Larry Andrews at the Bait Place, a tackle shop on the road to the lake, said he knows of one angler who caught 16 keepers in a day. Most of the trout are under 5 pounds, but Johnny Schaeffer of Iron Gate caught a brown that weighed 11.61 pounds, and measuring 30 inches. Schaeffer was using a minnow as bait. Last season, Moomaw was Virginia's No. 1 producer of citation-size brown trout, accounting for 18 registered catches. 3-pounds were numerous last season, and that class will be bigger this season.
Biological data indicate that browns reach trophy proportions after two growing season in the lake.
There are a number of productive fishing methods, ranging from trolling lures that imitate shad, to fishing deep with minnows, to jump fishing when stripers are feeding on the surface. Look for a Spurt of good action when the sea settles, probably about the time this week's anglers are headed home. It has been a slow week at Hunter's Den in Craig County, our benchmark turkey checking station. Only two toms, both taken Tuesday, were registered. There were no birds checked last Friday and Saturday, either.