<b>Freshwater</b> report 6/26

The Lakes

Lake Anna

Lots of nice largemouth are finding themselves being weighed in on the Anna Point Marina scales. On June 22, Larry and Lee Martin weighed a five-fish bag totaling 16-4. The big fish went 4-13. The Martins used top water baits and drop shots. Four-year-old Hunter Wine caught a 2-10 largemouth on a small minnow.

Summer patterns are emerging for largemouth as the bass begin to move deeper. Deep crankbaits, Texas rigs, and Shakey Head rigs are effective, along with top water baits early and late.

Striper anglers are advised to come early and beat the increasing boat traffic. Jet skis, you know. Large live shad is the most effective for bigger stripers, but trolling tactics with Red-Fins, and umbrella rigs are producing fish. Crappie are also moving deeper but are still biting.

Buggs Island

Water is dropping and fishing is picking up at Buggs. Crank baits and C-rigs are working very well. Crappie are moving to deeper water. Catfishing is steady.

Lake Orange. Good action for bass on topwater early on. Catfish are on fire throughout the lake. Some big crappie are showing up on the weigh-in scales.

Chickahominy Lake

Capt. Art Conway of Conway’s River Rat Guide Service out of Ed Allen’s Boats and Bait reported that Chickahominy Lake mid-day water temperatures ranged from the low to mid 80’s in the lower lake and slightly higher in the backs of the major creeks on Monday. The lake level was about eight inches above the top of the dam. The water was medium brown and slightly cloudy in the lower lake.

Blue cats and a few channel cats were widely scattered in a variety of depths in the lower main lake and in the creeks and were hitting live minnows. A mix of sizes of crappie were scattered on submerged wood cover, along channel edges, near some lily pads, and on weed flats near shoreline cover in the main lake and creek mouths. Crappie were hitting live minnows, Roadrunners, Kalin crappie scrubs, tubes, swim baits, and Wright Bait Co. and Southern Pro curlytail grubs. Larger bluegill and shellcrackers were in loose clusters on many shorelines in the main lake and in some areas up the creeks and were hitting flies (especially wet flies and nymphs), small tubes and jigs, and live worms. A few bass were around creek mouths and on flats in the main lake, and were hitting flyrod bugs, topwaters, crankbaits, jerkbaits, and plastic worms, particularly early and late in the day.

Fishing with Capt. Conway, Becky and Jimmy Bogese had 32 bluegill, 5 shellcrackers, 4 crappie, and 5 yellow perch. Robert Harmon and Stephanie and Nathan Castle had 25 bluegill. Mickey Cleveland had 27 bluegill, 1 warmouth, 18 crappie, 1 yellow perch, 1 white perch, and 1 bass.

The Rivers

Upper James/New River

High, muddy and unfishable.

Shenandoah

Still high, but dropping. Should be fishable by this weekend.

James River(Richmond)

Elite series pro Randy Howell won the Bassmaster Northern Open on the James River with a 3 day total of 47-lbs, 11ozs. Green Top pro and local angler Steve Colgin of Lanexa finished 10th. Many presentations were effective, but Senkos and crank baits were two of the more commonly used baits.

Potomac River

Capt. Steve Chaconas said it was tournament week on the Potomac.

“The Everstart Series tournament was last week and the Potomac River was crowded. I took the opportunity to go out with one of the FLW Tour pros, Kellogg's Ranger pro Dave Lefebre. Dave showed me a prototype lure coming soon from Storm Lures. It was interesting to see how he approached the Potomac. Fishing only once a year, he really understood the tides and where to find fish. He targeted grass and deeper wood cover. Using an array of medium diving crank baits for the wood and soft plastics pitched to grass clumps, he loaded the boat.”

“On Tuesday, VDGIF biologist John Odenkirk and Field & Stream writer Steven Hill joined me for a snakehead hunt! John had one on first thing, but it escaped his frog hooks. The weird thing was after it got away, it swam to the boat and stared us down. Later that evening, Chef Doug LaPorta, from Loporta's Restaurant prepared a 4-course snakehead dinner for us. My favorite was the Snakehead Tempura with a horseradish orange marmalade sauce.”

