Thursday, August 28, 2008
Poor attendance for outdoor show
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
I don’t know Waynette Anderson well, but two words I would use to describe her are “unbridled enthusiasm.”
Unfortunately, that enthusiasm turned to tears the past weekend when it became obvious that the Outdoors Sportsmen’s Classic that her company sponsored at the Salem Civic Center was destined to be poorly attended.
Show observers estimated that about one-third of the hoped-for 8,000 attendees showed up.
What happened? Was it the sluggish economy? High gas prices? People holding onto their dollars?
I am going to guess that was part of it. But I have covered hunting and fishing shows in the Roanoke Valley for 40 years, in good times and bad, and I’ve seen very few catch on. An earlier show promoted by Anderson’s company, Sponsor Hounds, appeared to be an exception. It drew well. Many thought the latest one would too, but it became a rerun of poorly attended events out of the past.
This had outdoor activist Al Milton wondering: Why will sportsmen from Southwest Virginia drive three hours to attend a show in Richmond, where crowds are elbow-to-elbow, but shun one in their home area?
One thing for certain: you couldn’t say that Anderson’s show was poorly done. The arena was full of displays, and so were the hallways and auxiliary rooms. The exhibits spilled onto the outside.
But the traffic just wasn’t there. It was so bad that some exhibitors rudely left early on Sunday, forcing the show sponsor to discontinue selling tickets.
Like most exhibitors, Gary Arrington of Hunters for the Hungry took in considerably less money for his cause than during the previous show, but he said his organization made many worthwhile contacts. He was touched when Anderson contributed a framed print to the cause of feeding the hungry, and told Arrington that her group would fill a table at the WSLS Sportsmen’s Banquet to benefit Hunters for the Hungry in Salem on Sept. 27.
Anderson says that a planned winter version of the show is on for January, and some venders who were disappointed this time say they will be there. Those who left early need not apply.
BILL
DOVE SEASON OPENS LABOR DAY
A dry summer has resulted in an early harvest of agriculture crops in many areas of Virginia, which means hunters should be able to find ample places to launch a dove hunt when the season opens Sept. 1. Freshly harvested corn fields are a popular hunting spot across much of the state.
Dove numbers are in good shape, similar to recent years, if not more abundant.
This is the first time in several years that the season has opened on a Labor Day Monday rather than the first Saturday of September. The Monday opening will prohibit some school kids and college students from participating in opening day.
New this year, the bag limit has been increased from 12 to 15 daily. The three extra birds may benefit skillful shooters working a productive dove population, but most hunters are fortunate to even get a dozen of the fast-flying birds.
BILL
TURKEY FEDERATON ON TRACK
You’ve got to like what you read about George Thornton, the new CEO of the National Wild Turkey Federation, in the September-October issue of the organization’s magazine, Turkey Call. I came away feeling that the often tumultuous transition period that recently has been troublesome for the federation is past history.
In an interview with Turkey Call editor Burt Carey, Thornton comes across as a man of faith and vision, who is totally positive about the organization’s future. It appears that he has the kind of background and credentials to make positive things happen.
Thornton describes himself as a good listener who is not afraid to make a decision and who won’t overlook giving credit to deserving staff and members.
Said Thornton: “Several people have asked me what aspect of the mission we’ll be emphasizing. Will it be conservation or hunting heritage? The answer to that is yes.”
You can listen to or watch the interview at nwtf.org/
BILL
CHANCE TO GIVE YOUR VIEWS ON HUNTING LAWS
The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has changed the way it establishes hunting and trapping regulations.
In September, a series of 19 public input sessions will be held across the state to allow citizens to express their views on hunting/trapping regulations.
This will be followed by DGIF staff recommendations, additional public hearings and final approval of the new regulations during meetings in Richmond in October, February and June.
Here is the schedule for the input sessions:
Sept. 3. Cedar Bluff, Southwest Virginia Community College
Sept 4, Wise, University of Virginia College at Wise
Sept. 8, Christiansburg, Montgomery County Government Center
Sept. 9 Chesapeake, Chesapeake Sheriff’s Office
Lexington, Rockbridge County High School
Centerville, Arlington/Fairfax Chapter Izaak Walton League
Sept. 10. Wakefield, Airfield 4-H Center
Middletown, Middletown Elementary School
Sept. 11, Gloucester Point, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Burkeville, Burkeville Fire Department
Sept. 15, Covington, Alleghany County Governmental Complex
Sept. 16, Warsaw Rappahannock Community College
Danville, Danville Community College
Harrisonburg, Rockingham County Fairgrounds
Richmond, DGIF Board Room, 4000 West Broad Street
Sept. 17, Charles City, DGIF Regional 1 Office
Sept. 18, Lynchburg, Central Virginia Community College
Fredericksburg, Gander Mountain Store
MESSAGE TO AHSA: “GET A LIFE!”
