Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 29, 1993 TAG: 9304290082
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B5 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Bill Cochran
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
While fishing at Smith Mountain Lake the other day, the Reidsville, N.C., angler caught a 44-pound, 15-ounce striped bass. That's 1 ounce above the state record, landed at the lake last July by Gary Tomlin of Buena Vista.
So Snider is the new record holder, right?
Well, no, because earlier in April, Tim Waller of Gretna reported catching a 50-pound, 8-ounce striped bass from Leesville Lake, located immediately downstream from Smith Mountain. Waller's fish is awaiting certification by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries' fish records committee.
But Snider says no one should shed tears over his plight. He is happy just to catch a fish that size, and he is having it mounted and planning a return trip to Smith Mountain.
Snider was fishing with guide Ken Dempsey on the Roanoke River arm of the lake, near Stoney Creek, when the fish crunched his shad bait.
\ OFF AND RUNNING: Striped bass have left Kerr Lake and are pushing up the Roanoke and Dan rivers in their annual spawning run. Anglers have been reeling in fish on the Dan near Danville and on the Roanoke in the Brookneal area.
Good numbers of impressive-size fish were in the Brookneal area Monday, but they seemed to disappear when rain sent the water level high and the temperature low, said Steve Arthur, who manages a fish hatchery for the state in the area.
"We were finding nice fish. We had a lot in the 14-to 18-pound range," he said.
Arthur expects fishing success to take an upturn this weekend. The peak of the run traditionally occurs in May.
\ HAVING A FIT: "We had a hugging fit in the woods."
That's how proud father Doug Karnes of Bedford described the scene one morning this week when his 11-year-old son, Dwain, killed a turkey gobbler.
Young Karnes got a taste of the sport last spring, when he accompanied his father on a trip and watched him bag a bird.
"I didn't let him carry a gun then," said Doug. "I called up a nice gobbler and killed it while Dwain was sitting next to me. He said, `I can't wait till next year, then maybe I can carry a gun.' "
\ VIRGINIA PROUD: Randy Rigg of Coeburn finished seventh in the Wrangler/B.A.S.S. National Championship on the Arkansas River at Pine Bluff, Ark. Representing Virginia among competitors from 45 states, South Africa, Japan and Zimbabwe, Rigg entered a three-day catch that weighed 31 pounds, 2 ounces, including the biggest bass caught the first day, a 6-pounder.
The winner was Michael Holt of Lexington, Tenn., who had 19 bass that weighed 56 pounds, 6 ounces. Holt and four other amateur anglers - Dub LaShot of Springfield, Ore; Jim Romans, Crossett, Ark.; Bryan Kerchal, Newton, Conn.; and Rick McCarty, Bourbounais, Ill. - earned the right to fish the BASS Masters Classic world championship Aug. 12-14 in Birmingham, Ala.
\ POUNDING OUT PROPS: After a period of high water, Claytor Lake has returned to normal and is clearing, but there's still plenty of debris, said Debbie Phillips at Lakeside Marine Supply. She said boaters have turned in five damaged outboard propellors for repair. Recent trophy catches at Claytor have included a 6-pound, 4-ounce smallmouth bass for Charles Day of Radford and a 2-pound, 10-ounce white bass for Barry Gilbert of Pulaski.
\ LOOKING GOOD: Fishing is looking promising for the Cave Spring Optimist Club Tournament, which opens Friday on Smith Mountain Lake. Recent catches include an 18 3/4-pound muskie, a 6 3/4-pound walleye and a couple of largemouth bass over 8 pounds.
by CNB