“I fished on Wednesday with a regular client and we caught a bunch with a Mann's Baby 1-Minus in the morning. Later on we pitched Texas rigged MIZMO tubes to marsh clumps and pads.”

“I took the tournament days off to cover the event for WFLS radio. It was a great event. Next week I'm booked with bass and snakehead trips.”

Staunton River

“I finally got back on the water Thursday and fished with Dave and his son Reed,” said Guide Matt Miles. “We fished the Staunton/Roanoke River because it was closer to normal levels than the New and James river. The day started out well, as the fish were eating poppers and cicada imitations. Reed pulled in a 17-inch smallmouth bass and a 15-inch largemouth bass on the fly rod. They were the two biggest bass of the trip. We had a mixed bag of species -bluegills, redeyes, smallmouth bass and largemouth bass all caught on poppers and flies. The water ended up rising right much by mid-day and messed the fishing up for the rest of our trip. The rivers are coming down from all the rain the past two weeks thankfully. Hope to see some stable water conditions soon.”

j44brewer@gmail.com

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Suwannee Lake FMA to close for renovation

Live Oak — The Suwannee Lake Fish Management Area (FMA) will be closed for renovations beginning this fall, according to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officials.

Suwannee Lake, near Live Oak in Suwannee County, is a 63-acre lake constructed by the FWC in 1967.

A drawdown of the lake level has already begun and boat access may be limited to smaller vessels in the near future.

Bag limits and size limits on the lake have been temporarily suspended, allowing anglers to keep any fish they catch until the area is closed.

“Suwannee Lake FMA anglers can keep all the fish they catch as long as these fish are caught by hook and line, hand, or dip net,” said Dan Dorosheff, FWC Freshwater Fisheries biologist.

Anglers will still need a freshwater fishing license to take or attempt to take fish unless exempt by law.

“It is estimated the FMA will be closed for one to two years,” Dorosheff said.

Biologists plan to completely drain the lake and remove organic material from the lake bottom and woody vegetation along the shoreline.  Some areas of the lake will be deepened and enhancements such as shallow, submerged islands, brush piles and larger bank-fishing-access points will be created.

“This will improve the fishery as well as shoreline bank fishing access for our anglers,” Dorosheff said. “After the renovations are completed, the lake will be restocked with native Florida sportfish, and beneficial native vegetation will be planted.”

For more information about this project, contact the FWC’s North Central Regional Office at 386-758-0525.

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<b>Bass</b> fisherman nets giant muskie in East Bay

TRAVERSE CITY — This is no fish story: A downstate angler casting for smallmouth bass hooked and landed a 52-pound muskellunge on the east arm of Grand Traverse Bay.

Jim Vozar, of Coldwater, fell just short of a state record when he hooked the monster muskie while fishing with his wife and Up North Smallmouth Charters Capt. Tony DeFilippo on June 21.

Vozar, 77, was casting with eight-pound test line and plastic tube baits when he thought his hook snagged on something.

“The gentleman thought he had a log at first, the Old Field & Stream story," DeFilippo said. "Then it started to move.”

The anglers chased the muskie for 20 minutes using the trolling motor on DeFilippo's boat, and were careful to keep the line from snapping.

No one realized what they were about to catch.

"At first I thought it was a northern pike, but when we got it up there we realized it was a whole lot bigger," Vozar said.

The muskie was so big it snapped DeFilippo's net in two when he tried to pull it from the water.

"It's a miracle we got that fish in the boat," Vozar said.

DeFilippo called fellow charter captain Chris Noffsinger, whose boat contains a large livewell. The men wrestled the muskie into Noffsinger's boat and called Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials.

A DNR officer weighed the muskie at 52-pounds, six pounds shy of the statewide record for Great Lakes muskie, a fish landed last year in Antrim County's Lake Bellaire. That fish also was caught on eight-pound test line.

