Thursday, October 25, 2007
Putting an end to culling trout
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Culling fish involves the practice of releasing the smaller one you have in possession when you catch a bigger one. It works pretty well for bass fishermen if they have modern aerators.
But when trout anglers try it, the result mostly is failure.
With this in mind, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has passed a regulation prohibiting the culling of trout. The new law, effective Jan. 1, says that once a trout is caught and taken into possession by an angler it becomes part of the angler’s daily creel limit and can not be released.
You still immediately can release it, but if you put it on a stringer or use another method to possess it, it is yours.
Sportsmen frequently complain that they see fishermen on stocked trout water catch and keep five trout, one below the limit, and keep on fishing, replacing the smaller trout they have kept when they catch a larger one.
In most cases, trout released will die, resulting in considerable waste of stocked fish, said Gary Martel, chief of the DGIF fish division.
Then why hasn’t this regulations been around in the past?
Law enforcement officers have considered a trout in the possession of an angler to be part of the angler’s limit, and they have issued tickets to people exceeding the limit when culling trout.
But the wording of the law has resulted in some confusion. Thus the new regulation better clarifies that culling trout is illegal.
BILL
GAME LAW CHANGES
>Hunters are going to have an extra half month to chase rabbits during the upcoming season. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has extended the closing date of the rabbit season from Feb. 14 to the last day in February.
Most of the new regulations recently passed by game officials take effect the 2008-09 season, but this one makes the change this season. The idea received good support from hunters, said Bob Duncan, DGIF wildlife chief.
Note: the current Hunting & Trapping in Virginia Regulations digest will contain the old closing date.
>Next year, hunters will have extra days to pursue bears in the cities of Suffolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach, which is the location of the Great Dismal Swamp a major bear habitat.
Beginning with the 2008-09 season, bear hunting in this area will begin Oct. 1 rather than the current first Monday in November.
DGIF wildlife officials say the bear population in and around the swamp is moderate to high, resulting in increasing human/bear conflicts. Bears are exceeding the biological carrying capacity of the swamp, sending surplus animals into surrounding urban area, which also are growing, officials say.
The season extension brought mixed views on the DGIF public input Web site. Some who expressed opinions were in favor; others weren’t.
>A special spring gobbler hunting day just for youth has been popular and productive. Now game officials have established a youth fall turkey hunting day. It will be the third Saturday in October beginning with the 2008-09 season. Licensed adults can mentor youth, but the youth do the shooting.
>The use of non-toxic shot has been mandatory for waterfowl hunting for a number of years. Beginning with the 2008-09 season, it also will be required for hunting rails, snipe, moorhens, gallinules and mergansers, birds that inhabit much the same type areas as ducks and geese.
BILL
MAKE SURE THE CARP YOU SHOOT IS COMMON
Carp are a favorite target of sportsmen who shoot fish with a bow and arrow. But the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries wants to make certain they shoot the correct kind. Common carp, that is. Not the expensive and exotic grass carp many pond owners stock to help keep their impoundment free of aquatic plants.
A new regulation on Jan. 1 will spell out that common carp are the only carp target of archers. It also will add northern snakehead fish as a legal target of archers.
In addition, the regulation makes legal the use of a crossbow for shooting common carp, snakehead fish and gar. Snakehead kills must be reported to the DGIF.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>The U.S. House of Representatives gave approval Tuesday to a bill that would create more than 53,000 acres of new wilderness or national scenic areas in Virginia and expand six existing wilderness areas. It was supported by some organizations but criticized by others, including the National Wild Turkey Federation and Ruffed Grouse Society, who said it would prohibit national forest officials from management work that benefits wildlife.
>Virginia Tech outlasted 35 teams to win the Under Armour College Bass National Championship.
>Saltwater anglers have enjoyed an exceptional run of king mackerel off the coast of Virginia from Sandbridge to the North Carolina line. It is reported to be the best action in years. “Some boats are catching up to a dozen kings with a few smokers in the 40-pound class prompting exciting chases,” said angling expert Dr. Julie Ball.
>President George W. Bush has issued an executive order designating striped bass and red drum as game fish in federal waters. It is something Stripers Forever, the Coastal Conservation Association and others angling groups have advocated for years.
>In a move to convert grassland into cropland, farmers in North Dakota and Montana have plowed up 30,000 acres of prairie grass this year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. About two-thirds of this is in the Prairie Pothole Region, which is valuable duck habitat. Loss of grass will mean fewer ducks, wildlife officials say.
>Reports that the number of hunters is declining often brings glee to people who don’t like the sport, but a major article in the November issue of National Geographic asks who is going to pay for wildlife conservation when hunters no longer are around. The favorable view of hunting was written by Virginian Robert Poole and names some Virginia sportsmen, including turkey call maker Jim Clay and waterfowl guide/Ducks Unlimited volunteer Grayson Chester.
