Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, February 6, 1992 TAG: 9202060014
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
BROOKNEAL FISHERY URGES ANGLERS TO TALK UP CATCHES
Michael Guthrie teeters between longing for the kind of bright, balmy February days that bring seed and fertilizer buyers to his farm store and the cold, nasty days that favor walleye fishing.Across town from his Brookneal Farmstore flows the Staunton (Roanoke River), site of Virginia's most concentrated winter walleye fishery.
Since the budding of the spawning run, about a half-dozen years ago, Guthrie's store has become headquarters for walleye fishermen, who come to buy lures, weigh citation catches and swap information.
"We have weighed some real nice 8-pounders recently," Guthrie said Wednesday. "And there are a lot being caught that aren't being reported."
Guthrie has noticed that some successful fishermen have become tight-lipped, keeping the secrets of their success close to their vest in order to avoid undue competition. He believes that is a mistake.
"We approach it in a different way," he said. "I try to get the guys around here when they catch a nice fish to certify it."
When success is touted, game and fish officials are more likely to take notice and put money and management into the run, said Guthrie.
"If they think fish aren't being caught, there is no need for the state to pump money into the fishery," he said. "I can't get these guys to understand that."
So Guthrie is happy to share the information of his afternoon outing this week, when he and a couple of buddies put a small boat into the river above Brookneal and landed more than a dozen of the bronze, bug-eyed fish.
"There was no real size to them," he said. "We turned back several of them that were 3 and 3 1/2 pounds. I got one keeper that was 5 pounds."
The best fishing is yet to be. The walleye appear to congregate more in February and March, and as their eggs develop the females take on more weight.
"We expect the next record to come out of this river," said Guthrie. "It may not be this year, but the next year or so."
The record is 12-pound, 15-ounce South Holston River fish taken early February 1990.
"We landed a few 10-pounders here last year," Guthrie said. "I am looking for those again. They didn't pop up until around March."
Guthrie would like to see more water in the river. The flow is low, and that means most of the fish are concentrated in the larger holes. And the weather has been a tad too nice.
"It doesn't necessarily have to be drizzly or a blizzard, but I like it overcast and a little chilly," he said. "I don't know whether that stirs them or they come out and feed more. We have been after them for three, four or five years and have yet to figure them out."
One thing that is apparent, some of the techniques touted in the north, where the walleye has become the fish of the '90s, don't work that well in Virginia.
"We kind of laugh at the people from out of town or even out of state who will come in here and they will bring these lures that they use for lakes and deep rivers," Guthrie said.
Often the tourists go home with fewer lures and new respect for the Southern walleye.
It is hard to go wrong with offerings like the Sassy Shad, the plastic grub or the bucktail jig, Guthrie said. They work even better on light line and light tackle.
The most productive walleye fishing is found in a wild and remote stretch of the river from Long Island to Brookneal, which is part of Virginia's Scenic River System. The fact that the stream parades through private property favors local fishermen and can make it tough for the outsider to find fishing space.
"A lot of landowners don't mind people going in," said Guthrie. "All they need to do is ask."