Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.

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Bill Cochran's Outdoors

Recent columns

• Drum fishing on Virginia’s Coast comes in two colors
• Elk advocate finally gets his day
• Turkeys are plentiful, so why are hunting regulations so tight fisted?
• Anglers say closure of the point of Cape Hatteras is for the birds
• Column archive

Bill's Mailbag

• Putting down a bear cub brings complaint
• Recommendations for Virginia’s Wild Turkey Management Plan
• Mail archive

Bill's Field Reports

• A. Willis Robertson great name for new DGIF headquarters
• Big striper smashes Optimist tournament record
• Field reports archive

Resources

• Trout stocking schedule

Maybe you know somebody -- your spouse, your teenager, your friend at the office, your neighbor -- who would like to go hunting, just to try it out and see if they like it.

But when they learn they must complete a demanding hunter-education course before they can purchase a license, they give up the idea.

No telling how many would-be hunters are lost as a result. Whatever the figure, it is too high, believes Sherry Crumley, a board member of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

At the urging of Crumley, the DGIF has been looking into an apprentice or mentor hunting license program that would waive some of the requirements now demanded of new hunters. At a time when hunting license sales are declining, it is unwise to impede newcomers to the sport.

While it is yet in the discussion stage, an apprentice license likely would work this way: A new hunter would be given the option of purchasing such a license to give hunting a try before being required to complete a hunter education course in order to purchase a regular license. That person would have to hunt in the presence of a licensed hunter, and the apprentice license would have a time limit.

Six states, according to Crumley, currently have such a license and they drew 34,000 new hunters into the sport through the program. “It is just amazing,” she said.

The DGIF staff has been given the task of looking into the program and drawing up guidelines. The DGIF board backs the concept 100 percent, said John Montgomery, board chairman.

An apprentice license would have to be approved by the General Assembly. Most likely a bill aimed at doing that will be introduced in January.

A COMMON THREAD AMONG FISH KILLS?

When fish kills began showing up on the Shenandoah River, it wasn’t long before some people were pointing an accusing finger at poultry operations. After all, the river flows through the heart of the turkey growing industry.

Then kills began showing up in the Cowpasture, the upper James and the Maury. No poultry operations here -- right?

Stakeholder Jeff Kelbe began investigating. “We were missing something about the Cowpasture and upper James, which had always been considered relatively pristine,” he said.

Kelbe came up with two documents that he says reveal that thousands of pounds of poultry litter have been transported and deposited into the Cowpasture, Jackson and Maury watersheds.

“You are looking at an impressive amount of littler used in the upper James River within the areas suffering from fish kills,” he said. “To me, this is compelling.”

HUNTERS FOR THE HUNGRY NEEDS BIG BUCKS

Top representatives of Hunters for the Hungry recently approached Department of Game and Inland Fisheries officials with hat in hand. The agency is desperate for additional funding.

Hunters for the Hungry has set a goal of processing 360,000 pounds of venison for the needy this year, said Laura Newell-Furniss, the director. It could be more, with additional funding. It also could be less if funding doesn’t materialize.

The organization, which has set a record in pounds of meat distributed every year since its beginning in 1991, is maxing out. It is limited by the money available from collections at sporting events, raffles, banquets, benefit golf matches, civic clubs and individuals.

The program needs a big boost in funding, and that’s why staff members Newell-Furniss and Gary Arrington approached DGIF officials.

Hunters for the Hungry plays a vital role in the DGIF deer management program, by using the surplus deer kill in a positive way to feed the needy. The fact that DGIF is promoting increasingly liberal deer hunting regulations puts even more pressure on Hunters for the Hungry.

DGIF always has been supportive of Hunters for the Hungry, but it needs to step up and do more.

CLAUDE BAIN STEPPING DOWN

It is a dream job, but the time has come to give it up. That’s what Claude Bain said this week, announcing that he would be stepping down from his position as director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament after a 20-year run.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission began advertising for his replacement this week, and some high-profile anglers are likely to bite.

To get the job, you have to know how to swim, to fish, to write, to keep records, to test the accuracy of scales, to handle a boat in adverse weather, to be a good host, to conduct seminars to flush out cheats. Most of all, you are an ambassador for Virginia’s rich heritage of recreational saltwater fishing, and Bain has been outstanding at that.

His last day will be Aug. 31, Bain said.

In the eyes of some, tournament director is a dream job -- getting paid to fish -- but, nonetheless, it is work and the pay range isn’t going to make you rich.

Bain has a law degree from Washington and Lee, but fishing is his love. For a time he published a tabloid called the “Virginia-North Carolina Fishing Report.” He brought a number of worthy changes to the state-sponsored tournament, which reaps millions of dollars in tourism and serves as a biological database. Bain says it is time for the program to get some new blood, but there are people who question that.

