Saltwater citations hit new highs in '09

February 4, 2010 12:35 am

WHITE MARLIN, speckled trout and striped bass offered saltwater anglers copious thrills in 2009, judging by the number of fish registered for recognition in the annual Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.

A total of 5,191 trophy-size fish were caught during the yearlong 52nd annual tournament. This marked the 10th consecutive year at least 5,000 trophy citations were registered.

Recreational saltwater success with big fish can be attributed to many factors. Among others, weather, commercial fishery practices and the apparent ebb and flow of predator and prey fish can all factor in.

Speckled trout fishing had been marginal in recent years, but last year big specks appeared in such numbers that, for the first time in tournament history, they accounted for the most trophy citations of the 35 eligible species.

Sixteen percent of the fish registered (849) were trout, with 28 percent of those caught and released. Seven speckled trout weighed more than 10 pounds! Another 45 fish topped 8 pounds.

August and early September produced substantial catches of white marlin, but there was a week in late September when sportfishing boats heading offshore ran out of catch-and-release flags to fly on the outrigger lines. The bite was red hot.

A record 775 white marlin were caught, released and registered in the tournament, beating the previous best of 728 caught in 1978.

As tournament coordinators noted, "Catches would have been much higher if the summer fishing fleet had been in place."

Striped bass, that Virginia money fish, lagged just white marlin, with 761 citations recorded. Thirty percent of these were for release citations for fish exceeding the 44-inch trophy minimum. I'm proud to say one of those release trophy plaques will have my name on it. The rest were for kept fish at or above the 40-pound weight requirement.

Trophy striped bass catches were down from 2006, 2007 and 2008 levels, a decline some attribute to rapidly dropping water temperatures beginning the second week in December, noted tournament director Lewis Gillingham.

Even though trophy numbers didn't meet previous three-year highs, 2009 saw the seventh-highest trophy striper totals in tournament history.

Weights were high, with 59 stripers weighing 50 pounds or more, 20 at 55 pounds or more and seven topping 60 pounds.

Trophy red drum were abundant, with 510 release citations registered, the ninth-best year for redfish (variously called spot-tailed bass, channel bass and more) in tournament history.

Gillingham observes that 2003 through 2009 represented seven of the top 10 years for red drum in Virginia. The shoals around Fisherman Island yielded consistent catches all summer.

Blueline tilefish, added to the tournament species in 2007, rounded out the top five, with 428 fish registered for trophy citations. Seventy-three topped 15 pounds, 23 fish weighed 18 pounds or more and seven weighed 20 or more pounds.

Gillingham singled out sailfish, amberjack, cobia and sheepshead for honorable mentions in the 2009 tournament. Sailfish numbers were their best ever for Virginia, with 95 catch-and-release citations given to offshore anglers. To put this in context, this more nearly triples the previous best year of 2002, when 34 sails were caught.

Amberjack releases were at their highest level since 2003, with 174 fish registered. Cobia numbers were the best since 2006, with 292 trophy fish registered, including eight weighing more than 90 pounds and two exceeding 100 pounds.

Sheepshead anglers recorded 114 trophy fish.

The spadefish decline continued, though, as the number of trophy spades registered (57) was the lowest total since the species became eligible for trophy status in 1995. The high point was Fredericksburg angler Roland Murphy's setting a new state record with a 14-pound, 14-ounce spadefish caught near The Cell last June.

King mackerel were a bust, with just one citation. Flounder continued their nose dive, with the number of trophy fish falling for the fifth consecutive year. Yet of the 364 flounder registered, some big ones made it to the scales, with 31 fish weighing 10 pounds or more and five exceeding 12 pounds.

Spot and gray trout numbers remained inexplicably low, with only eight spot citations recorded and none for gray grout.

The 2010 tournament remains largely unchanged, but the committee is recommending changes to speckled trout limits, mainly to protect fish in warm water discharges during the winter. Proposed is a five-fish possession limit with just one fish greater than 24 inches allowed, in all state waters, for all gears (commercial and recreational) from Dec. 1 through March 31.

Changes also may be brewing in terms of who has to purchase saltwater licenses, including anglers who are occasional fisherman who haven't had to buy licenses when fishing aboard charter boats. Look for more on this topic next week.

The Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament is a program of the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Saltwater fishing license revenues pay for the tournament. Trophy citations consist of wooden wall plaques or album-sized certificates, depending on angler preference.

For more information, call Lewis S. Gillingham at 757/491-5160.

RAPPAHANNOCK RIVER SMALLMOUTH FORECAST

This coming year may present the best opportunity of the last two decades to land some lunker smallmouth bass in the Rappahannock River, according to Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries regional biologist John Odenkirk.

Odenkirk's annual forecast notes, "Anglers may be in for a very good year, or somewhat of a disappointment--depending on their viewpoint."

The reason: The number of big fish was higher in fall 2009 than in the past 14 years.

"Older, and larger, fish" are driving the fishery, but "because spawning success over the last two years were poor, especially in 2008, anglers will most likely see fewer fish per outing," Odenkirk said.

"For example, an age-5 bass averaged over 3 inches longer in 2008-09 than in 1996-2002," Odenkirk said.

Ken Perrotte can be reached at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia Street, Fredericksburg, Va. 22401, by fax at 373-8455 or e-mail at
Email: outdoors@freelancestar.com.