Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, July 1, 1993 TAG: 9307010048
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Fortunately for fishermen, rivers such as the James, New and Shenandoah are offering some of their best action of the season, following a period when they really were too full to fish.
The James has been providing excellent fishing for small bass, and is rewarding the faithful with an occasional trophy smallmouth. One of the top new baits on the river has been the baby Slug-go. Also grabbing the attention of bass have been the black Beetle Spins, Rebel Crawdad, Yamomoto grubs, James River Magnum grub and the Harry Murray hellgrammite.
The biggest bass have been coming from the Piedmont section of the James, in the Scottsville area, where fish up to 4 pounds have been landed.
Some New River fishermen have reported catching and releasing 50 or more fish during a day's float. A few of the bass have weighed up to 4 pounds. One lure that has been yielding strikes is the Soft Craw, a plastic crawfish rigged Carolina style and fished in the deeper channels.
The clear water of the Shenandoah River is providing action that is rated excellent by many anglers. A top bait has been the minnow, but fish also are falling for a beige-colored, metal-flake grub.
Bill Davis of Clinchport grabbed everyone's attention on the Clinch River when he reeled in a 10-pound largemouth. Most Clinch anglers have been catching rock bass and catfish.
One stream you might want to avoid is the Rappahannock River. It is running so low that fishermen are having trouble getting canoes through many sections.
\ OTHER CATCHES: Bass fishing has been good at Smith Mountain Lake, particularly for fishermen using June-bug colored plastic worms. Bass up to 7 pounds have been reported.
Striped bass, some of them heavier than the 20-pound citation minimum, have been caught on shad bait at Smith Mountain. Clyde Bernard got a 24-pounder.
Lake Moomaw has been turning out brown trout that edge above the 8-pound class. Granville Patterson Jr. of Lynchburg got one that weighed 8.1 pounds, along with a couple of 4-pounders, while casting a Mirrolure to surface-feeding fish.
Drew Getman, 10, of Roanoke caught a citation sunfish that weighed 1 pound, 1 ounce at Briery Creek Lake.
Striped bass action has slowed at Kerr Lake, but some fishermen have been reeling in impressive numbers of white bass. Largemouth bass have been hitting Zoom lizards fished Carolina style in about 12 feet of water.
\ TOURNAMENTS: When Jerry Elder won last week's Red Man Open Invitational on Webber Falls Lake, Okla., some people wondered how he'd bring back his prize - a pickup truck, boat motor and trailer. For Elder, who lives in Lynchburg, that was easy. He gave the truck, a full-size Chevy, to his longtime fishing partner, Harry Hughes, who had made the 22-hour trip with him.
Sly Sam, a tagged bass, lived up to his name during the Claytor Lake State Park Fishing Tournament. None of the 300 contest fishermen was able to claim the $5,000 offered for catching Sam.
The tournament winners (adult and youth) were: Michael Troy and Rachel Ogley for largemouth bass; Charles Spraker and Wayne Sutphin Jr., smallmouth; Mark Armentrout, crappie; Bobby Cook and Zack Thompson, catfish; and Jeff Bolling and Christy Dillon, sunfish.
Two father-son teams dominated the American Bass Association tournament at Chickahominy. Glen and Tracey Williams of Millboro were the winners, with a catch of 11.88 pounds. Second went to Daniel and Travis Towe of Salem, with 11.68 pounds. Isaac Fox of Covington got the biggest bass, a 3.98-pound catch.
by CNB