The American Hunters & Shooters Association shot itself in the foot big time when it recently attacked the NRA in a scathing report saying the NRA supports opponents of conservation.
Surely the AHSA can find better ways to spend its money on behalf of hunters. How about recruiting new hunters or working toward better access to hunting opportunities for current hunters?
The AHSA went down the list of congressmen and senators that the NRA supports and noted that some of them had less than stalwart reputations as environmentalists. They weren’t the same ones endorsed by the Sierra Club, for example. This proves that the NRA is weak on hunting, according to the AHSA.
What the organization failed to say is that some legislators who are lauded by environmental organizations have both a dismal gun right’s record and they really aren’t supportive of hunting.
Some environmental organizations, for example, would ban timber management on national forest, thus restricting practices that benefit wildlife species such as deer, grouse, turkey, woodcock and bear. Some would close large portions or all of the national forest and other federal properties to hunting. Some would set aside huge refuges in the ocean where sport fishing would not be allowed.
The AHSA is correct is saying that the NRA is stronger on gun rights than on hunting, and there is room for it to boost its support of hunting, but through the decades it has been part of the conservation movement championed by hunters and anglers. To attack it with the viciousness that the AHSA has is not only wrong, but not in the best interest of hunters.
BILL
GENE PARKER, ALL-ROUND OUTDOORSMAN
How could you be a bear hunter following a pack of hounds one day and a park ranger pointing out a wood thrush to some urban-bound person another day?
You could if you were Gene Parker, who was Supervisory Park Ranger on the Blue Ridge Parkway at the Peaks of Otter. Parker was an all-round outdoorsman, who saw no obstacles to blending hunting with bird watching. He was a mountain man, skillful in negotiating the backwoods, an excellent tracker, a man of such stamina he could leave others in his wake, especially when the hounds struck a bear.
Cancer got him. He died recently at age 61 in his Bedford home. Many park rangers are nomadic and academic, but Parker was one of the good old boys who most of his life stayed close to the Blue Ridge Mountains and valleys he loved. They won’t be the same without him.
A big regret for me is that I didn’t spend more time with him in the mountains.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>>A 68-pound snowy grouper and a 7-pound, 8-ounce Darwin’s Slimehead, both caught in the Norfolk Canyon, are pending IGFA all-tackle world records, according to IGFA representative Dr. Julie Ball of Virginia Beach. The grouper was caught by Jere Humphries of Norfolk, the slimehead by Ron Vankirk of Williamsburg.
>>Matt Crush of Danville caught a 21.5-pound citation striped bass at Smith Mountain Lake while working on his Boy Scout Fishing Merit Badge with his Troop 211 Scoutmaster Steve Pappas.
>>Talk about a big catch. Michael Thompson, who is studying to be a police officer in Minneapolis, won the $1 million grand price in the FLW Fantasy Fishing Championship. This is reported to be the largest fantasy sports payday of any sport, including fantasy football.
>>If you are a Virginia tarpon angler, you will enjoy Dr. Julie Ball’s description of going after these elusive critters: “These air-gulping wonders will roll and frolic around your bait, as you roast in the heat without a strike.”
>>Some 76 percent of sportsmen say they prefer to elect a president who hunts or fishes, according to a survey by the Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation. When asked who they’d rather hunt with, 49 percent said John McCain while 27 percent said Barack Obama. As for fishing buddies, 44 percent said they prefer McCain; 31 percent Obama.
>>When a gourmet chef won first place in the Great American Seafood Cook-Off held recently in Louisiana, Stripers Forever was delighted. Why? Because the chef used a farm-raised hybrid striper. The fact that farm-raised hybrid stripers account for more than two-thirds of all striped bass sold in the United States is good news for those who want to protect wild stripers from commercial fishing. Stripers Forever is promoting an end to commercial fishing for the species.
>>You no doubt are familiar with organizations for ducks, turkeys, elk, deer, grouse and quail hunters. But what about one for dove hunters? Check the Dove Sportsman’s Society, www.dovesociety.org.
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
Citation catches registered in the 2008 Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament are running a couple hundred behind the previous year. The 2007 count at this point was 3,596 while this year’s count is 3,398. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 87 pounds, 3 ounces, Paul Elliott, Surry, Latimer Shoals (C-2 Buoy). BLUEFISH: 19 pounds, 4 ounces, Richard Brown, Richmond, off Virginia Beach.
BLUEFIN TILEFISH: 18 pounds, 14 ounces, Chris Boyce, Hampton, Norfolk Canyon.
