Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: MONDAY, March 29, 1993 TAG: 9303290443
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
\ TRUE LOVE AWARD: Goes to the out-of-town boyfriend of the Roanoke woman who called this newspaper to see if the trout season had been postponed because of the snow.
"He said he wasn't going to drive all the way down here if the trout season was closed."
\ BAH HUMBUG AWARD: The Roanoke City School System for using the opening of the trout season as a snow makeup day.
\ WORST OF THE WORST: The snows came, then the sheets of rain and the streams rose, but the trout didn't.
\ BEST FISHING BUDDY: A few of the 400 youngsters who turned out for the annual Rose River kid's fishing day in Madison County fudged on the 12-and-under age limit, but the sponsoring Trout Unlimited members weren't too concerned. And they pretty well overlook the fact that some parents were too helpful. But they did draw the line on one man who actively was fishing with an infant in a carrier strapped to his back.
\ HERO'S AWARD: State hatchery workers and game wardens who drove snow-covered roads and waded through 4-foot drifts to stock trout during the blizzard of '93, reaching all but a half-dozen of the 160 streams and lakes slated to get fish prior to opening day.
Just when they deserved a rest the rains and melting snow sent some streams out of their banks, making it difficult, if not impossible, to reach them for in-season stocking.
\ BEST FISHING HOLE: When authorities in Bath County found 49 trout and a net in the back of a pickup, they were told by the occupants, from Franklin and Henry counties, that the fish had been purchased from a private hatchery. Wardens said they checked the story and found that the fish did come from a Highland County hatchery, but the hatchery operator wasn't aware of it.
\ GOOD NEIGHBOR AWARD: The George Washington National Forest for the upper case message it sent to would-be forest fishermen informing them that the GW isn't going to be your buddy if you get stuck in a snowdrift: "VEHICLES BECOMING STUCK WILL HAVE TO BE PULLED OUT BY PRIVATE TOWING COMPANIES OR BY WHATEVER OTHER METHODS THE VEHICLE OPERATOR CAN ARRANGE."
\ BEST T-SHIRT: The Cam-O-Fish brand featuring schooling trout, the handiwork of Jack Wainwright and Donna Corriher of Vinton.
"It was on the opening day of trout season that I looked downstream and saw camouflage clothes on just about every person out there," said Wainwright. "I thought how odd it was to see tree camouflaged figures standing in water and fishing. I realized right then and there that the fishing industry needed a signature look all its own."
\ WORST T-SHIRT MESSAGE: "O.K. Basshole. Make My Day!"
\ BEST QUOTE: "Great fishing is when you catch a fish; the rest of the time is good fishing," Mark Hudy, George Washington National Forest official.
\ MOST DEDICATED FISHERMAN: When questioned if he'd rather make love to a beautiful woman or catch a trout he asked: "Rainbow, brook or brown trout?"
\ MOST UNGRATEFUL TROUT: Anglers had to rely on four-wheel drives to reach Hone Quarry Lake in Rockingham County, then use boat paddles to break the ice when they got there. The trout weren't impressed. Very few were caught.
\ BEST LUCK: Roy Love, of Smyth County, who threw his line into the South Fork of Holston River seven times and landed six trout.
\ WORST LUCK: The angler who was injured when a vehicle being pursued at high speed by Vinton Police hit his vehicle at Glade Creek. Even though his leg was hurt, the angler decided to go fishing, only to be called from the creek a short while later when authorities discovered there were five warrants for his arrest.
\ TAKE A KID FISHING AWARD: Goes to the three adults from Ohio who took two children on horseback into the Cranberry River Back County of West Virginia for a camping-fishing trip. When snow and high winds created 14-foot snowdrifts, the two youngsters had to be rescued by helicopter.
\ PROMISES! PROMISES! From the Shenandoah Valley to far Southwest Virginia, anglers have reported that the trout are lethargic and just won't hit. There's good reason.
"We know that when the water gets real cold the fish won't eat even in the hatcheries. So look for some exceptionally good fishing when the water warms up," said Gary Martel, state assistant fish chief.
\ WORST JOKE: Definition of a fisherman: A jerk at one end of the line waiting for a jerk on the other end.
by CNB