May 2013 Rivah - The Rappahannock Record

Billy Thorpe holds up his winning
38-pound, 1-ounce rockfish.
32
Tom Hedgepeth displays his day’s catch.
continued from page 31
Valley and as far down the coast
as Virginia Beach,” said Compton,
who served as club president
for eight years. “I never thought it
would happen like that.”
The Benefi ts
The club’s annual dues of $30
includes an opportunity to fi sh in
eight tournaments and an annual
family picnic. NNAC holds
four meetings per year, two in
Northumberland County and two in
Lancaster, all are open to the public.
“Our tournaments aren’t terribly
competitive,” said Smith.
“There are prizes, which are gift
certifi cates to our sponsor businesses.
Most have prizes for fi rst
and second but the last tournament
of the year, we gave six awards.
“Our club couldn’t do what it
does at this membership price
without out sponsors and our
weigh-in stations, which do our
weigh-ins for free,” he added.
There are 11 weigh-in locations
for the tournaments, scattered from
the Potomac River to Gwynn’s
Island. A few, like Northern Neck
Ace Hardware in Kilmarnock, are
even landlocked.
“They used to all be on the
water,” said Smith. “But then we
realized gas was too expensive to
drive 20 miles to weigh in a tiny
fi sh that may not even win.”
The club has four fi shing
regions, north of the Potomac
River down to Smith Point and
Cape Charles. If there is a small
craft advisory in any of the four
areas on tournament day, the fi shing
is suspended.
“We all have what I would call
small boats,” said Smith. Most, he
said, are 25-feet and smaller.
Youth members, high school
age and younger, are free.
“We encourage parents to take
their kids and grandparents to take
their grandkids fi shing,” said Smith.
There’s also a lot of cooperative
fi shing and teaching among club
members, he said.
“A lot of our members were
freshwater fi shermen and started
saltwater fi shing and wanted to
learn,” said Smith.
“We also have a fi shing partners
list that you sign up for,” he
said. “You can save money on gas
and expenses and learn something
from someone else.”
Angler of the Year
Jamrog, who has a summer
home in Edwardsville in
NNAC Sponsors
■ ACE Hardware
of Kilmarnock
■ Green Top
Sporting Goods
■ J&W Seafood
■ Jett’s Hardware
of Reedville
■ Marine Electronics
of Hartfi eld
■ RW’s Sport Shop
■ Southeastern Marine
■ Surfside Bait & Tackle
■ Chesapeake Angler
Magazine
Northumberland County, was
one of those freshwater fi shermen
when he joined NNAC three
years ago.
Originally from New Hampshire,
saltwater fi shing created
“a whole new learning curve for
[him].”
He must have been a quick
learner. Jamrog tallied 31 points
last year, a whopping 12 points
better than the angler of the year
runner-up.
“I think what happened was I
went out and learned how to fi sh
for all the species in our tournaments,
while we have a lot of
fi shermen who specialize in one
variety. Maybe they’re outstanding
in their area, like catching
fl ounder or rockfi sh. Plus I was
lucky.”
Susan Hudson, who is one of
only six women among the 100
members, was the 2011 Angler
of the Year. She and her husband
retired from the Dahlgren area to
the Northern Neck in 2010 primarily
to fi sh.
“We love fi shing and that’s one
of the main reasons we came to the
Reedville area,” said Hudson.
Jamrog agrees.
There’s nothing like a relaxing
day fi shing. In fact, “any day on
the water is a good day,” he said.