No telling how many outdoor writers Bain entertained, how many magazine pages his picture graced, how many seminars he conducted. He is a fish-catching trick one minute and an encyclopedia of information the next. He knows exactly what a writer needs, right down to what clothes to wear for pictures and how to pose a fish for the camera.

At age 57, what does Bain plan to do? Maybe there is a clue in the fact that tomorrow he is playing golf at Ashley Plantation in Botetourt County. In reality, he is in the area as part of the Outdoor Writers Association of America conference at Hotel Roanoke.

There have only been two directors in the 50-year history of the tournament: Bain and the late Claude Rogers. That tells you a little about the job.

DGIF LOOKING FOR VOLUNTEERS

No question, Susan Alger is excited about her new job. The one-time game warden is coordinating a pilot initiative of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries that will establish a voluntary work force to assist the agency’s law enforcement division.

“Initially, the focus will be on recruiting volunteers to perform activities which demand a significant amount of time by Conservation Police Officers,” said Alger.

Tasks include stocking trout, inspecting and issuing permits, staffing displays and manning information desks, maintaining waterway markers and repairing equipment.

While participants will be involved in non-enforcement duties, “they will give us more eyes and ears in the field,” Alger said.

So far, more than 25 participants have signed on, representing people with skills in certain fields to “average Joes,” said Alger. These are individuals who want to “give back to the resource,” she said. She hopes minorities and women apply and that someway youngsters can be involved.

While the new venture, called the Complementary Work Force Program, is beginning as an arm of the DGIF enforcement division, it is expected to spread to other divisions.

Information is available from Alger via her e-mail.

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

>If you want to see more of the Bassmaster Elite Series that was held on Smith Mountain Lake the past weekend check ESPN2 9 a.m. on June 16.

>The Rage announced that it has initiated a nationwide product recall of its 3-blade broadheads shipped between March 6 and May 31, 2007. Some of the blades do not fully deploy, the manufacturer said.

>The Chesapeake Bay Program released a summer forecast that predicts a recurrence of low-oxygen zones in the middle portion of the Bay, with some areas so low in oxygen most fish can't survive there. BILL

VIRGINIA SALTWATER TOURNAMENT

It has been an active period for the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament, with several late-spring/summer species—cobia, dolphin, sheepshead and spadefish--showing up for the first time and there are new entries for black drum, flounder and tautog. Here are the standings:

BLACK DRUM: 89 pounds, 3 ounces caught by Thomas Heath of Townsend in the lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.

BLUEFISH: 16 pounds, Peter Carey of Fredericksburg in the lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.

BLUELINE TILEFISH: 20 pound, 7 ounce, Robert Holtz, Virginia Beach, ocean off Virginia Beach.

COBIA: 65 pounds, Charles Paxson II, Newport News, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.

CROAKER: 3 pounds, 8 ounces, Calvin Taylor, Prince George, lower York River.

DOLPHIN: 25 pounds, 8 ounces, Scott Wade, Chesapeake, off Virginia Beach.

FLOUNDER: 10 pounds, 13 ounces, Mark Dorney, Virginia Beach, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.

GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 10 ounces, Geoffrey Filer, Chesapeake, ocean off Virginia Beach.

SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 7 ounces, David Howard, Leesburg, ocean off Virginia Beach.

SHEEPSHEAD: 12 pounds, 8 ounces, Alan Bunnell, Virginia Beach, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.

SPADEFISH: 12 pounds, 2 ounces, Darren Cobb, Chesapeake, Virginia Coast at Virginia Beach.

SPECKLED TROUT: 11 pounds, 8 ounces, Elliot Cohen, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.

SPOT: 1 pound, 1 ounce, Joe Few, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.

STRIPED BASS: 62 pounds, 1 ounce, Wayne Rickman, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.

TAUTOG: 22 pounds, 2 ounce, Lester Johnson, Newport News, off Virginia Beach.

MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS

Smith Mountain Lake Striper Club member/guest tournament, June 16, information from Jeff Meeks, 540-489-8363.

Smith River Trout Unlimited picnic and fishing event, June 16, fishing starts 8 a.m. at Mirror Factory and picnic at 4 p.m. at foot of Philpot Dam, information from Al Kittredge. Guests welcome.

Outdoor Writers Association of America conference, June 16-19, Hotel Roanoke.

17th annual Antique and Classic Boat Weekend, Smith Mountain Lake, Aug. 10-12, Mariners Landing, information from woodenboats.net.

The Western Regional Championship of the Virginia Big Game Show, Sept. 8-9, Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg, information from vpsa.org.

Hunters for the Hungry banquet, Sept. 8, Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi dealership, Salem, inquire about tickets at Hunt4hungry@cs.com.

The Eastern Region and State Championship of the Virginia Big Game Show, Sept. 22 & 23, Southampton County Fairgrounds in Franklin, information from from vpsa.org.

DGIF meetings

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, July 17, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Aug. 21, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Oct. 16, 9 a.m. at agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St.

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