Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Warm days spice up area fishing
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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Not surprisingly, the warm weather had anglers out in force over the weekend.
Sometimes, a fast-arriving winter heat wave does more to excite fishermen than the fish.
It takes more than a day or two of warm weather to make much impact on water temperatures, a key element in triggering fish feeding frenzies.
Even though Saturday and Sunday's highs were in record range across the region, there was the added factor of the snowfall just a few days earlier. Icy run-off can help keep water temperatures from rising quickly.
Still, reports seem to indicate that fishing was pretty decent across the region.
At Pembroke Stop and Save, Tony Boggess said he didn't hear much about smallmouth fishing in the New River, but he did get a report from a customer who, with his wife, caught 21 bass from Big Walker Creek, a little tributary.
That makes sense, really, as those smaller streams are quicker to warm than larger rivers. But look for bass fishing in the New itself to continue to improve. Keep in mind that river produced the state-record smallmouth on March 12.
Boggess said muskie action remains good on the river.
"They're catching quite a few fish," he said. "But nothing very big."
Most muskies he's hearing about have been in the 15- to 32-inch range. Plugs and jerkbaits are working well.
Above Claytor Lake, the walleye run is getting a lot of attention. The fish are in the Fosters Falls area in good numbers. Fishermen are there in good numbers, too.
Stocked trout streams have been getting a lot of attention, too.
Stocking rates have been reduced this season because the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is renovating its hatchery at Coursey Springs. But a decent number of fish are still being dumped into the region's creeks, small lakes and ponds.
Potts Creek in Craig County got a dose of trout on Friday, and the fishing held up well through the weekend.
Matt Wimmer said he and his brother hit the creek Sunday. Despite being told that Saturday's crowds were reminiscent of "opening day" hordes, the Wimmers found plenty of fish.
"They must have loaded up the stream," Wimmer reported via e-mail.
Using Trout Magnet jigs, they caught 14 between them, the biggest Matt's 22-inch brown, which weighed 5.2 pounds.
Smith Mountain Lake had a fair amount of bass tournament pressure over the weekend.
The first tournament of the season for a new Fishers of Men tournament trail in the region drew 22 boats.
Most teams caught fish, according to tournament director Jamie Shimp, with six teams managing five-fish limits.
With a five-fish bag coming in just short of 15 pounds, Tim Campbell and Ben Sohrabi won the event. The big fish was a 5.28-pound largemouth weighed in by Jeff and Andrea Williams.
The lake's striped bass also continue to get attention.
"The stripers have moved up on the banks," reported Mike Snead at the Virginia Outdoorsman, adding that bucktails are working on the predators, as is fishing with plugs after dark.
Snead said big fish guru Macky May brought in a 21-pound, 4-ounce striper over the weekend.
Crappie fishing is also picking up at the lake.
The fishing should continue to steadily improve in the coming weeks, although the arrival of those inevitable spring weather systems will keep things interesting.
For example, a high of 40 degrees is predicted for Saturday. Even if the fishing is still decent, and it can be even during a front, it won't be as pleasant to be out there as it was this past weekend.
DGIF announces public meetings
If initial response is any indication, Virginia's hunters will have plenty to say when the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries opens its official comment period on proposed changes to the state's hunting regulations.
For those looking to make their comments in person and not via mail or Internet forums, the DGIF has released its slate of public meeting locations.
Sportsmen from the Roanoke Valley won't have to travel as far as they might have had to had board member Sherry Crumley not raised concerns that Roanoke wasn't on the first proposed list of cities that will host meetings.
Roanoke proper isn't on the new list, but at least there's a location in the Roanoke Valley -- at Glenvar Middle School on March 26.
The other meeting in Southwest Virginia will be on March 24 in Abingdon at Abingdon High School.
The meetings will be 7-9 p.m.
The game department plans to post the revised list of proposed regulations on its Web site by Wednesday, when the official public comment starts.
Franklin County NWTF chapter honored
The Franklin County Longbeards chapter of the NWTF has earned another award for the annual youth event it hosts each fall at Waid Recreation Area.
The group was honored for having the nation's best Xtreme JAKES event, for youth ages 13-17.
The award was presented at the NWTF's recent national convention in Nashville.
