline antiques to shining modern bass boats.
The bigger place served as headquarters for meals and poker and long shooting-the-bull sessions. The other place was for sleeping only.
It doesn't get much use because these guys spent their nights on the water.
They headed out each evening at 7.
They didn't wait for Friday, either.
They fished Thursday night in their own fun tournament, which runs 7 p.m. to 3 a.m.
They had mini tournaments Friday and Saturday nights, too.
Fishing in pairs -- except Firestone, who had both his sons on board this year -- they competed for the best five-bass limit each evening. They also offered prizes for the best smallmouth, largemouth and striper caught over the weekend, and for the single best trophy catch relative to state citation award standards.
The many side awards helped spread the wealth.
"We've all won some," said Perdue.
Over the years members of the group have also had their moments in the big contest. Jim Penn even won the walleye category one year, setting a tournament record in the process.
In most cases, once a guy got in, he stayed in.
Some years back Perdue injured his hand in a table saw accident a couple months before the tournament. He made it to the tourney, minus a couple fingers and with his hand in a cast, which the doctor modified with a clip to hold a fishing rod.
At 55, Perdue is one of the senior members of the group. After dinner he tried to keep track of the friendly wagers placed for the fun tournament, piling up bills and checking off names in a ledger.
"We probably could use an accountant in the group," joked Jay Keyton, a 30-year-old paint company sales rep from Moneta.
They had just about everything else, from plumbers to construction workers to long-haul truckers to mechanics to body shop workers to a retail store managers. One guy even owned an ambulance company.
"Everyone gets along real well," said Brian Wolfe, whose dad and grandfather are also part of the group.
And they don't get too crazy. Once the big tournament started many of the guys fished all night. They might enjoy a cold beer or two in the morning after fishing, but they don't get wild.
The one year they got kicked out of their rental it had nothing to do with a loud party. Instead, neighbors had complained about all the boat trailers parked on the narrow neighborhood street.
By the time the tournament ends today at noon the men are exhausted. But it doesn't take them long to recover.
"By Tuesday," Firestone said, "We'll all be saying, 'I can't wait till next year.' "
Just a few new names showed up atop the leaderboard during the second day of the Cave Spring Optimist's fishing tournament at Smith Mountain Lake.
One of those names showed up twice.
First, Ricky Cowden vaulted into the lead of the catfish category with a 35.12-pound fish that tops the existing tournament.
For good measure, Cowden was back Saturday afternoon with a 2.38-pound crappie to bump Donald Orange and his 2.02-pound fish into second.
Cowden, who is from Roanoke, reported that he caught the big catfish on a rubber worm. It wasn't clear what he used to catch the crappie.
Ronnie Wilson of Rocky Mount also showed up to the weigh-in headquarters at Foxport Marina with a big catfish. Wilson's fish weighed 33.74 pounds and hit a minnow.
Larry Horne of Wirtz took over the top spot in the smallmouth bass category with a 4.18-pound fish that hit a Thunderstick.
Barry Hunter, the first day leader with a 3.82-pound fish, was in second.
H.D. Ayers and Robert Mills continued to hold the top two spots in the largemouth category with their 6.48- and 6.4-pound fish, respectively, weighed in Friday.
No striped bass or muskellunge had been registered as of late Saturday evening.
Approximately 500 fishermen are competing in the three-day tournament, which concludes at noon today.
--Mark Taylor
