Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.

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Bill Cochran's Outdoors

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• 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

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• Putting down a bear cub brings complaint
• Recommendations for Virginia’s Wild Turkey Management Plan
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• A. Willis Robertson great name for new DGIF headquarters
• Big striper smashes Optimist tournament record
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• Trout stocking schedule

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has begun the process of increasing hunting, fishing and trapping license fees and boat registration fees. Actually, that effort may have started in January with the introduction of a bill in the General Assembly that would allow the agency to increase fees, as long as the increases aren’t more than $5 or done more often than every three years. The bill passed with the support of the department and its friends.

In the past, the agency has had to wait on the General Assembly to set fees that are used to operate its programs. Often those increases have come infrequently. The last significant boost in resident hunting and fishing license fees was in 1988.

At its board meeting in Virginia Beach last week, the DGIF authorized its staff to begin studying license-increase options with the idea of reporting back in March.

The DGIF isn’t just fishing for new money, but also would like to recoup some of its funds lost during the state’s budget crunch. More than $10 million was diverted from the department and earmarked for expenditures not related to hunting, fishing and boating. The pilfering of boating fees has hit the state’s boating program hard, causing a cutback of ramp construction and warder patrols.

ANGLERS WANT BASS STOCKED

Bass anglers who fish Virginia’s tidal streams, including the lower James, Chickhominy and Rappahannock rivers, are asking state fish officials to stock bass, something fisheries biologists are reluctant to do.

A group of about 75 bass anglers, many tournament fishermen, including past Bassmaster Classic winner Woo Daves, met recently with Department of Game and Inland Fisheries officials to voice concern over what they said is a sharp decline in the quality of fishing. The days are gone when you could go from dock to dock with confidence that you would catch bass, said Daves.

Fish officials blame much of the decline on poor spawning seasons, most of them the result of drought. Bass populations already are showing signs of improving, biologists said.

Even so, the anglers said they wanted something done, namely the establishment of a stocking fund. They expressed willingness to pay for stocking through a special bass angling stamp or through increased license fees for tournament anglers.

Following the initial, sometimes heated exchange, DGIF officials hope to meet with anglers in smaller groups to discuss details about improving the fisheries.

NEW SUPPORTER FOR SUNDAY HUNTING

Supporters of Sunday hunting in Virginia have been beaten back from their objective by a number of factors. One is the lack of strong backing from the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

That may be changing. Randy Kozuch, an NRA staff member who recently was appointed to the DGIF board by Gov. Mark Warner, has been involved in successful efforts to introduce Sunday hunting in other states. During a recent DGIF planning meeting in Virginia Beach, he expressed interest in doing the same in Virginia, which is one of seven states where Sunday hunting is sharply restricted.

“We haven’t given it much attention in Virginia, but we’re going to start,” he was quoted by Mark Taylor, outdoor editor of The Roanoke Times.

The DGIF does not have the power to end the ban on Sunday hunting. That is left to the Virginia General Assembly. But strong support from the DGIF could go a long way toward accomplishing the fete. In the past, the agency has not supported Sunday hunting.

Other board members expressed interest in Sunday hunting, but no DGIF resolution was presented. The prevailing feeling was that the time is not right, but that day will come.

THIS SEASON HIT THE SPOT

Officials of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament have spots before their eyes. This week, the number of spot registered in the state-sponsored contest was closing in on 2,000. Hard to tell how many more there would be if anglers had entered all the 1-pound-plus fish they landed, said Claude Bain, tournament directors. More citations are expected as these panfish migrate down the bay.

Bain huddled with tournament officials and came up with a higher minimum weight for spot next season: 1 pounds, 2 ounces. Also raised was the minimum weight for a sheepshead citation, from 7 pounds to 9 pounds. Sheepshead have become a popular angling target this season. The citation count has reached 225.

APPOINTMENTS TO VMRC

Recreation anglers are lauding Gov. Mark Warner's reappointment of F. Wayne McLeskey, Jr. to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. McLeskey, who is president of McLeskey and Associates and owner of the Virginia Beach Fishing Center, has a recent record of being supportive to conservation and recreational angling issues. He lives in Virginia Beach.

Also appointed to the board, which deals with commercial and recreational saltwater fisheries issue, was Kyle J. Schick of Colonial Beach. He is president of the Colonial Beach Yacht Club Center, Inc.

“McLeskey is a very good reappointment,” said Richard Welton, executive director of the Virginia Coastal Conservation Association. “McLeskey understands the recreation issues and the economic impact of recreational fishing. He has been much more supportive of conservation issues since Warner has made the commission more balanced through the past two year’s appointments.”

Less is know about what route Schick will take in VMRC debates that can pit recreational anglers against commercial fishermen. He replaces a member that generally could be counted on siding with commercial interests.

