THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, August 29, 1995 TAG: 9508290488
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY BOB HUTCHINSON, OUTDOORS EDITOR
LENGTH: Medium: 64 lines
Freshwater fishermen are among the victims of one of the driest years in Hampton Roads since Prohibition.
The paltry rainfall of the past weekend did little to ease the two-month drought in most sections. It did even less to raise the water level in local reservoirs popular with fishermen.
The drought can have little effect on deep lakes, such as Western Branch Reservoir, with many areas more than 35 feet deep. The fish just move to deeper water.
But in shallow impoundments, such as Lake Smith where the average depth is less than 10 feet even when full, a fish kill from a lack of oxygen becomes a real possibility.
``We're in bad shape,'' said Mac McCosh of the Lake Smith Fishing Station in Virginia Beach. ``My biggest concern is that if something isn't done soon, we're going to have a major fish kill on our hands. This is a shallow lake.''
The lake holds as many fish as ever. But the available oxygen can be reduced by more than 50 percent.
Rainfall at Norfolk International Airport is running about 10 inches below normal for the year, according to the National Weather Service. Much of the best freshwater fishing action in the area is on the various water-supply lakes around Norfolk and Suffolk.
Some of those impoundments are as much as six feet below normal.
Barren, sandy areas as much as 20 feet wide now can be seen between the edges of some lakes and what once was a green shoreline. Once-submerged tree stumps which were the lair of big bass now protrude above the surface three or four feet.
Navigation is severely hampered by stumps, fallen trees and other debris over which boaters could speed when the lakes were normal levels.
``In some ways the fishing is better,'' said Mike Gizara, who operates the fishing station at Suffolk's Lake Cohoon. ``You can see the stumps a lot better.
``Of course, all these lakes need water and need it badly. This has been a dry, dry summer.''
Many fish have dropped into the deepest areas, where they become lethargic and show little interest in anglers' offerings.
The situation on local freshwater streams was just as bad.
Hurricane Felix blew a lot of water out of the two major fishing rivers, the Northwest and North Landing, and their tributaries. Ditto several other area streams, as well as Back Bay and Currituck Sound.
The two rivers were down as much as five feet. Some ramps serving them were not usable because they were left high and dry.
The return of southerly winds has eased that problem. But now the streams are thick and muddy because the water rushed out and then rushed back in. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by Bill Tiernan
Water levels well below normal, as this Lake Whitehurst shore
depicts, may cause fish to die from too-low oxygen levels.
Graphic
Water Falls
For copy of graphic, see microfilm
by CNB