COBIA: 90 pounds, 10 ounces, Charles Thain, Birdsnest, Inner Middle Ground, C-13.
CROAKER: 4 pounds, 8 ounces, Michael Whittaker, Chesapeake, 664 Bridge Tunnel; Monitor.
DOLPHIN: 58 pounds, 6 ounces, Burt Whitt, Norfolk, Cigar.
FLOUNDER: 13 pounds, 4 ounces, Brian Ashley, Suffolk, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
GRAY TRIGERFISH: 4 pounds, 13 ounces, Jason Judd, Newport News, Tiger Wreck.
GRAY TROUT: 9 pounds, 8 ounces, Joseph Hudgins, Jr., Chesapeake, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel (4th island).
KING MACKEREL, 62 pounds, 3 ounces, James McDonald, Virginia Beach, Sandbridge Pier.
KINGFISH: 2 pounds, 3 ounces, Bill Pope, Norfolk, Sandbridge surf.
POMPANO: 2 pounds, 4 ounces, Jared Wilson, Norfolk, Ocean View Fishing Pier.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 8 ounces, Reggie Myrick, Portsmouth, wreck off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPSHEAD: 14 pounds, 5 ounces, Kay Alley, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel. .
SPADEFISH: 14 pounds, 1 ounce, Josh Durvin, Dunnsville, The Cell.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 6 pounds, Alfred Simpson, Virginia Beach, Sandbridge Pier.
SPECKLED TROUT: 9 pounds, 15 ounces, David Hester, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 8 ounces, Michael Whittaker, Chesapeake, 664 Bridge-Tunnel.
STRIPED BASS: 73 pounds, state record, Frederick Barnes, Chesapeake, off Virginia Beach.
TAUTOG: 20 pounds, 6 ounces, Michael Shreve, Glen Burnie, Md., Monroe Wreck.
TUNA, BLUEFIN: 226 pounds, Kim Schwallenberg, Edgewater, Md., off Wachapreague.
TUNA: 93 pounds, 6 ounces, Harry Barr, Virginia Beach, Norfolk Canyon.
YAHOO: 68 pounds, Ron Fair, Cheriton, off Wachapreague.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Smith Mountain Lake Striper Club Fishermen’s Flea Market/Swap Shop, Sept. 5, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center.
Eastern Regional Big Game Championship, Sept. 13 and 14, Southampton County Fairgrounds, Franklin, sponsored by the Virginia Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association, more information from Kenneth Pickin, P.O. Box 1860, Williamsburg, Va. 23187-1860; 757-229-0490. This is the contest for deer, bear and turkey killed east of the Blue Ridge. Additional information from vpsa.org.
Triangle Archer’s 3D tournament, Sept 14, Blacksburg, fee $12 or $25 per family, information from James Overfelt: james.overfelt@vfaa.org.
An evening with bass pro Jimmy Houston, Sept. 15, 5:30-7:30 p.m., Sportsman’s Warehouse, Roanoke, no charge, information from 540-366-9700.
Sixteenth annual Eastern Shore Birding and Wildlife Festival, Sept 18-21, brochure from info@esvachamber.org.
Botetourt Longbeards National Wild Turkey Federation JAKES event for youth 7 to 17, Sept. 20, 9-3, at Richard Simmons Farm in Lithia. Shooting, turkey calling, safety education. Information, 540-254-2349.
Third annual WSLS 10 Hunters for the Hungry banquet, 6 p.m. Sept. 27, Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi, Salem, tickets $20 singles; $35 couples, kids 12 and under free, to benefit the organization’s feed-the-needy program, tickets from Jeff Fletcher, 540-985-6523 or Fred and Phyllis Wells, 540-992-3874 or may be purchased at Dave Sarmadi Mitsubishi, additional information from hunt4hungry@cs.com.
National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 27.
Western Regional and State Big Game Championship, for deer, bear and turkey killed west of the Blue Ridge or advanced from the Eastern Championship, Sept. 27 & 28, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, Harrisonburg, more information from Jon Ritenour, 2041 Spaders Church Rd., Harrisonburg, VA 22801, 540-434-8028. Additional information from vpsa.org.
Fall Optimist Club of Cave Springs Fishing Tournament, Oct. 3-5, Smith Mountain Lake, $10,000 for biggest muskie, $15,00 additional for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, crappie, catfish and striped bass categories, entry fee $40, P.O. Box 1276, Salem, VA 24153, 540-721-2451.
Saltwater striped bass tournament opens Oct. 4.
Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA banquet, Oct. 18.
Virginia Outdoor Sportsmen’s Classic, Roanoke Civic Center, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2009, vaoutdoorsportsmensclassic.com.
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