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

Bill's Mailbag

• Putting down a bear cub brings complaint
• Recommendations for Virginia’s Wild Turkey Management Plan
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Bill's Field Reports

• A. Willis Robertson great name for new DGIF headquarters
• Big striper smashes Optimist tournament record
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Hunters, anglers and power boaters long have known what it means to pay their share through license and registration fees. Hikers, bikers, picnickers and paddlers have pretty much gotten a free ride. That may change.

Legislation that would establish a new fee structure for recreational use of federal land was quietly slipped into a vast federal spending bill at the urging of Rep. Ralph Regula, R-Ohio. It appears to have a good chance to be signed into law.

The legislation would create a single, nationwide pass that would be good for use in national parks, national forests and federal wildlife refuges. Fees would be required at sites that have minimum facilities, such as a permanent toilet and trashcan, explanatory sign or exhibit and picnic table. Fees would not be charged at scenic overlooks or for parking or picnicking along the roadsides. A percentage of the money would have to be spent where it is collected.

The seasonal pass would be called America the Beautiful -- the National Parks and Federal Recreational Lands Pass. It would replace the current Golden Eagle Passport that sells for up to $65. Some form of daily or regional passes are expected to be available. It is uncertain if the new pass would be in addition to the national forest stamp now required of anglers and hunters in Virginia.

Opposition to the new pass, or the way it was folded into the spending bill has been expressed in the West, but the potential fee mostly has escaped notice in the East.

VIRGINIANS STRIKE OUT IN CHAMPIONSHIP

Virginia anglers are having a tough time gaining entry into the Bassmaster Classic. None made it in 2004. Four recently tried to gain entry to the 2005 Classic via the new Bassmaster Open Series, which included a stop at Smith Mountain Lake. None did, and that included Woo Daves who has participated in more Classics than any other Virginian.

The best finish by a Virginian in the recent Bassmaster Open Championship on the Ouachita River, La. was 11th place taken by Rick Morris of Lenexa. To make the Classic, you had to finish in the top five.

The winner was Texan Bradley Stringer. Others making the Classic cut were Greg Hackney, Gonzales, La; Chris Baumgardner, Gastonia, N.C.; Edwin Evers, Mannsville, Okla. and Cliff Pace, Petal, Miss.

The Virginians finishing behind Morris were Chris Daves, Hopewell, 28th; John Crews, Salem, 33rd and Woo Daves, Spring Grove, 44th.

WILDLIFE STRATEGY UNDER WAY

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries quietly is working on a statewide wildlife conservation strategy that must be in place if the agency is to receive federal grant money. The work will pinpoint wildlife species with the greatest conservation need and project what must be done for their wellbeing, according to David Whitehurst of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.

Citizen input has been solicited during a number of meetings across the state, which often have been lightly attended.

“It is meant to provide a common vision for wildlife conservation that will help wildlife conservation partners target limited funds toward common goals,” said Whitehurst.

Additional meetings are scheduled in the spring. The strategy effort includes a website where citizens can find information and offer input: vawildlifestrategies.org.

FISHING

>Bobby Fowler of Campers Paradise reported landing 18 striped bass at Smith Mountain Lake during a two-hour stretch Sunday. He said he located the 7- to 12-pond fish in shallow water back in the creeks. Find the bait and you find the stripers, Fowler reported.

>David Knopp of Toano set a Little Creek Reservoir striped bass record when he reeled in a 27.5-pound catch.

>The size of striped bass being caught in the Reedville area of the Chesapeake Bay is improving, according to Capt. Ferrell McLain of Bayfish Sport Fishing Charters, www.bayfish. “Actually, most boats are cruising south to the cut channel area east of Windmill Point,” said Ferrell. “Mild daytime and nighttime temperatures have kept the water temperature up near the 50 degree mark. As long as this stays the same, these big fish are likely to stick around through the end of the season, which is Dec. 31.”

Anglers are catching the stripers mostly by trolling shad bodies, buck tails, or plugs, Ferrell said.

