Thursday, January 01, 2009
A new year! A new record stiped bass?
Bill Cochran
Recent columns
Frederick Barnes (third from left) holds onto Virginia striped bass record with this 73-pound catch.
Last January 23, Frederick Barnes of Chesapeake was trolling a red and white Stretch 30 lure off Fishermen’s Island north of Virginia Beach when he landed a 73-pound striped bass. It is the current state record and is coming up on its first anniversary.
The big question: Can anyone top it this season? And where is it most likely spot for a new record to be caught?
I put those questions to a panel of angling experts that I admire, and here is what they say:
RIC BURNLEY, field editor of The Fisherman, regional editor of Saltwater Sportsman and author of “The Complete Kayak Fisherman:”
Chances are good that the current mark will be broken. Local scuttlebutt is that the current world record might finally fall.
(The world record is a 78.5-pound striper caught off an Atlantic City, N.J., beach in 1982 by Albert McReynolds.)
If I were a gambling man, I’d have to put my money on trolling umbrellas and parachutes off Virginia Beach. While cold weather appeared to put the damper on the eel bite in the Chesapeake Bay off Cape Charles, there are good numbers of fish in the ocean off Virginia Beach and more on their way down the coast. It ain’t over yet!
CLAUDE BAIN, retired director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament and tackle salesman at Princess Ann Distributing Co. in Virginia Beach:
Chances are good. Every year we see more and more fish pushing that record size. Right now we have quite a few fish over 60 pounds. The odds will be better when more fish from the north migrate down the Virginia Coast.
It got really cold in November and I thought that might shorten the period these fish are in Virginia water, but the water has warmed back up and it is perfect.
DR. JULIE BALL, master angler and representative of the International Game Fish Association:
The odds are about like last year. We have big fish, from Cape Henry to Sandbridge, with boats limiting out, but the high end is sitting around 60 pounds. It could happen, but more likely in a year or two.
BOB HUTCHINSON, retired outdoor writer for the Virginian-Pilot:
Chances are good. More fish are getting bigger each year. The most likely place to catch a record is around the mouth of the Capes south to the North Carolina Line.
LEWIS GILLINGHAM, director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament:
I think fish over 70 pounds will remain few and far between and expect Barnes’ record to be around for awhile. After Mr. Barnes caught the current 73-pound record, I did some calling around and I could find only five other striped bass of 70 pounds or more that could be documented as caught on rod and reel EVER along the Atlantic Coast. Still, I’m certain Barnes’ record will eventually be topped. The numbers of older fish remain high.
As for location, the last several state records have been caught after the Chesapeake Bay season closes Dec. 31. So the coastal area is the only area open and the fish remain active there and are feeding rather heavily.