DeFilippo said Vozar's muskie was wider than a dollar bill for almost the entire length of its body. He estimated the fish at about 50 inches, or just more than four feet in length.

The men released the muskie alive back into the bay. Vozar said he was happy just to measure the fish and snap a few pictures before he let it go.

"I'd feel really bad if it died," Vozar said. "It was a beautiful fish."

Vozar marveled at both local whopper catches.

"Muskie fisherman fish a whole lifetime and don't catch one that big," he said.

Vozar credited DeFilippo with making sure he landed the near-record.

"Without him, it wouldn't have happened," Vozar said.

Muskellunge naturally inhabit Michigan waters, according to the DNR. They can reach lengths of 30 inches or more in the first three to four years of their lives. Females tend to grow larger and faster than males, and the fish can live for 30 or more years.

With a mouth full of sharp teeth muskie are perceived as an aggressive predatory species. Many anglers rate muskie as the premier challenge of freshwater fishing, the DNR states.

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Family <b>fishing</b> in the spotlight

It is not often that we get to participate and volunteer in events that create much joy, pleasure, happiness and satisfaction as has been happening at the Courtenay and District Fish and Game Protective Association (CDFGPA) over the past two weeks with the Fishing Forever Program and culminating with the Family Fishing – Father’s Day celebration this weekend.

I was unable to participate with the former but I had great pleasure in volunteering this past weekend. Once in a while somebody says just the right things in the right way in expressing gratitude to those who made the events a success, as was the case expressed by Evelyne Posetha in a card of appreciation she presented to Jan MacKenzie and Brian Allen –  the joint chairpersons of the events. Evelyne spent much of her volunteer time at the fish cleaning table – on behalf of all of us, thank you, Evelyne.

Evelyne’s card of appreciation:

“Dear Jan and Brian,

"It is an honour to have worked with you both and for such good causes.

"Many thanks for your guidance, your generosity and all the support you give to the volunteers. You are both 'Awesome,'

Keep up your 'Great Work.'

PS  I will wear the beautiful polo shirt with pride as soon as I am not cleaning fish. …

Evelyne Posetha.”

Inscription on the card read – “Kindness spreads like wildflowers … leaving happiness behind.”

The celebration at the CDFGPA did not happen in isolation of many other connected events. First the Freshwater Fisheries Society of BC made the fishing possible with the generous supply of catchable rainbow trout they stocked in the ponds. Thrifty Foods of Courtenay generously supplied free treats of hotdogs, pop and bottled water to all participants on both days. These annual treats are a huge gift to all concerned and a sincere thank you to the Thrifty stores for their generosity and corporate support.

I took some time out from my volunteering to wander around the pond with my camera. Pictured with the column are a father and son enjoying some quiet, secluded fishing on a very crowded pond. It is an appropriate Father’s Day celebration where the child is spending some special time with father. In the process they are both getting an infusion of emotional medicine that helps to close the nature deficit deficiency so common in our increasingly disconnected society.

I spent most of my time putting together small containers of worms, (thanks to Dennis) and Power Bait plus untangling lines on what seemed like an endless chain of novice anglers with injured tackle. Throughout the whole process I never talked to one unhappy participant.

One lasting effect from the weekend will be the memory of large numbers of novice anglers and happy children and others who had caught a nice trout to take home for supper. It is reassuring to know that the celebration taking place in the club pond was being reenacted throughout the province wherever people were gathering to celebrate this Family Fishing – Father’s Day Weekend.

The overriding purpose of the Family Fishing Weekend is to interest families and others to taking up the family oriented hobby of recreational fishing in our thousands of freshwater lakes and rivers and rich marine waters that make up our beautiful and bountiful province. Indeed the promotion of free family fishing weekends in now a national custom.

Earlier in the week I came across an interesting little magazine-style booklet – Vancouver Island Fishing 2013. It is free and is available at tackle shops, tourist information centres and other places. It is published by Goldstream Publishing who are the people that produce the Angler’s Atlas.

