THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, December 4, 1994 TAG: 9412040175
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 120 lines
``Treat everyone fairly'' is the message Bruce Graham, Tom Mitchell and other recreational fishermen have for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission.
The commission recently voted to give Eastern Shore seaside gillnet fishermen who target gray trout an additional seven days for their season.
That season was to have run through Dec. 8. But the commission voted to extend it through Dec. 15, as the netters lost seven days because of Hurricane Gordon.
Graham, Mitchell and certainly a lot of other fishermen want to know why the same thing can't be done with the recreational season on striped bass.
``We lost those same days,'' said Graham, a spokesman for the Tidewater Anglers Club of Norfolk, who plans to take that request to the commission when it meets Dec. 20.
``I don't see how they can give the extension to one small group and not to another group,'' he said. ``As far as I'm concerned, that's discrimination, and the commissioners are sworn to not discriminate.''
Mitchell, who operates Lighthouse Tackle on Granby Street in Norfolk, said he has called the commission to request an extension of the striper season.
``This situation really burns me up,'' he said. ``I don't have a problem with extending the gillnet season. But they ought to make the extension across the board.
``The commission said this gray trout thing only covers about 30 people. It was done because it was requested by a Republican politician, Del. (Robert) Bloxom of the Eastern Shore. That's pure politics at its lowest level.
``The commission said it acted to reduce the economic hardship the storm caused the netters. Well, it caused me an economic hardship, too. That storm probably cost me between $5,000 and $7,000 in sales. There are economics involved in recreational fishing, too, which the commission doesn't seem to realize.''
Graham said there still is time to extend the recreational striper season four days. The Bay season is to close at midnight Dec. 18.
``They could adopt an emergency regulation (on Dec. 20),'' he said, ``just as they did for the gillnetters. They could give us from midnight Dec. 21 through midnight Dec. 24.''
In all, recreational fishermen have lost more than seven days of the 32-day rockfish season, Mitchell said. That season was slated for four days a week, Thursday through Sunday, for eight weeks, ending Dec. 18.
It could all be a moot point. By voting to extend the gillnet season, the commission has gone out of compliance with a multistate agreement under the umbrella of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. This means the Department of Commerce could step in and ban all gray trout fishing in the state.
However, because some other states also are out of compliance and because the year has just a few days to run, it seems more likely that the Atlantic States coalition instead would cut the 1995 gillnet season for gray trout in Virginia.
The feeling here is that by extending the gillnet season, the commission has opened Pandora's box. Any fisherman who loses a part of his season to the weather now has the right to expect commission help. At least they do if the commission is to treat everyone fairly.
FIRST FINISH: Virginia's earliest deer season ended Wednesday, but it will be several weeks before results are tabulated.
Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and the eastern part of Suffolk get an early start on whitetail hunting. The season opens Oct. 1 and runs through Nov. 30.
Another big part of the whitetail season ended Saturday in areas west of the Blue Ridge. Like the remainder of the state, hunting in this area opened Nov. 21. Elsewhere, the season will run through Jan. 7, except on selected military bases.
State wildlife officials are saying that the 1994-95 whitetail harvest could be down slightly, because much of the state received rain on opening day and windy conditions for several days after that.
Earlier, they had predicted that the kill would just about match the 1993-94 season, when hunters bagged a 200,122 whitetails, down slightly from the record 200,446 killed the year before.
``It's really too early to get a feel for the season,'' said Bob Duncan of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. ``So much will depend on the weather between now and the end of the season.''
Duncan said figures for Virginia Beach, Chesapeake and the eastern section of Suffolk could be up slightly. Last season, Virginia Beach hunters recorded 703 kills, with 1,065 in Chesapeake and 1,549 in all of Suffolk.
ON TARGET: Two young Virginia Beach hunters contributed to whatever the final total may be.
Jeff Smith, age 14, bagged a 12-point buck in Southampton County, and Chris Metzer, age 12, dropped an eight-pointer in Virginia Beach.
TOP ANGLERS: Joel Webb, 14, of Suffolk, has become the first junior fisherman to be named angler of the year by the Virginia Bluewater Gamefish Association.
During 1994 he caught and released three blue marlin, three white marlin and a sailfish, scoring 14 points under a club system. Paul Galloway of Virginia Beach was second, with 12 points.
Rennie McAllister was named the top female angler for releasing a blue and two whites, scoring five points.
The top boat was Ray Temple's Pursuer, which amassed 54 points with 10 blue marlin, 23 whites, a sailfish and a spearfish.
The top boat of 27 feet or less was Bob Cozzens' Cappy.
NEW LICENSE: The newest in a series of wildlife conservation license plates could turn out to be the most profitable yet for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The agency has announced that a new Virginia license bearing a deer head is now available. The fee is $25 in addition to the regular license fee. Of that, $15 goes to the department.
Plates featuring either mallard ducks or largemouth bass have been available since 1991 and have raised more than $186,000 for the game department's wildlife work.
With more than 300,000 licensed deer hunters in Virginia, the feeling here is that the deer license should prove the most popular and productive plate yet.
The specialized licenses are available through Division of Motor Vehicles' customer service centers or by mail. Customers may personalize their licenses for an additional $10 annually.
SHORT CASTS: Eugene North of Hampton finished 24th in the recent nationwide ``Big Bass Contest.'' North's bass weighed 1.4 pounds. The winner, who collected $100,000 was Malvin Moyer of Oklahoma, with a 3.5-pounder. Moyer also won a $10,000 college scholarship for his state's junior angler, Bo Middleton, age 12, of Elgin, Okla. . . . A public hearing on revised management plans for Atlantic mackerel will be held Dec. 12 at the Quality Inn Lake Wright, 6280 Northampton Blvd., Norfolk. It will start at 7 p.m. by CNB