Thursday, January 29, 2009
Hunters for Hungry talks turkey
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Hunters for the Hungry processed and distributed a record 380,151 pounds of venison to the needy in Virginia in 2008.
“If we could get the funding we could do 500,000 pounds easily,” said Gary Arrington, the special events coordinator of the Big Island based charity.
A new fund-raising activity this year will be a Hunters for the Hungry Open Turkey Calling Competition at noon Feb. 21 in conjunction with the Feb. 20-22 Greater Virginia Sports & Big Game Show at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg.
The calling contest will include divisions for senior open, friction open, intermediate open and youth open and will offer nearly $2,000 in prize money plus a chance for an exotic spring hunt. The contest is sponsored by Sportsman’s Warehouse in Roanoke. Entry fees range from $15 to $25, with the money going to Hunters for the Hungry.
Additional information on the contest is available from Arrington via e-mail.
Hunters for the Hungry already is working on its Roanoke Valley fund-raising banquet which has been set for September 26. The banquet last year netting more than $27,000.
BILL
DEER EXPERTS TO MEET IN ROANOKE
Some of the top deer management experts in the nation will gather in Roanoke, Feb. 22-24 during the 32nd Annual Meeting of the Southeast Deer Study Group at Hotel Roanoke. The theme is “Herds Without Hunters: The Future of Deer Management.”
The event is hosted by the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and the Conservation Management Institute of Virginia Tech. There is a hefty fee to sit in on it.
While the main thrust of the meeting addresses the challenge of dealing with more deer at a time when there are fewer hunters to control them, the conference will tackle numerous other subjects, from disease to predation; from wildlife planting to supplemental feeding. Included are sessions on:
- Recruitment of women hunters; an opportunity for growth
- Balancing property rights with hound hunting
- Wounding rates of white-tailed deer with modern archery equipment
The conference Web site is www.cpe.vt.edu/sdsg/
BILL
WEST VIRGINIA’S BEAR KILL A RECORD
Hunters in West Virginia reported killing a record 2,064 deer during the recent season. This is a 14 percent increase over the previous record set in 2007.
Virginia has not reported its bear kill, but a record isn’t out of reach. Several hunters have told me they saw more bear than buck deer during the 2008-09 season.
Chris Ryan, West Virginia’s bear project leader, said a number of factors contributed to the record kill, one of them the simply fact that “West Virginia has a tremendous bear population that allows for a variety of different hunting opportunities.”
Hunters in West Virginia reported killing 477 bear during the archery season.
BILL
SMITH MOUNTAIN STRIPERS IN THE DEEP
Smith Mountain Lake anglers say they are locating striped bass in unusually deep water this winter, sometimes 70 feet. They are going after these basement-holding fish with vertical jigging methods.
This fishery was highlighted at a recent meeting of the Smith Mountain Striper Club, when Frank Skillman, the club’s tournament chairman, and Mike Snead, owner of Virginia Outdoors tackle shop, provided information on jigging equipment and techniques.
“I have been finding stripers in deeper than normal water this winter -- at depths anywhere from 40 to 60 feet,” said Skillman. Snead said the fish were holding as deep as 70 feet.
“Usually the fish are in small, scattered clusters and often they will be on or near the edge of submerged timber,” said Snead.
“There is a lot of bait this year and the alewives tend to stay deeper and keep the fish in deeper water,” said Skillman. Sometimes they hold right on the bottom and can be difficult to detect with a fish finder.
At the same time, some stripers also are being found in shallower water, even in the back of creeks where they are after shallower-running threadfin shad. Skillman predicted that most all of the stripers will move shallower the next several weeks. Already there are occasions when stripers feed shallow under birds, the anglers reported.
Extreme cold temperatures of lengthy duration can fatal to threadfin shad, but biologists have not detected major die-offs at this point.
“I expect to see some impacts on the threadfin shad this winter, but I can not predict how extensive it will be,” said Dan Wilson, DGIF fisheries biologist. “The only year where we have really seen the threadfins disappear was 2003, but there has been some fluctuation in other years.”