A TRIBUTE TO HAL LYMAN

The November issue of Salt Water Sportsman contains a tribute to the late Hal Lyman, 1915-2004. With his death in August “went a good-sized chunk of the soul of Salt Water Sportsman,” said editorial writer Barry Gibson.

Lyman became editor of the magazine in 1946 and guided the publication into the giant of saltwater fishing journals. He was an innovative writer and editor, addressing how-to and where-to-go topics, and garnishing the magazine with a strong emphasis on marine conservation.

I did not know Lyman well. I sold only one article to the magazine. But I had the privilege of surf fishing with him once on the Outer Banks of North Carolina, probably 30 years ago. Joel Arrington arranged the trip, which also included Lefty Kreh and Al Ristori. Ristori happens to be on the cover of the Oct. 21 issue of The Fisherman.

I was out of my league, amid these giants of saltwater fishing and writing. Most writers/anglers around Lyman were out of their league. He graduated cum laude from Harvard and served in the Navy aboard destroyers in WW II.

FISHING REPORT

>Bass fishing at Moomaw Lake is he best in years, reports Larry Andrews of the Bait Place. Much the same is being said of bass fishing on the Shenadoah River, where fly anglers using a crawfish pattern have been enjoying bowed rods.

>Chickahominy Lake continues to produce excellent bass, pickerel, crappie and bluegill fishing.

>A 17-pound bowfin was reported caught from Lake Cohoon. The fish would be a state record if it were submitted to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

>Chuck Temple of Dinwiddie weighed a 60-pund blue catfish he caught in the Dutch Gap area of the lower James River.

Crappie fishing has been good at Lake Anna.

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

>Hunters out this week during the opening week of the turkey season have been challenged when it comes to pattering flocks of birds. Some hunters have been seeing large flocks while others report being afield without seeing any signs of birds. At the Hunter’s Den in Craig County, Ellen Horn said she had checked a normal number of turkeys for the fall season. Hunting pressure is light, she said.

>Bucks are starting to chase does in southeast Virginia, according to Penn Riggs, who hunts Southampton County. “I saw two monster bucks and a 6-point this past weekend,” he said. “Acorns are very poor here, not even average.”

>The NRA has sent a blaze orange mail-out to its members in the Ninth District urging them to vote for Congressman Rick Boucher. The association gives Boucher an A+ rating. He is the lone pro-gun Democrat serving on the House Judiciary Committee, the mail-out said. Boucher’s Republican opponent, Kevin Triplett, gets an A rating. In a close call, the NRA endorses the incumbent. It called Boucher “a tested and proven friend.”

>Maryland’s first bear hunt in 51 years began -- and surprisingly ended -- Monday. By late Monday, hunters had checked 20 bear, and Department of Natural Resources officials said that was enough. They closed the controversial season.

>The Sportsman and Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance has endorsed 205 federal candidates. Who made the list and who didn’t can be found on saova.org.

>The Williamsburg Chapter of Ducks Unlimited took 34 youth to Hog Island Saturday for Youth Waterfowl Hunting Day. The youngsters bagged 18 ducks and four geese.

>A $1 million study by a non-profit corporation of 15-research universities in the United States has confirmed that wood is one of the most environmentally-sensitive building materials for home construction. Wood uses less energy than other products, causes fewer air and water impacts and does a better job of the carbon sequestration that can help address global warming, the study concluded.

>Competition is expected to be fierce in the first BUSCH Shootout, where top anglers will compete for $100,000 Oct. 29-30. Anglers won’t know where they will fish until they are taken to the spot.

VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT

The standings of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament:

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, 10 ounces, Wilson Haynes, Wake, lower Rappahannock 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.

MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS

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.

Muzzleloading deer season east of Blue Ridge, Oct. 30.

Rabbit season Nov. 1-Feb. 14.

Meeting of Smith River Chapter Trout Unlimited, 7 p.m. Nov. 4, at Rania’s Restaurant in Martinsville (147 E. Main St.), information from Shane Pinkston, 276-638-3757. Program by John Ross, the Virginia Council TU Chairman and author of the “Trout Unlimited 100 Best Trout Streams in America.”

Muzzleloading deer season west of Blue Ridge, Nov. 6.

Wilderness First Aid Class, Nov. 6 and 7, Blacksburg, 18 hour, two-day class, visit http://wfa.net. Additional classes, Nov. 13 & 14, Richmond; Dec. 4 & 5, Alexandria.

Quail season Nov. 8-Jan. 31.

Firearms deer season Nov. 13.

Virginia Ducks Unlimited Rockfish Tournament, Dec. 4, Bluewater Yacht Sales on Sunset Creek in Hampton, rules and other information from vadurockfishshootout.site-101.com.

Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, 50th anniversary, Feb. 5-13, State Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, Pa., features Jimmy Houston, reported to be the largest consumer show of its kind.

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