Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Night tournaments in season
Mark Taylor is outdoors editor at The Roanoke Times.
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Mark Taylor
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- Outdoors commentary: Many Sunday hunting cons
- Winter tourneys invite fishermen out in the cold
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Base your opinion of bass fishing in the region on sightings of glittering bass boats and you'd think the sport had withered up for the summer.
Hardly.
Not too many fishermen are spending their days on the water, instead focusing their efforts on post-daylight hours, when boat traffic is lighter, fishing generally better and more tournaments are offered.
All of the region's larger lakes host regular weekly evening and night tournaments, some several a week.
The events, which are generally low key, low dollar affairs, draw solid numbers of participants.
"A lot of the guys say, 'Where else can you have a good time for $30?' " Dennis "Chicken" Holland, who has been running the Saturday night tournament out of Smith Mountain Lake's Foxport Marina for more than 10 years, said of his event's entry fee.
Low entry fees, of course, translate to modest pots for winners.
"You don't get rich doing it," said Holland, who isn't getting rich, either.
He pays out 100 percent of tournament entry fees. The only thing he gets for running the event is a free entry for himself.
"It's a lot to keep track of, but it's a lot of fun," said Holland, who lives in Burnt Chimney.
Virginia Outdoorsman owner Mike Snead, who compiles results of the weekly tournaments at Smith Mountain Lake, said the night tournaments have a fun, grassroots feel.
"It's like a bowling league, where everybody knows each other," Snead said. "It's the same people every week, though they will welcome new people.
"They'll fish till 2 a.m. then stand around the parking lot trading lies till 4 a.m. Go home, take a nap and get up the next morning to go to church."
Holland said his tournament has drawn 18 to 28 boats a week this season, which is about average.
Participation is typically the best in the early summer when spawning alewives are hitting the shoreline in the evening and topwater lures can produce exciting fishing.
As summer progresses, that topwater bite wanes and the best after-dark action can usually be had by probing deep brush piles with plastic worms.
Holland says participation can drop off a bit then.
"But there are still a lot of people who like that worm bite," he said.
Holland said the hours -- from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m. -- are a little much for some anglers.
"Some of these older guys can't stay out that late," he said, laughing. "It's rough on me."
A weekly Friday night tournament out of Smith Mountain Lake State Park also runs from 8 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Occasionally a club or group will host an all-night tournament. Those marathon affairs that attract the truly hardcore bass fishermen.
Not all of the tournaments last a better part of the night.
Most lakes have weekday tournaments that start in the late evening and are over by midnight.
Contact Holland about his tournament at 493-0888.
The weekly Limit 5 tournament held out of Captain's Quarters Marina (721-1175) at Smith Mountain Lake starts at 6:30 p.m. and runs four hours.
Last week's tournament drew 32 boats, a record.
At Claytor Lake, the weekly Tuesday night tournament out of Rock House Marina (980-1488) is drawing about 30 boats a week, with a season high of 35 on June 8.
Finding out the times and locations of weekly night tournaments is as simple as stopping by or calling your favorite local tackle shop.
Ingram wins awards
Troutville outdoor writer Bruce Ingram earned two magazine writing awards in the recent Outdoor Writers Association of America Excellence in Craft contest.
Ingram was honored with a first-place award in the Family Participation/Youth Education category for his story "Time to Take a Kid Hunting," which appeared in the November 2009 issue of Virginia Wildlife.
His "The Truthiness" story was awarded a second-place award in the Natural History division. The story appeared in the December 2009 issue of Wildlife in North Carolina.
Ingram, a high school teacher, is a prolific magazine writer who contributes regularly to Bassmaster, Turkey Country and Whitetail Times, among others.
Ingram also has written several popular river guide books, and is a regular speaker at meetings of outdoors groups in the region.
In fact, Ingram will be speaking about river issues Wednesday at the Float Fishermen of Virginia's meeting at The Roanoker restaurant. The meeting, which starts at 7 p.m., is open to guests. Call club president Ken Ingram at 989-7151 for more information.
More triathlete winners
In my wrap-up of the June 19 Bath County triathlon, I omitted the names of two age-group winners from the region.
Brooke Stallings of Blacksburg won the female 16-19 age group in a time of 1:30:35.
Also, 20-24 age-group winner Kristen DiCarlo was listed as being from Virginia Beach, but has been living in Blacksburg for several years. Her time was 1:23:36.
