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Turkey hunting in the Roanoke region not just good, it’s great

by Mark Taylor Monday, May 20, 2013

Spring turkey season can be a grind. As the weeks progress the sun rises earlier and earlier, requiring the alarm to go off earlier and earlier. Gobblers that make it through the first few weeks of the season get wise, becoming more wary of those hen calls that sound just a little different from real hen calls. But hunters who stick with it can be rewarded. On the final day

A few kayaking and canoeing guidelines before paddling into summer

by Mark Taylor Sunday, May 19, 2013

For kayaker Renee Lavin there is no off-season. Even in the dead of winter, if there is good water she'll be out there. But while hard-core paddlers never pack up their gear, there's a distinct season for the average canoeist or kayaker. And that season starts right about now, when warm weather beckons water lovers to dust off their gear, to load their boats onto car racks, and to hit

Fishing report for May 16, 2013

by Mark Taylor Thursday, May 16, 2013

Two big factors will contribute to how this weekend shapes up for fishing. After a chilly start to the week, temperatures are jumping way up. Most importantly, they're going to stay up. That means water temperatures will rise and fish should become more active. Water levels are the other key. After being blown out after last week's heavy rains, rivers are falling into great shape. The forecast calls for the

FIELD REPORTS: Hunters say Coyotes tough on the deer herd

by Bill Cochran Wednesday, May 15, 2013

Is Virginia's deer herd in decline? Yes said half the hunters who participated in a recent Virginia Deer Hunters Association membership survey. Only three percent said the herd is increasing while 47 percent said it has remained about the same in recent years. When asked how the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries should manage the herd, 12 percent said efforts should be made to increase it; 53 percent said

MAILBAG: In praise of Twin Lakes Outfitters

by Bill Cochran Wednesday, May 15, 2013

BILL: Here is some information on Twin Lakes Outfitters in South Hill, which is owned and operated by Robert Bondurant, a good friend of mine who grew up here in Amherst, Va. He is the son of Bobby Bondurant, a retired Game Warden for Amherst County. Robert also was a game warden for a time down in Southside Virginia. Twin Lakes Outfitters specializes in top-quality hunting and fishing gear and

BILL COCHRAN: Loss of right arm leads to fly-fishing career

by Bill Cochran Wednesday, May 15, 2013

For most anglers, losing an arm would be the end of a fly fishing career, but for Josh Williams it was the beginning. It happened this way. Williams, who lives in Botetourt County, joined the Army after high school, serving 13 months in Iraq where he became an infantry squad leader. He returned to the states unscratched in 2006, but while at Fort Hood, Texas, on the way to guard

Sun is setting on stellar spring turkey hunting season

by Mark Taylor Tuesday, May 14, 2013

The clock is ticking for Virginia's spring turkey season, which ends at sunset Saturday. Unless Virginia's turkey hunters go into a stall offense, they could set a scoring record. Through this past weekend hunters had checked in 17,257 birds through the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries electronic checking system. Not only does that leave last year's season total of 15,326 in the dust, but it's knocking on the

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Wednesday, May 22, 2013