The booklet features 22 Vancouver Island lakes with contour lines, special information pertinent to the lake plus directions on how to get to each lake. In my view it is a gold mine for freshwater anglers. On page 34 there is a detailed 2012 stocking list for each lake. It would be an interesting challenge to fish all 22 of them in one season.

In closing, I wonder what it takes for Valley politicians to think beyond athletic fields and stadiums to bring Maple Lake into the public domain – what a jewel it would be, developed as an urban family fishing lake.

Ralph Shaw is a master fly fisherman who was awarded the Order of Canada in 1984 for his conservation efforts. In 20 years of writing a column in the Comox Valley Record it has won several awards.

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Search for monster <b>fish</b> lands in Chattanooga

New Season of "Monster Fish" kicks off with "Volkswagen-sized" catfish in Chattanooga. Zeb Hogan filming in the River Giants exhibit.

Almost every waterway in America has a story of aquatic monsters lurking in the dark, beneath a river's waves or a lake's surface.

Bernie Kuhajda, an aquatic conservation biologist with the Tennessee Aquarium's Conservaton Institute, said stories abound of divers poking around beneath dams and discovering catfish as big as Volkswagens.

"Every dam has a story like that," he said.

But which of these legends are true and which are just tall tales?

Dr. Zeb Hogan, with National Geographic, set out on a journey to find out if these fish of epic proportions are real or just groundless rumors.

"We're investigating these stories that have been around for a long time of these car-sized catfish," Hogan said, who hosts the National Geographic WILD show "Monster Fish," whose fourth season is set to air July 5.

The "Monster Fish" crew recently visited the Chattanooga area for a look at some of the Tennessee Aquarium's river giants to compare fact and fiction.

The aquarium's River Giants exhibit showcases some of the world's biggest fresh-water fish, from the giant blue catfish to lake sturgeon and freshwater sting rays.

"The bulk of the fish in there are river giants or mega fish," said aquarium curator of fish Thom Demas.

A mega fish is anything that reaches 6 feet in length or greater.

Hogan was especially interested in the exhibit's giant blue catfish, the possible culprit behind the rumored monster fish.

"Almost everyone we talked to thought the stories of car-sized catfish were true. So the perception is that they're real," Hogan said.

But the aquarium's specimen was only between 4 and 5 feet long. The fish rarely get above 6 feet these days, Kuhajda said.

"That's not quite the same size as a Volkswagen," he said.

Historical records, however, indicate that these river giants really did reach legendary proportions. So what happened to the goliaths of America's rivers?

"It's still a little bit of a mystery ... because one of those hasn't been caught for a while. They're not getting that big anymore, and we want to know why," Hogan said.

Demas said it was directly related to environmental factors and consumption patterns. Overfishing and pollution have limited many fish to much smaller sizes than their ancestors.

Given the right conditions, Demas thinks the fish would surpass the 6 or 7 foot limit.

"They could all probably grow to their genetically predisposed sizes," he said.

Hogan said he hoped the show would make people aware that many of the world's monster fish are in danger of disappearing forever.

"It's a lot about fishing, but it's also about making sure we have these fish for the future," Hogan said.

But not all is lost. The Tennessee Aquarium has a conservation project to bring the lake sturgeon back to the Tennessee River.

The lake sturgeon, a species native to the area, disappeared from local waterways around 1960, when water quality and river dams made living conditions too harsh for them to survive.

But since the program started in 2000, more than 125,000 lake sturgeon have been released into local waterways.

"The end goal is to have a self-sustaining population," said Thom Benson, senior marketing and communications manager at the aquarium.

Hogan hopes conservation programs like this one will safeguard these monster fish for future generations, and that one day, he'll get to see a true giant.

"I've seen some big fish, but I've always had a dream for me to see some bigger fish," he said.

Contact staff writer Lindsay Burkholder at 423-757-6592 or lburkholder@timesfreepress.com.

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