Thursday, September 23, 2004
Bill Cochran's Field Reports: Cartoon angers hunters
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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Hunters were angered over a syndicated political cartoon that ran on the Sept. 15 Editorial Page of The Roanoke Times. It depicted two goon-type deer hunters blasting a deer to bits with assault weapons.
Said one cartoon character, “Thanks to Congress, we can once again hunt the way our founding fathers intended.”
“With an assault weapons,” said the other.
J. Carson Quarles, a former board chairman of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, called it “sleazy journalism” and an insult to thousands of hunters, gun owners, outdoorsmen and Virginia citizens.
“There is not a deer hunter in the state of Virginia that would use an assault rifle to harvest deer,” he said. “As a matter of fact, most assault rifles on the market today use .223 size bullets, which size of bullet has been illegal for hunting deer for years in Virginia.”
Hunters have helped preserve, restore and maintain wildlife in Virginia and across the country, Quarles said. “When it comes to conservation they have put their money where their mouths are.”
BILL
GROUSE OUTLOOK
As sportsmen fan out across the heart of the ruffed grouse range in Michigan, Minnesota and Wisconsin this fall, they should find flushes similar to that of last year, according to the National Ruffed Grouse Society.
“Ruffed grouse populations in the Great Lakes region are rebounding from their cyclic low in 2002,” said Dan Dessecker, senior wildlife biologist for the Ruffed Grouse Society. But the rebound is modest.
Some surveys taken this spring suggested that grouse numbers in the region are stable to slightly increasing. This is offset by drumming counts that indicate the population is down 10-to 15-percent.
“This reduced drumming activity may have been more a result of relatively cool spring weather than an actual decline in grouse numbers, Dessecker said.
A cool, wet spring throughout much of the Great Lakes region may have reduced the reproductive success of grouse, and much the same can be said of the birds in the southern range. Prolonged periods of rain and below-normal temperatures can take their toll on young chicks, the society said.
There appears to be no relief for the record low numbers of grouse in Virginia, Ohio, Indiana and other sections of the country, where a combination of poor weather and loss of young forest habitat has sent grouse on the skids, the society said.
“Habitat management beneficial to ruffed grouse and woodcock requires that mature forest be periodically harvested,” said Dessecker. “Managers responsible for state and federal forests are increasingly reluctant to cut trees and provide these essential habitats.”
BILL
TV SHOW FEATURES THE OUTDOOR GRILL
“Outdoors on the Grill,” a new TV series that will feature hunting, fishing and cooking wildlife, recently filmed two episodes in the Staunton River area near Brookneal. The series is scheduled to air on the new Men’s Channel in January.
Michael Talbott, who played in the 80’s hit Miami Vice, hosts the series. Shows developed in the Brookneal area include a Canada goose hunt on the Staunton River and an opening day dove hunt at Bill Hall’s FFF Kennel and Hunting Preserve. David Shores was the featured chef.
For more information on the series, check outdoorsonthegrill.com.
BILL
FISHING REPORT
> The James River through Richmond, a hot spot for catfish angling, continues to be high and muddy. “The river is too dangerous to fish,” said guide Mike Ostander, of the James River Fishing School.
>Chumming at the Northern Neck Reef is producing nice bluefish and good numbers of throw-back stripers in the Chesapeake Bay, according to Capt. Ferrell McLain. The Virginia striper season opens Oct. 4.
Trolling is producing plenty of small bluefish along the western channel edge from Smith Point to Bluff Point. There are numerous spot in the area for those who like to bottom fish for them. The best bait is bloodworms, McLain said.
BILL
SMITH RIVER REPORT
I had the opportunity the past week to show a Washington, D.C.-based couple my favorite trout water, the Smith River. We linked up at Papa’s Pizza early Wednesday morning where I was given the once over and it was decided that I would fish with one of them each day while the other relaxed back at their Fairy Stone State Park rental cabin and played the role of dog sitter. The lady opted to go first.
I have been guiding for awhile and can pretty well tell if it is going to be a good day within the first half-hour of fishing. This lady was the client that all guides dream about.
She exhibited an outgoing personality and had a deep love of fly-fishing. She was not a novice, but readily admitted the need to polish her techniques and she expressed a sincere desire to learn new ones.
We started at the Trestle Pool and worked our way up to a good get-out point just below the field behind the Mirror Factory.
Her casting was acceptable, but she had difficulty reacting in time or with sufficient force to set the hook. We worked on that a bit and she managed to catch a fair number of fish.
Our time on the river was cut short by a leak in her waders, which filled her left leg with chilly Smith River water. This necessitated a change of plans for the afternoon. We took some carryout food to a 6-acre pond in Patrick County where I have a johnboat. After lunch we placed high-back seats in the boat and I paddle while she worked on her casting, hooking and playing techniques. She had a ball catching several sunfish and bass.
She was having so much fun, and I had no pressing business waiting for me, so I extended the trip beyond a normal day.
The following day was the husband's turn. We fished up through the riffles at the lower end of the Special Regulations area and got him into double digits of fish before we got out at the old field where there is an easy exit. His casting was very good, but he suffered the same malady as his wife, which was failing to react to a strike in sufficient time and with sufficient force to set the hook.
