Sea bass catches to be off limits in federal waters

Skip Feller and other Virginia captains depend heavily on black sea bass to make their charters happy during the fall and much of the winter.

They'll have to find other species starting Monday.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration enacted emergency regulations last week that will prohibit the taking of sea bass in federally controlled waters between 3 and 200 miles for the next 180 days. The closure area is from Cape Hatteras north to Maine. Sea bass still can be caught in state waters out to three miles.

"This is devastating to me... and I know a lot of others," said Feller, who runs a head boat out of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach. "It crushes me. I've got charters scheduled every weekend for months. Many of these people come here from out of state strictly to catch sea bass.

"I've already had eight or nine call and cancel because they heard of this."

NOAA Fisheries said it made the decision to close the waters because recreational anglers already have caught their 2009 quota of 1.14 million pounds. With many bigger fish caught in the fall and winter, continued angling would put the catch over the quota by as much as 200 percent.

Scientists and fisheries managers have concluded the Atlantic sea bass stock has recovered and is not over-fished.

"But we've gone over the quota already, so we can count on tighter regulations next year," said Jack Travelstead, chief of fisheries for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. "If they didn't close it now, next year would be even worse."

Anglers have been allowed to keep 25 sea bass a day.

Travelstead said he wasn't surprised by the closure because federal managers had warned states and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council that they would close the fishery if states and the council didn't do something first.

They didn't, forcing the feds to act, which caught the angling community off guard.

"I'm sure everybody would have been happy to drop the bag limit way down instead of this," Feller said. "But we weren't given any options."

The big concern among anglers is that thousands of sea bass caught while fishing for other species will have to be thrown overboard to die.

"What a waste," Feller said. "There are wrecks outside 3 miles where we fish for triggerfish and flounder and catch sea bass. Around the Norfolk Canyon, we fish for tilefish and grouper and other species, and catch sea bass. Fish caught from waters that deep are basically dead when they come to the surface."

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More regulations

North Carolina announced speckled trout must be 14 inches long to keep, effective Monday. The previous minimum was 12 inches.

The limits are for commercial and recreational fishermen.

The 10-fish recreational bag limit remains unchanged.

The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries said it made tighter restrictions because the 2009 stock assessment has determined speckled trout are over-fished.

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Winning essay

Jeff Turner, the Blackwater-Nottoway Riverkeeper, recently won an essay contest sponsored by Wrangler jeans.

Turner, who spends countless hours on the river, wrote about how the best loop in his jeans helped save his life.

Turner fell in the water and a piece of root from shoreline vegetation got stuck in his belt loop, preventing him from slipping under the water while trying to secure his boat.

He won three jean and shirt outfits.

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King fishers

Team Fin-Nagle won last weekend's Onslow Bay Open King Mackerel Tournament held out of Swansboro, N.C.

The team consisted of Capt. Ray Pugh, Jim Mulford and Brian Bracey, all of the Outer Banks. They finished with a 29.76-pound king and qualified for the Nov. 19-22 Southern Kingfish Association National Championship in Biloxi, Miss.

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Surf's up

The 59th Nags Head Surf Fishing Club's Invitational Surf Fishing Tournament starts Wednesday, with headquarters at the Ramada Plaza Resort and Conference Center at Milepost 9-1/2 in Kill Devil Hills.

The event concludes Saturday with the Ivan Fowler Memorial Individual Tournament.

Teams will fish two sessions each on Thursday and Friday and earn points for releases for several species. The Rising Tides of Nags Head are the defending overall champions. The Outcasters of Chesapeake are the defending women's champions.

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Top five-finishers

Ivan Morris of Virginia Beach finished fourth in the FLW Outdoors Stren Series Northern Division largemouth bass tournament held last weekend on Lake Gaston.

Morris finished with a three -day total of 15 bass that weighed a combined 29 pounds, 15 ounces - good enough for $4,214.

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Results

• From recent events at Bob's Fishing Hole on the Northwest River: Saturday panfish - 1. Ron Bailey of Norfolk and Christin Tribble of Chesapeake, 5.6 combined pounds. Dalton Weddle Memorial bass tournament - 1. Mike Evans and Jeff Garnes, both of Virginia Beach, 11.12 total pounds; 2. Chris Napier and Jared Albritton, both of Virginia Beach, 10.14; 3. Mike Rosenthal and Mark London, both of Chesapeake, 10.6; 4. Al Napier and J.P. Scott, both of Virginia Beach, 10.0. Lunker winner: Dwian Scruggs of Virginia Beach, 4.12. Wednesday afternoon largemouth bass tournament - 1. Mike Evans of Virginia Beach, 13.12 total pounds; 2. Jeremy Gatewood and Jeremiah Parker, both of Chesapeake, 8.0.
• From the West Neck Marina largemouth bass tournament held last weekend on West Neck Creek and the North Landing River: 1. Jimmy Wilburn of Virginia Beach, 11-4 total pounds.
• n From the Long Distance Sunfish Challenge sailing regatta held last weekend. Twenty-one boats competed in the race, which went from Willoughby Bay to the Old Dominion Sailing Center: Open Class - 1. Tom Dixon, Hampton; 2. James Hardesty, Virginia Beach; 3. Robert Suhay, Norfolk. Sunfish Class - 1. Jim Brunson, Williamsburg; 2. John Sherwood, Norfolk; 3. Charlie Grau, Virginia Beach.
• From the fifth Tidewater Kayak Anglers Association tournament held last weekend, featuring 215 anglers: Slam Division (largest redfish, trout and flounder combined length) - Nathan Rycroft, 49.25 total inches. Speckled Trout Division - 1. Brandon Poulter, 16.75 inches; 2. Tim Waters, 15.25; 3. Joe Ocampo, 12.5. Redfish Division - 1. James Quick, 24 inches; 2. Marty Wood, 23; 3. Kevin Whitley, 23. Flounder Division - 1. Vince Console, 22.5 inches; 2. Anthony Robeson, 21; 3. Chris LeMessurier, 20.5. Striper Division - 1. Tom Powers, 21.5 inches; 2. Calvin Jordan, 19.75; 3. Benjamin Swenson, 15.5. Largemouth Bass Division - 1. Charlotte White, 20.5 inches; 2. Roffest Short, 18; 3. Mark Wheeler, 16.25. Female Division - 1. Vandi Hollifield, 24.25-inch redfish; 2. Shante Fosket, 23-inch redfish; 3. Josie White, 22-inch redfish. Fly Rod Division - 1. Jay Kocan, 23.75-inch redfish; 2. Donald Jackson, 18.5-inch speckled trout; 3. Ryan Anderson, 18-inch speckled trout. Boy Scout Division - 1. Kyle Sawyer, 21-inch redfish; 2. Chris Smith, 10.25-inch redfish; 3. Austin Hoover, 20-inch redfish.

UPCOMING

The 17th CE&H Ruritan Club Rockfish Tournament will be held Saturday and Sunday out of Chuckatuck Creek Yacht Club in Suffolk. Registration is $45 a team and cast prizes will be awarded in several divisions. For information, call Mike Nierman at (757) 238-3931 or 971-0009, or Dan Live-Gayley at (757) 328-9352 or 846-3959.