Va. agrees to fishing limit Regional plan aims to restrict hauls of menhaden, species considered important for bay

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine agreed yesterday to comply with a regional plan to prevent any increase in fishing for menhaden, a species viewed as important to the Chesapeake Bay's health.

Kaine's decision means that the main company harvesting the fish in the bay, Omega Protein, is expected to have to limit its catch to 109,020 metric tons a year, state officials said. Omega manufactures fish oil at a plant in Reedville, Va.

Menhaden, oily fish about the size of a hot dog, are not served in restaurants or kitchens but are a key source of food for striped bass and other larger fish, and they help filter the Chesapeake Bay.

The menhaden population is thought to have fallen over the past decade, and environmentalists have pushed for protections or a ban on harvesting them.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, composed of state officials from Maine to Florida, voted in August last year to limit the menhaden catch at 105,000 metric tons a year, the average catch of the previous five years. With updated catch data from the end of 2005, that average would be 109,020 metric tons. Omega has agreed to that limit, and Virginia has agreed to enforce it.

"Congratulations on an outstanding agreement," Will Baker, president of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, said during a news conference in Virginia that was linked by video to an announcement by Maryland officials at Sandy Point State Park.

"The agreement being struck today is a great compromise between conservation and commerce."

The five-year limit is subject to commission approval, which Maryland Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. predicted it will get. The commission can't force states to adopt fishing limits but can ask the federal government to do so if states refuse.

"This is a tough issue, particularly in Virginia. You have shown great leadership and a conservation ethic," Ehrlich told Kaine yesterday. He was referring to the more than 250 people employed by Omega's Reedville plant, which has an annual payroll of at least $11 million a year. With the industry warning of layoffs, the Virginia Legislature did not act this year to implement the commission's plan.

The main change between the commission's plan and the agreement announced yesterday is that the agreement allows more flexibility for the company. If Omega caught less than the five-year average, it could carry over the difference into the next year, meaning it could harvest more that season, but not more than 122,740 metric tons.

The concession to the industry headed off the possibility of a lawsuit from Omega, which might have fought the ban in court, Kaine said.

"You can come up with solutions without everybody at the table. ... But then there's a lawsuit," he said.

Ehrlich said, "Any solution that bypasses the judicial system is a positive solution."

Omega also agreed to help fund research into the menhaden population.

Toby Gascon, spokesman for Omega, said the agreement was "negotiated" with Virginia. "Omega Protein has long been a partner with the commonwealth of Virginia," he said. "This allows us to still remain in business, to still remain viable."

With humidity of about 20 percent, the West Texas night was a pleasant 75 degrees, nearly 25 degrees cooler than the blistering heat of the day. There were no other boats on the small lake. We had the place all to ourselves.

I'm not a big fan of night fishing because I've never been a night owl. Besides, fishing to me is a visual sport. I like to see where I'm casting and I like to watch, rather than hear, a fish jumping on my line.

O'Keeffe has the night vision thing figured out. He uses a cap light that clips to the bill of a baseball-style cap. The cap light has three green LED bulbs that cast a wan glow over the water, creating enough light that you can see about as far as you'd care to cast.

I still had trouble with depth perception, but at least I could make out the brush tops that usually hold fish in the small lake. O'Keeffe also positioned a pair of black lights on the gunnels of his bass boat. He fishes with fluorescent line, which glows like an evil serpent in the black light's glow.

Switch the cap light to its emergency flasher mode and it's like disconcerting flashes from a muted disco ball. Mix in a couple of black lights and the whole thing seems pretty retro. Even the fluorescent line appears psychedelic.

"A lot of times, you'll see the line jump before you ever feel the fish bite," O'Keeffe said. "The black light and the fluorescent line is a real asset when you're fighting a big fish. You can instantly tell which way the fish is running and react accordingly."

Another trick used by the veteran angler is to insert rattle chambers into the soft-plastic lures that he favors for night fishing. The rattle chambers are small plastic tubes that contain tiny steel ball bearings. When the plastic worm or lizard is twitched, the ball bearings click against one another, creating a subtle sound that O'Keeffe swears is necessary to attract night bass on this particular lake.

O'Keeffe likes to launch his boat before darkness falls. It's a necessary measure on this small lake, Lake McCarty. The lake has no concrete boat ramp. Launching is done from a rocky shoreline, and daylight helps, particularly since the water level is so low that the usual launch site is not usable.

Once he's on the water, O'Keeffe uses marker buoys to pinpoint submerged structure where he expects to catch bass during the witching hours of darkness. The buoys are hard to see in the dark, so he marks each one with a fluorescent glow stick that makes them easy to see from as far as 100 yards.

"I've got about three spots on this lake where I expect to catch fish," O'Keeffe said. "I just keep moving from one spot to the next. The fish could move up and start feeding at any time. You've got to be there when the fish are there and feeding. I may not catch anything on my best spot until the third or fourth time that I try it."

TIPS ON NIGHT FISHING

O'Keeffe says the moon's gravitational pull is strongest on the full moon or the new moon. Night fishing is usually best three or four nights either side of a bright moon or a dark moon.

Safety is a key concern while night fishing. It's safest to pick one key fishing area, get there before dark and stay until daylight. Operating a boat at night at anything faster than idle speed is very dangerous on most fishing lakes. It's also a good idea to wear a life jacket while night fishing. It's much easier in the dark to become disoriented and fall out of the boat.

Slow-moving, soft-plastic lures are effective at night, but so are lures such as spinnerbaits or Chatter Baits, which create a vibration fish can locate in the dark.

Night fishing works just about any month of the year but is most popular during hot months. This month's new moon is Wednesday. The full moon is Aug. 23. Next month's new moon is Sept. 7, and the full moon is Sept. 22.

Use LED lights such as a cap light (about $16 from Bass Pro Shops). They create enough light to aid visibility but not enough to spook fish. Keep a small flashlight in your pocket or on your belt so it's always handy.

If you get too tired, lie down in the bottom of the boat for a nap. Make sure to leave your running lights illuminated and that your boat is not in a boat run that may be used by other night stalkers.