
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: THURSDAY, August 5, 1993                   TAG: 9308050023
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WITH DOG DAYS COME TROPHY CATCHES

Jackey Mize was casting a Rapala lure to Smith River the other day while cold water was boiling out of the depths of Philpott Dam. Mize, who lives in Bassett, would describe his lure as "looking like a sucker," a pattern that got the attention of a huge brown trout, which gobbled it up.

The fish weighed 11 pounds, 13 ounces on the scales at the Bassett Sports Center. That's one of the biggest browns out of the Smith in a long while. A couple days later, Mize went back and landed another that weighed a little more than 5 pounds.

It goes to show that from the depths of the dog days come some excellent catches - maybe even a state record - for anglers willing to keep casting when the odds aren't that impressive.

A 3-pound, 10-ounce spotted bass (Kentucky bass) landed from Claytor Lake by Mike Ritter of Fairlawn is being processed by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries as a potential state record. The catch has been verified by a state biologist, who will send his findings to the state's record committee.

The record book is void of a spotted bass entry because no one has been able to meet the 3-pound minimum established by the game and fish department in the mid-1980s.

Still another example of a trophy catch snatched from the clutches of the dog days is a 19-pound, 11-ounce muskie landed on a buzzbait at Claytor Lake by John Vest of Floyd.

Garnett Lloyd of Clarksville caught a 51 1/4-pound flathead catfish from the Dan River. That's less than 5 pounds off record status.

Looking elsewhere, Smith Mountain Lake has been yielding some striped bass just under the 20-pound minimum required for citation status. Most of the striper actions is near the dam and in Gills Creek. Anglers at Smith Mountain also have been reporting largemouth catches up to 4 pounds.

At Philpott Lake, one angler docked with 23 crappie, five of them weighing better than a pound apiece.

Crappie fishing remains productive at Kerr Lake for outdoorsmen who know how to locate these panfish at 20- to 25-foot depths. The fish are hitting small minnows or jigs with small minnows affixed to the hook.

At Lake Gaston, the bass are seeing red. That's the lure color choice of successful fishermen, according to tackle shop operator Bobby Colston. The cherry seed Zoom Lizard is an example. The best success is early and late in the day. Sometimes top-water lures work well.

Down at Briery Creek Lake, Worsham's Store sold out of crickets the other day, which is a good indicator that the sunfish are on a feed. Bass also are being landed, but they are small.

The James River has been blessing anglers with smallmouth catches, but getting even more attention was a 4-pound walleye landed from the Piedmont section of the river. Could that mean a walleye run?

Dry weather is hurting anglers on the New River. Wayne Gentry of Pearisburg described the river as being "so low you can count its ribs." Along with the lack of meat is too much salad in the form of moss that can load up your hooks and fray your nerves.

The water level at Lake Moomaw is down about 8 feet, but that is nothing compared to the double-digit crash of last season. Moomaw fishermen are reeling in good numbers of brown trout in the 3- to 4-pound range.

At smaller impoundments, such as Gatewood and Lake Robertson, bluegills are providing the bulk of the action.

Down on the coast, Craig Paige of Virginia Beach reeled in a 77-pound, 4-ounce bluefin tuna and a shark, which he released. That gave him citations for six species, and the lead in Virginia's Angler of the Year competition in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Paige's other citations are for tautog, sea bass, amberjack and black drum.

by CNB