>Outstanding crappie fishing is being enjoyed at Chickahominy Lake, as evident by the catches of Bubba and Andy Shattuck of Hampton. During one trip they landed 100 crappie and took 45 on another trip. The fish weighed up to 1.5-pounds apiece.

>Catfish action on the James River in the Richmond area remains hot. One group fishing with guide Mike Ostrander, of the James River Fishing School, landed blue cats that weighed 50, 48, 46, 46, 38 and 24 pounds.

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

>Virginia Beach is warning boaters to use caution when entering Rudee Inlet, a popular approach to the ocean for fall/winter striper fishermen. The inlet has become clogged with sand and the city is spending $3.7 million to overall the access.

>A call from a concerned raccoon hunter lead game wardens to Chickahominy Wildlife Management Area in Charles City County where they arrested four men who had smashed padlocks, torn down gates and ripped apart an off-road area with pickup trucks. The hunter called the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries 24-hour Crime Line: 800-237-5712.

>Don Butler, one of the pioneers of modern bass fishing, died Tuesday at his Grand Lake, Okla., home after a long fight with bone cancer. When Ray Scott organized BASS, Butler was the first angler to sign up for membership, and he donated $10,000 to help gain additional members. He won the 1972 Bassmaster Classic on the S.O.B. (Small Okie Bug) lure he designed and manufactured. A quiet, unassuming man, Butler holds the patent for the first functional bass boat livewell.

>The North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission voted to increase its contribution to Ducks Unlimited for waterfowl and wetlands conservation on the Canadian breeding grounds. The Commission will contribute $30,000, which Ducks Unlimited says it will quadruple through matching contributions.

>Worden’s Lure Co. is best known for those dainty Rooster Tails, but for 2005 it is touting an 8.5-inch deep-running lure called the Sea Tiger. Shaped like a baitfish with a large bill it is reputed to run 20- to 30-feet deep.

>Recreational saltwater angers are invited to participate in the Virginia Game Fish Tagging Program for 2005. Registrations will be accepted through January or until 200 anglers have enrolled. Tagging will be directed at black drum, black sea bass, cobia, flounder, gray triggerfish, red drum, sheepshead, spadefish, speckled trout and tautog. Check for information on mrcswt@visi.net.

>Jeff Vittone of Richmond has sailfishing in his future. He won the Coastal Conservation Association of Virginia raffle that provides an all-expense paid sailfishing trip for two to Mexico in May.

>BASS has announced that in the future the Federation champion, CITGO Bassmaster Open champion, ESPN Outdoors Bassmaster Series champion and the winner of the CITGO Bassmaster Classic will be offered an automatic entry into the Citgo Bassmaster Tour the following season.

>At a recent meeting of the Virginia Anglers Club, members expressed concern that a potential commercial market for blue catfish in the lower James River could hurt the outstanding recreational catfish sport in the area.

VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT

Here are the standings in 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: 5 pounds, Mike Barboza, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.

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

Meeting to organize a 4-H Shooting Education program in Botetourt County, 7 p.m., Dec. 9 Fincastle Community Center, RSVP by calling Botetourt Extension Office 473-8260.

Late muzzleloading deer season west of the Blue Ridge, Dec. 18-Jan. 1.

SaltWater Sportsman Magazine National Seminar Series, Virginia Beach, Jan 15, 6 hours of instruction at Virginia Beach Convention Center, nationalseminarseries.com.

Bassmaster University, where pros instruction anglers on bass fishing, Jan. 22-23, Wyndhan Hotel Richmond Airport, Richmond, instructors include Kevin VanDam, Denny Brauer, Shaw Grigsby, Woo Daves, Zell Roland, Mike Auten. Information from 866-732-BASS.

Richmond Ducks Unlimited Wild Game Feast, Feb. 3, Tredegar Iron Works, $75, information from durichmond.com.

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

Wilderness First Aid Class, March 12-13, Blacksburg, 18 hours of hands-on instruction and study that results in a two-year certificate, coast $160, visit wfa.net.

Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.