Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.

xtrails
@earthlink.net

Bill Cochran's Outdoors

Recent columns

• 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
• Mail archive

Bill's Field Reports

• A. Willis Robertson great name for new DGIF headquarters
• Big striper smashes Optimist tournament record
• Field reports archive

Resources

• Trout stocking schedule

A group of leaders of the Botetourt Longbeards, a chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation in Botetourt County, has called for the resignation of Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ Director Bill Woodfin, and game wardens Col. Terry Bradbery and Maj. Michael Caison.

The group also asked for the removal of Daniel Hoffler, DGIF board chairman. Hoffler announced his resignation just prior to the group sending its request to Gov. Mark Warner.

The group said Woodfin, Bradbery and Caison have traveled and spend money extensively at a time when the DGIF was cutting back programs and personnel because of a tight budget.

It said that DGIF’s lack of attention to details had allowed an option to expire on a piece of property at Narrow Passage in Botetourt County that provided public access to a popular area of the upper James River.

Sherry Crumley, DGIF board member, is a member of the Botetourt Longbeards, but did not participate in the drafting the resolution.

DGIF SAYS NO TO ELK

The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries turned down an invitation to meet with the Buchanan County Board of Supervisors to discuss elk management. In a letter to Frank Kilgore, assistant county attorney, Matt Knox, DGIF deer biologist said, “While we agree that there may be a time in the future to reconsider Virginia elk management, that time is not now.”

Knox said there is a risk that elk could introduce disease into the deer herd and that the big animals could cause crop damage in the region.

Kilgore and others in the country have advocated introducing elk in far Southwest Virginia to stimulate the economy. Neighboring Kentucky has stocked several hundred of the big animals.

KERR THE SPOT TO FISH

If you are looking for a fishing hot spot, head for Kerr Lake, where largmouth bass, crappie, stripers and catfish are ripping the rods of anglers.

The word used to describe crappie fishing at Kerr is “excellent.” These popular panfish have moved shallow where some 2-pounders have been landed.

Striped bass are working the creeks of the lake. One pair of anglers reported catching and releasing 75 while casting bucktails to Grassy Creek.

Speed Shad and Shad Rap lures have been taking bass at Kerr and catfish weighing up to 40.5 pounds have been wrestled from the lake.

>Lots of yellow perch are being caught at Lake Moomaw, Virginia’s best producer of this early season species. Many of the fish have spawned, yet weights still press above the one-pound mark.

>Guide Glenn Briggs reports good bass fishing in Lake Anna early mornings and late evenings. Look for fish in shallow water in the creeks, Briggs said. His choices of spots are the Sturgeon, Pigeon and Dike III areas. Some of the bass are weighing better than 7 pounds apiece.

>Briery Creek Lake has yielded a 10-pound, 15-ounce largemouth bass.

>Smallmouth bass have started hitting in the New River where one angler reported catching two over 20 inches.

>Ponds in the Tidewater area, especially around Suffolk, have been turning out outstanding crappie fishing.

>The Norttoway River is an excellent spot to catch rock bass and shellcrackers.

>At Lake Meade, Norman Price of Suffolk landed four striped bass that weighed 10 to 16 pounds.

>Lake Cohoon is producing scores of pickerel.

>Herring have arrived at Walkers Dam on the Chickahominy River. A bass tournament at Chickahominy Lake was won by a 10-fish catch that weighed 27.74 pounds.

>Several catfish weighing 30 to 50 pounds have been landed in the tidal James River. Mixed in with the cats are crappie weighing better than 2 pounds.

>Rick Smart of Matoaca used a Bush Hog lure to catch a 9-pound, 2-ounce bass from Lake Chesdin.

FLY FISHING FESTIVAL

In its five-year run, the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival, on the banks of South River in Waynesboro, has become the largest fly-fishing event in Virginia. This year’s festival is set for April 16 and 17 and will feature fly-fishing experts, vendors, fly tying, fly-fishing instruction, food and a kid’s casting pool. Admission is $8. Information can be found on www.vaflyfishingfestival.org.

The featured speaker will be Bob Clouser, a member of the Fly Fishing Hall of Fame and designer of the Clouser saltwater fly, which is highly popular among striped bass anglers. Clouser will offer casting instruction for $75 per person. Other participants include King Montgomery, Dusty Wissmath, Capt. Brain Shumaker, Cory Routh, Bob Cramer. Capt. Gary Dubiel, Harrison Steves, Blane Chocklett, Walt Carey and Capt. Tommy Mattioli.

BIG GAME CONTEST DATES

Information on the annual Virginia Big Game Contest has been posed on www.vpsa.org. The Western Division competition is scheduled Sept. 10 and 11 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg. The contact is Jon Ritenour, 540-434-8028.