Extreme cold-weather blasts of short duration do not lower the water temperature and harm threadfin shad as much as long periods of cold, Wilson said.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
- Never mind the record gas prices and the downturn in the economy, more than 7.2-million people visited Virginia State Parks in 2008. That is the second highest total in park history and just under the 7.4-million record in 2007.
- More than 90,000 Virginia students in 160 schools have participated in the new National Archery in the Schools Program. On Feb. 28, some 150 of them are scheduled to participate in the program’s first national tournament at Augusta Expoland in Fisherville. The sponsor is the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The tournament will beheld in cooperation with the Western Virginia Sport Show set for Feb. 27-March 1. More info: dgif.virginia.gov/events/virginia-nasp-tournament.
- Bird dog trainer Ray Thomas, who operates Timber Ridge Kennels in Botetourt County, has a new Web site: timberridgekennels.org.
- "Fly Rod Chronicles With Curtis Fleming" won the “Episode of the Year” award at the recent Sportsman Channel Awards Banquet. Fleming, who developed the reality fly fishing show, lives in Winchester.
- A 35-year old classic film by Glen Lau on the lifecycle of the largemouth bass has been digitally enhanced and will be available in February under the title “BIGMOUTH -- The 35th Anniversary.” It will be introduced at the Feb. 20-22 Bassmaster Classic in February and will be available for sale shortly thereafter through reelbass.net.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
George Washington National Forest workshop on the forest plan, Jan. 29, 6:30-9 p.m., Rockbridge County High School, Lexington.
Fly Fishing and Wing Shooting Show, Charlotte Merchandise Mart, Jan. 30 & 31.
Virginia’s quail and squirrel seasons closed Jan. 31.
George Washington National Forest workshop on the forest plan, Feb. 5, 6:30-9 p.m., Peter Muhlenberg Middle School, Woodstock
Smith Mountain Lake Striper Club meeting, Feb. 6, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center, program on raising stripers by Ken Mitchell, manager of the Vic Thomas Hatchery.
Virginia’s grouse season closes Feb. 14.
Greater Virginia Sports and Big Game Show, Feb. 20-22, Rockingham County, details from vasportsshow.com.
Richmond Boat Show, Feb. 20-22, Richmond Raceway Complex.
Hunters for the Hungry Open Turkey Calling Competition, noon Feb. 21 in conjunction with the Feb. 20-22 Greater Virginia Sports & Big Game Show at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg from vasportsshow.com. Competition for senior open, friction open, intermediate open and youth open. Nearly $2,000 in prize money plus a chance for an exotic spring hunt. The sponsor is the Sportsman’s Warehouse. Entry fees range from $15 to $25. Additional information from Gary Arrington.
Saltwater Sportsman 2009 National Seminar Series, six hours of fishing instruction from the pros, Feb. 21, Virginia Beach Convention Center, $55, nationalseminarseries.com.
Board meeting of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to consider hunting/trapping regulations, 9 a.m., Feb. 26, DGIF headquarters, 4000 West Broad St., Richmond.
Southwest Virginia Boat Show, Feb. 27-Mach 1, Roanoke Civic Center.
Western Virginia Sports Show, Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, Feb. 27-March 1.
Virginia’s rabbit season closes Feb. 28.
Hooked for Life silent auction, 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., Feb. 28 Colonial Avenue Baptist Church.
Smith Mountain Striper Club swap meet, March 6, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center.
National Capital Boat Show, March 13-15, Chantilly.
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, Aril 3, 7 p.m. Moneta Community Center, program on rod building by Paul Craven.
Tidewater Boat Show, April 3-5, Hampton.
Youth spring turkey hunting day, April 4, 2009.
Smith Mountain Striper Club Spring Striper Tournament, April 4, 5 a.m.-4 p.m., weigh-in at Captain’s Quarters, tournament chairman is Frank Skillman, 540-721-1220.
2009 spring gobbler season, April 11-May 16.
North Carolina State University Sport Fishing School, May 31-June 4, Hatteras, N.C., $1,445, limited to 45 participants.
Board meeting of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to finalize hunting/trapping regulations, 9 a.m., June 2, DGIF headquarters, 4000 West Broad St., Richmond.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
