Thursday, October 23, 2008
Missing in action: 'Sportsment For' signs
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Where are all those “Sportsmen For” signs this election? I’m seeing a sprinkling of “Sportsmen for Warner” banners across Virginia, but you have to look hard to find a “Sportsmen for McCain” or “Sportsmen for Obama” sign. In fact, I can’t remember seeing one with Obama’s name on it.
Is it because the vote of America’s hunters, anglers and shooters no longer is seen as a factor? Have we lost our clout? Are we being ignored? There was a time when our vote could determine the outcome of an election, and everybody knew it.
If we are being ignored now, what can we expect from the candidate who makes it to the White House?
In the 2004 presidential race, both Bush and Kerry catered to sportsmen in an aggressive way. When that happens, it can be a positive thing for sportsmen. But there are way too many instances of candidates courting sportsmen during the campaign only never to be heard of again when elected. Sportsmen need to nail down commitments from politicians who claim to be their friend. “Sportsmen For” must be something other than just a sign somebody puts along a roadway; it must be a philosophy.
Maybe McCain and Obama aren’t being portrayed as outdoorsmen because they aren’t. Obama does not hunt or fish, and probably is the most unlikely outdoorsman of any presidential candidate in decades. McCain doesn’t hunt, but says he enjoys fishing, although he doesn’t appear to give it high priority, nothing like Hoover, Eisenhower, Carter or the two presidents named George Bush.
The 2008 election is not destined to be remembered as the year of the sportsman.
BILL
SIX FISH VERIFIED AS WORLD RECORDS
The International Game Fish Association announced Wednesday that it had verified six saltwater catches from Virginia as world records.
“This is a great accolade for our incredible fishery here in Virginia,” said Dr. Julie Ball of Virginia Beach, a regional IGFA representative. Bell accounted for half of the records.
Here are the new records:
>Snowy Grouper, 68 pounds, all-tackle world record, caught by Jere Humphrey at the Norfolk Canyon off Virginia Beach.
>Barrelfish, 17 pounds, 4 ounces, all-tackle world record, Marcus Jones III, Norfolk Canyon.
>Slimehead, 7 pounds, 8 ounces, all-tackle world record, Ron Van Kirk, Norfolk Canyon.
>Spadefish, 7 pounds, 6 ounces, women’s 4-pound line class, Dr. Julie Ball, Chesapeake Light Tower.
>Spadefish, 1 pound, 4 ounces, women’s fly rod world record 4-pound tippet, Dr. Julie Ball, Santore Wreck.
>Spadefish, 2 pounds, 5 ounces, women’s fly rod world record 12-pound tippet, Dr. Julie Ball, Santore Wreck.
BILL
THE ECONOMY AND HUNTING
With all the economic bad news, you have to wonder if fewer hunters will be afield this fall or will more be afield in an effort to put meat on the table. It is a bit early to determine that. A real test will be hunting license sales over the next month.
But I am talking to operators of hunting and fishing shops who tell me their business is down, sometimes as much as 50 percent.
What many people don’t consider, hunting sends a lot of money flowing into the economy, in the form of purchases for equipment, gasoline, food, lodging and dog food and supplies. Rather than give a pre-season preview of the hunting season, the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries recently lauded the economic benefits of the sport in a two and one-half page news release. That tells us about the times we live in.
The most recent figure from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is that hunters in Virginia spend more than $480 million annually on their sport. Their dollars also support a major chunk of conservation work and help manage wildlife populations. All citizens benefit from that.
BILL
ON BOTH SIDES OF THE FENCE
If you are a politician out to reap benefit from the vote of hunters and sport shooters, chances are you welcome an endorsement from the NRA and shun one from the Humane Society of the United States.
But what if you get an endorsement from both?
That is the case of three Virginians running for the U.S. House of Representatives: Rick Boucher, Randy Forbes and Frank Wolf.
The dual endorsement happens -- one from a pro-gun organization the other from an anti-hunting organization -- because the NRA weighs heavily the candidate’s voting record on the Second Amendment with scant attention given to hunting and animal-rights.
As one avid NRA member told me, “If you don’t have guns you don’t have hunting.”
The NRA gives Boucher an A+ rating. Forbes gets an A and Wolf a B+. They also are liked by the Humane Society for work they have done in the past on animal issues.
Boucher and Virgil Goode are the only Virginia candidates who get the NRA’s top rating, an A+. An A rating goes to House of Representatives candidates Eric Cantor, Thelma Drake, Bob Goodlatte, and Rob Wittman.
In the race for the Senate, the NRA doesn’t make a call between Virginian’s Jim Gilmore and Mark Warner, even though Gilmore is a board member of the association. It is a case of being too close to call. Both get an A.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>>Hunters Helping the Hungry is the name of West Virginia’s charitable program that takes deer donated by hunters and processes them for the needy. Like Virginia’s Hunters for the Hungry, the Mountain State program always is in need of additional funding.
Since 1999, it has worked with churches in West Virginia to sponsor Share the Harvest Sunday which involves congregations of 3,000 churches contributing funds for the program. That designated Sunday this year is Nov. 2
>>The Florida panther, one of America's rarest large mammals, is doing better. Officials say there are now between 80 and 100 of the animals, up from just 30 in the early 1980s. The increase comes during a period when the state’s human population has grown from about 5 million to 18 million.
>>Lear Bayor Inc, the company that developed the Learjet, has announced a new and more powerful drive system for its line of Lear all-electric boats. The powerful marine motor is reported to have plenty of “oomph” and is whisper quiet, non-polluting and environmentally friendly.
BILL
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
A 96-pound, late-season wahoo is a 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: 69 pounds, Brian Davis, Virginia Beach, Norfolk Canyon.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Fall turkey hunting season opens Oct. 25.
Coastal Conservation Association 2008 annual banquet and auction, 6 p.m., Oct. 25, Jefferson-Lakeside Country Club, Richmond, contact David Nobles, 804-966-5654.
Grouse hunting season October 25-February 14.
Early muzzleloading season Nov. 1-14.
Quail hunting season, Nov. 1-Feb. 28.
General firearm’s deer season opens Nov. 15.
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.