The Eastern and State Championship is scheduled for Sept. 24 and 24 at the Southampton County Fairgrounds in Franklin. The contact is Kenneth Pickin, 757-229-0490.

“We are already getting many calls from people seeking information so that they can start planning vacation time,” said Buddy Faison, of the Virginia Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association, one of the sponsors.

This is the contest for deer, bear and turkeys that judges trophies for the State Record Book.

BILL

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

>The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has purchased an additional 103.5 acres to expand the Game Farm Marsh Wildlife Management Area in Charles City County. The property was purchased primarily with funds from a National Coastal Wetlands Conservation Grant and a donation from The Wildlife Foundation of Virginia. The property will enable the Department to offer more opportunities for waterfowl hunting, fishing, boating and wildlife viewing. It is scheduled to open in the fall.

>The Coastal Conservation Association of Virginia already is making plans to get a meaningful menhaden bill through the 2006 General Assembly. A bill backed by CCA was defeated and an industry bill approved. David Nobles, CCA VA vice president has told CCA members that progress was made during the 2005 session.

>Trout Unlimited State Councils of Virginia, West Virginia, Maryland and the National Capital Chapter (D.C.) are seeking applications from high school-aged students eager to learn about cold-water conservation and trout fishing during a week-long summer camp at Graves Mountain Lodge in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Twenty campers will be selected. Applications and information can be found on www.tucamp.org.

>Oklahoma angler Edwin Evers won the CITGO Bassmaster tournament on Lake Norman in North Carolina with a four-day catch of 46 pounds, 6 ounces. Just 13 ounces behind -- one keeper fish -- was Jason Quinn, a sometimes Lake Norman guide from Clover, S.C.

>Virginia is one of seven states that prohibit Sunday hunting and that should change, the NRA has stated on its NRA-ILA website. States that have Sunday hunting continue to have healthy wildlife populations, the NRA said. Hunters continue to behave in a responsible and safe manner. Church attendance remains unchanged. Landowner-hunter conflicts have not increased.

>As the BASS tournament season winds down, North Carolina’s Marty Stone leads the CITGO Bassmaster of the Year race. There are some tough characters breathing down his neck as the final tournament approaches. They include New Jersey’s Michael Iaconelli and veteran anglers Rick Clunn and George Cochran.

>When Carson Quarles pulled the trigger on a 20-pound gobbler during a Southern turkey hunt it was difficult to determine who bled most. The scope on the shotgun that Quarles used hit him between the eyes and cut a small artery. That required a trip to the emergency room and four stitches. A few days later, Quarles killed a 23-pound tom that had a 10.5-inch beard during a hunt in Alabama. No injuries this time, except to the turkey. Quarles, from Roanoke, is a former board member of the DGIF.

MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS

Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, 7 p.m., April 1, Moneta Community Center.

Tidewater Boat Show, April 1-3, Hampton Roads Convention Center, Hampton, Va. 804-425-6556.

Trout Heritage Day, April 2, 16 streams to open after being stocked, information from dgif.virginia.gov/fishing/TroutGuide/trout_heritage_waters.html.

Youth day spring gobbler hunt, April 2.

Smith River Trout Unlimited Chapter meeting, 7 p.m., April 7, Rania’s Restaurant, downtown Martinsville (147 E. Main Street), dinner, guest is Marcia Woolman, of Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited, who will talk about preservation of brook trout.

Virginia Mountain Chapter of Ruffed Grouse Society banquet, April 9, Wyndham Roanoke Hotel, tickets $50 for individuals and $70 for individual and guest, society membership included, ticket information from Mike Taylor, 540-977-0087 (B) or 540-890-5133 (H).

Becoming an Outdoors Woman program, three days at Holiday Lake 4-H Center near Appomattox offering a variety of courses for women on outdoor subjects, information from Jimmy Mootz at Jimmy.Mottz@dgif.virginia.gov.

Cave Spring Optimist Club Tournament, Aprils 29, 30 and May 1, Smith Mountain Lake.

Spring gobbler season, April 9-May 14.

Virginia Fly Fishing Festival, April 16 & 17, Waynesboro, information from vaflyfishingfestival.org.

Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation’s American Outdoor Experience, Bristol Motor Speedway, May 13-15, information from americanoutdoorexperience.com.

Wilderness First Aid, May 17-18, Blacksburg, an 18-hour, two-day class that results in a two-year certification, $160, registration/information from wfa.net.

Western Division of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 10 and 11, Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg, see vpsa.org for details.

Eastern Division and state finals of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 24 and 25, Southampton County Fairgrounds, Franklin, see vpsa.org for details.

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