Thursday, October 09, 2008
No one claims $10,000 muskie payoff
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
The Cave Spring Optimist Club has hosted 40 annual spring fishing tournaments on Smith Mountain Lake. All of them have been successful. But when the club tried its first fall event the past weekend, it bombed.
Even spicing up the tournament by offering $10,000 to any participant entering a muskie of at least 25 pounds didn’t seem to work. Only about 175 participants took part in the contest, which was about 75 fewer than the number needed for the club to break-even in its effort to raise money for childhood cancer research.
Members were fortunate that the muskie was a no-show. The Roanoke business that had agreed to cover the $10,000 offering closed just after the tournament was announced. Several club members stepped up to cover the offering, and breathed a sigh of relief Sunday when no muskie appeared on the leader board.
The club is planning its 41st spring tournament next year, but hasn’t decided if it will host a fall edition.
What was behind the disappointing response? Probably it was competition from college football and bowhunting, along with waning interest in fishing this time of the year. Add to that, most everybody knows that it is next to impossible these days to catch a muskie in Smith Mountain Lake.
BILL
WHERE TO FIND A TROPHY BUCK
Where is the best place in Virginia to find a trophy buck?
In an effort to determine that, I tallied where the bucks came from that placed in the recent state competition of the Virginia Big Game Trophy Show in Harrisonburg.
What I found is that most any county across the state can produce a buck big enough to get a hunter’s name etched in the trophy buck.
The past season, for example, the biggest buck of the year came from Culpeper County, an area little known for producing wall-hangers. In fact, the 18-point Virginia champ of the 2007-08 season, taken by James Taylor of Rochelle (see last week’s Cochran column), was the only trophy from Culpeper County entered in the big game state contest.
I’m thinking, however, that the counties with the highest number of trophy bucks in state competition are excellent candidates to produce bragging-size bucks again this season. Some 18 counties had more than one trophy buck in competition. Here’s how they line up.
TWELVE BUCKS: Bedford County.
Bedford always is at the top of the list, this time with twice as many trophies as its nearest rivals. The herd harbors good antler-growing genes and the county has diversity of habitat, from remote ridges to rich farmland. Most years, Bedford produces the highest deer kill in the state, which helps keep the herd in check with its habitat, thus favoring big deer.
SIX BUCKS APIECE: Rockingham and Southampton.
You can’t dispute the fact that these two counties annually produce trophy buck, but you have to wonder how the count might be skewed by the fact that the two counties host the big game show each year, which makes it a lot easier for successful hunters to enter a buck than from more distant counties.
FOUR BUCKS APIECE: Amherst, Franklin, Nelson and Roanoke.
You have to admire the fact that Roanoke is in this group. Most people figure Roanoke as the biggest urban area in the western part of the state, which it is, but it has its share of deer habitat that produces trophy racks.
THREE BUCKS APIECE: Augusta, Botetourt, Pittslvania, Shenandoah and Wythe.
Wythe is a newcomer to the trophy buck parade and merits watching.
TWO BUCKS APIECE: Bath, Isle of Wight, King William, Montgomery, Patrick and Surry.
Years ago, Bath County was one of the few places to find deer in Virginia, now the herd is abundant across the state. But Bath still hangs in there with the best.
BILL
MAJOR CRAPPIE TOURNAMENT AT SMITH MOUNTAIN
Crappie USA has scheduled a major fishing tournament on Smith Mountain Lake Nov. 15. Participants, ranging from nationally known crappie experts to locals, will be fishing for a seven-fish limit which could net them a check along with the opportunity to advance to the regional event and the Cabela’s Crappie USA Classic. The latter is considered the most prestigious event in crappie fishing today.
The contest headquarters will be the Indian Pointe Marina on the Roanoke River arm of the 20,000-acre lake, where the weigh-in begins at 3 p.m. and is open to the public.
You can fish alone or team up with a partner. The entry fee is $100 in the amateur division and $200 in the semi-pro division. A membership in the American Crappie Association is required. The basic membership fee is $25. Tournament registration and memberships can be found at crappieusa.com.
The public is invited to a pre-tournament seminar 7 p.m. Nov. 14 at the Trinity Ecumenical Parish. Held in conjunction with the tournament will be the Crappie Kids Fishing Rodeo. Sign up for this event will be at 8 a.m. Nov. 15 at the contest headquarters. Kid’s fishing will be from 9 to 11 a.m. There is no charge and kids have the opportunity to win scholarships.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>>An overflow crowd is expected at the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting in Richmond Oct. 23 when the final recommendation of the Hunting With Hounds project will be presented. The recommendations are posted on dgif.virginia.gov.
>>A193-pound, 5-ounce tarpon caught in September has been certified as a North Carolina record. The 80-inch fish was taken from Sea View Pier in North Topsail Beach by Malcom Condie of Newport, N.C. The old record was 175 pounds and was caught at the Bogue Inlet Pier in 2005.
>>A new study from researchers at the University of Michigan and the University of Maryland has found “no evidence that gun shows lead to substantial increases in either gun homicides or suicides.”
>>Many shooters, gun collectors and hunters have spent a lifetime reading “The Shooter’s Bible” and “Gun Trader Guide.” The publisher, Stoeger Publication, has announced that is has halted publication of these annual books and others.
>>A 3-pound, 8-ounce Darwin’s Slimehead fish caught in the deep water of Norfolk Canyon off Virginia Beach has been certified as the inaugural International Game Fish Association world record for the species. It was landed by Chris Boyce of Hampton.
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
Croaker moving out of Virginia waters produced a late-season trophy catch that is the new leader in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. 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: 19 pounds, 9 ounces, Sidney Long, Jr., Branchville, Norfolk Canyon.
COBIA: 94 pounds, 6 ounces, Wesley Smith, Virginia Beach, Bluefish Rock.
CROAKER: 4 pounds, 14 ounces, B.W. Wild, Virginia Beach, Lynnhaven Inlet. DOLPHIN: 66 pounds, Todd Conner, Midlothian, Norfolk Canyon.
FLOUNDER: 13 pounds, 9 ounces, Christopher Mounie, Suffolk, Third Island of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
GRAY TRIGERFISH: 5 pounds, 8 ounces, Nick Wright, Virginia Beach, inshore waters of Virginia Beach.
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, 8 ounces, Ron Pennington, Annandale, Kiptopeak 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
October 18 youth fall turkey hunting day for kids15 and under.
Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA banquet, Oct. 18, Salem Civic Center, tickets -- $40 for singles, $70 for couples-- can be purchased from Mike Kessler, 540-884-2917, Harvey Bulaski, 540-343-9040 and Al Milton, 540-797-7777.
Fall turkey hunting season opens Oct. 25.
Grouse hunting season October 25-February 14.
Early muzzleloading season Nov. 1-14.
Quail hunting season, Nov. 1-Feb. 28.
Crappie USA fishing tournament on Smith Mountain Lake, information from crappieusa.com. Nov. 15
General firearm’s deer season opens Nov. 17.
Virginia Outdoor Sportsmen’s Classic, Roanoke Civic Center, Jan. 30-Feb. 1, 2009, vaoutdoorsportsmensclassic.com.
Youth spring turkey hunting day, April 4, 2009.
2009 spring gobbler season, April 11-May 16.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
