Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 5, 1990 TAG: 9004060747
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C2 EDITION: EVENING
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
"We had water temperatures up in the mid-60s Monday," said Abers, a full-time fishing guide. "I caught between 20 and 30 bass, all good fish, 3 or 4 pounds."
He landed them on surface-splashing buzzbaits.
"I had a party out Tuesday. We hooked 23 bass and got 15 of them in the boat. The biggest was 5 pounds," he said.
Abers noted that a couple of fish in the day's catch fell for buzzbaits, but most took slower, deeper-running spinnerbaits.
"The water had cooled down and temperatures 60 to 61 degrees were hard to find," he said.
By Wednesday the lake was even cooler. So was the response of the bass. Abers' catch was down to six fish.
"The best we could find was 58 degrees, and that was late in the afternoon," Abers said. "Most of the water now is running 55 degrees, so it has dropped 10 degrees. The bass are shutting back down."
The big Southside Virginia impoundment had become a giant washing machine stuck on the cold cycle.
"You have fresh water coming in, you have cold nights and the wind has been terrible," Abers said. "Anytime you have cold weather with whitecaps rolling, that cools the water."
The weather forecast for the weekend holds little promise for either rising temperatures or rising catches, Abers said.
"We are going to need about 2 - maybe 3 - days of good temperatures. If the wind will quit and we get 70- or 80-degree days, then the surface water temperature will jump 7 or 8 degrees from morning to evening."
When the water temperature and lake level rise in unison, often you can hammer the bass like Abers did early in the week.
The lake elevation was coming up Monday, and by mid-week had peaked at about 4 1/2 feet above normal. That put the impoundment's shoreline back into the willows, the buck bushes and sweet gum trees, where food and cover is abundant for fish. As the level grows, so does the boldness of the bass.
"The bass were holding just as tight as they could be, but they would come out 5 to 6 feet to bust a lure," said Abers.
Abers now is concerned that when the water temperature gets back up, the lake level will be down.
Late in the week, the surface was dropping 2 or 3 inches a day.
\ BLUES PLENTIFUL: The Outer Banks of North Carolina has plenty of blues - not the fish, the state of mind.
With the Easter holiday coming, one of fishing's biggest weeks at the Banks, the bluefish remain scarce. That has people in the area worried. Without the blues, it is going to be like a beach weenie roast where someone forgot to bring the hot dogs.
Tackle shop operators remain optimistic and tell callers that there are loads of 5-to 6-pound blues in the sound and even bigger ones off the beach. Netters are taking them and the gulls are diving into the schools.
The world of the surf caster, however, is a small band along the sandy edge of the the ocean. Schools offshore really don't count that much when his hooks are combing the surf and coming back empty.
"You can see them, but they are staying out too far to reach," said Lena Spencer, who operates the Fishing Hook in Nags Head. "They hit us March 19 and 20. That's the only ones that have come in."
The report is even bluer to the south.
"We haven't had a school of blues since last year," said Ollie Jarvis, who operates a tackle shop in Buxton. "I expect if the wind goes back around southwest there could be some bluefish to come in here this weekend, and for sure by next week."
\ BIG BASS: While the cold, windy weather has been like a wet towel thrown into the face of impoundment fishermen, there have been successes.
Junior Shiveley of Ferrum landed a 6-pound smallmouth bass from Philpott Lake. He also caught several walleye. The lower end of the lake is producing crappie for fishermen using minnows.
At Smith Mountain Lake, Ricky Baker of Roanoke caught a 39-pound, 10-ounce striped bass on a shad. Chris Hutton of Moneta used a Rapala plug to catch an 8-pound, 1-ounce largemouth bass.
by CNB