Here is my method of setting the hook:
First and foremost, you will have a difficult time catching up to the strike if your rod tip is held high or you have a lot of slack between your rod tip and the fly. You should start by keeping the rod level or below level to the water and your rod tip pointed to the fly. You also should strip in any slack line as soon as your fly or indicator settles on the water. Keep stripping line when the drift crates slack.
When the indicator goes under or acts funny, revealing a strike, grasp the line held in your left hand and sharply raise the rod as if you were making a back cast. If it was a strike you will have set the hook and the fight is on. If it was a false alarm, or you missed the fish, merely follow through with your back cast and place the fly back in the same spot to see if the fish will hit again.
An alternate method for setting the hook is to snap the rod to the side in the same manner as lifting the fly off the water in a side-arm cast. Once again, follow through with your side-arm cast if it was a false alarm.
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>Gove. Mark R. Warner has signed a proclamation to declare Saturday, Sept. 25, 2004, as Hunting & Fishing Day throughout the commonwealth. In the proclamation, the governor cited the significant contributions hunters and anglers make to Virginia’s economy and to conservation of wildlife and natural resources.
>Virgil Ward, a pioneer television angler and originator of Bass Buster Lure Co. died recently at this Amsterdam, Mo. Home. He was 93.
>The 10 percent excise tax collected on fishing tackle sales continued a decline in 2003. The collected amount for 2003 was $102 million, down from $106 million in 2002 and $113.4 million in 2001. The figures reflect a soft fishing tackle market. Some of the loss of this conservation money was made up by an increase in the collection of tax on motorboat fuel and interest income.
>Richard A. (Dick) Lancia, Director of the Fisheries and Wildlife Program at North Carolina State University in Raleigh, has been installed as President of The Wildlife Society.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
There are new leaders in the cobia, Spanish mackerel and bluefin tuna categories of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 95 pounds, Joseph Roub, Baltimore, Md., Hog Island Bay.
COBIA: 103 pounds, 8 ounces, Vince Ainsley, Aylett, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
CROAKER: 5 pounds, Jarvis Taylor, Richmond, lower York River.
DOLPHIN: 50 pounds, Jereme Wilson, Chesapeake, off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 14 pounds, 4 ounces, Betty Smith, Chesapeake, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 12 ounce, Justin Hurst, Suffolk, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TROUT: 12 pounds, 12 ounces, Greg Thayer, Gloucester, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
KING MACKEREL: 52 pounds, Cecil Smith, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 14 ounce, Bobby Smith, Portsmouth, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
POMPANO: 3 pounds, 6 ounces, Arlon Stith, Petersburg, lower James River.
SEA BASS: 6 pounds, 14 ounces, Mark Fueller, Rio Grande, N.J., off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPHEAD: 19 pounds, 3 ounces state record, Jeff Hutton, Virginia Beach, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 13 pounds, 10 ounces, Jake Mapp, Franktown, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 6 pounds, 6 ounces, Patrick Quisenberry, Mechanicsville, upper-western Chesapeake Bay.
SPECKLED TROUT: 13 pounds, 12 ounces, Walter Kellum, Hayes, Mobajack Bay.
SPOT: 1 pound, 8 ounces, Susan Davis, Petersburg, lower Your River.
STRIPED BASS: 63 pound state record, Carolyn Brown, Virginia Beach, off the Virginia Coast.
TAUTOG: 22 pounds, 9 ounces, Julie Ball, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
TUNA (BLUEFIN): 180 pounds, 4 ounces, Okey Bolling, Pasadena, Md. off Eastern Shore.
TUNA (OTHER): 241 pounds, Mike Wolf, Sterling, off Virginia Beach.
WAHOO: 107 pounds, Chris Miles, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Western Regional and State Championship of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 25 and 26, for deer, bear and gobblers taken during the most recent hunting seasons, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, information from www.vpsa.org.
Pentagon DU Chapter banquet, 6 p.m. Sept. 25, Fairfax Volunteer Fire Department, Farifax, $55 single; $95 couple; $15 junior, tickets from Ray Kinsley, fourkinsleys@earthlink.net.
Striped Bass Show & Super Seminars, Sept. 25 and 26, Airtime Watersports, Virginia Beach, proceeds fund CCA VA programs, admission $3.
Smith Mountain Striper Club fall tournament, Oct. 9., information from Rex Smith, smithrex@charter.net.
CITGO Bassmaster Open tournament, Oct. 14-16, Smith Mountain Lake.
Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA Banquet, 5:30 p.m., Oct. 16, Salem Civic Center, $30 single, $50 couple, mail ticket requests to Roanoke Valley FNRA, P.O. Box 463, Daleville, VA 24083, information from Dennis Mizack, 540-774-2289. Special bonus for purchasing tickets prior Sept. 13.
H.C. Edwards Chapter of Ruffed Grouse Society Banquet, 6 p.m., Oct. 29, Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, info and tickets from Matt Smith, 540-459-3559 or 540-432-7732.
Got an event? Let us know: xtails@earthlink.net