>For the first time in recent history the 75th Annual Federal Duck Stamp competition resulted in a three-way tie for first place. The eventual winner was Joe Hautman of Plymouth, Minn., who entered a painting of a part of pintails. It was his third Duck Stamp competition win.
>Maryland-based sportfishing clubs and conservation organizations have been offered grant money to fund community-based fisheries restoration projects in the Chesapeake Bay watershed of Maryland. Grants of up to $35,000 per project are available for the fiscal year of 2008. The total grant money is $100,000.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER TOURNAMENT
The first swordfish of the season has been entered in the Virginia Saltwater Tournament, along with a new leader in the Spanish mackerel category. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 95 pounds caught by James Tran of Virginia Beach in Lynnhaven 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: 99 pounds, 8 ounces, Richard Norman, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Coast.
CROAKER: 8 pounds, 11 ounces, Norman Jenkins, Portsmouth, off New Port Light.
DOLPHIN: 53 pounds, 9 ounces, Greg Welch, Charlotte, N.C., ocean off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 13 pounds, 7 ounces, Dennis Curcio, Philadelphia, Pa., lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 10 ounces, Geoffrey Filer, Chesapeake, ocean off Virginia Beach.
GRAY TROUT: 9 pounds, 9 ounces, Claude Shifflett III, Chesapeake, off Virginia Beach.
KING MACKEREL: 63 pounds, 1 ounce, state record, Susan Smith, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 12 ounces, Kasey Price, Virginia Beach, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay..
POMPANO: 3 pounds, 5 ounces, Shane Walker, Virginia Beach, lower western Chesapeake Bay.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 7 ounces, David Howard, Leesburg, ocean off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPSHEAD: 14 pounds, Andy Thompson, Virginia Beach, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 14 pounds, Mark Ottarson, North, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 6 pounds, 13 ounces, Emmett Boyd, Jr., Charles Town, W.VA. upper-western Chesapeake Bay.
SPECKLED TROUT: 12 pounds, 10 ounces, Michael Tomesch, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 8 ounce, Wayne Rickman, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.
STRIPED BASS: 62 pounds, 1 ounce, Wayne Rickman, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.
SWORDFISH; 233 Pounds, Walter Clark, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
TAUTOG: 22 pounds, 2 ounce, Lester Johnson, Newport News, off Virginia Beach.
TRUE ALBACORE: 53 pounds, George Wilkinson, Edgewater, Md., off Virginia Beach.
BLUEFIN TUNA: 573 pound state record, Bo Haycox, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
TUNA: 241 pounds, Eric Kuester, Ashland, off Virginia Beach.
WAHOO: 93 pounds, Louis Biro, Norfolk, off Virginia Beach.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Eighteenth annual H.C. Edwards Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society Banquet, Oct 27, 6 p.m. Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, tickets $55 individual or $75 couple from Matt Smith, 540-459-3559.
Grouse season, Oct. 27-Feb. 9
General fall turkey season opens Oct. 27.
Woodcock season Oct. 27-Nov. 10; Dec. 22-Jan. 5.
Snow goose season, Nov. 1-Dec. 1; Dec. 8-March 10.
Rabbit season, Nov. 3-Feb. 29
Muzzleloading deer season east of the Blue Ridge, Nov. 3-16.
Mechanicsville Ducks Unlimited banquet, Nov. 5, Italian Kitchen Restaurant, $55; couples $85, goldr3@acomcast.net.
Muzzleloading deer season west of the Blue Ridge, Nov. 10-16.
Quail season, Nov. 10-Jan. 31.
Nov. 17 opening of the general firearm’s deer season.
Opening of Atlantic zone Canada goose season, Nov. 17-Dec. 1; Dec. 21-Jan 26.
Reopening of duck season, Nov. 17-Dec. 1.
Western zone Canada goose season Nov. 17-Dec. 1; Dec. 15-Jan. 14; Jan 15-Feb. 15.
Atlantic brant season, Nov. 24-Dec. 1; Dec. 8-Jan. 26.
Tundra swan season, Dec. 1-Jan. 31.
Late archery season Dec. 3-Jan. 5.
Reopening of duck season, Dec. 8-Jan. 26.
Late muzzleloading season, Dec. 15-Jan. 5.
Reopening of western zone Canada goose season, Dec. 15-Jan. 14.
Reopening of Atlantic Zone Canada goose season, Dec. 21-Jan. 26.
Back Bay Canada Goose season, Dec. 24-Jan. 26.
Reopening of western zone Canada goose season, Jan. 15-Feb. 15.
Board meeting of Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Jan. 22, Richmond.
The Greater Virginia Sports and Big Game Show, Feb. 15-17, 2008, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, Harrisonburg, vasportsshow.com.
Youth spring gobbler day, April 5
Spring gobbler season, April 12-May 17.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
