Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.

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Bill Cochran's Outdoors

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• Less freedom at Hatteras for surf casters
• Here’s the scoop on hunting shed antlers
• Want more grouse? Get used to hearing chainsaws
• Sunday hunting bills aplenty, but some hunters hold out
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Roanoke City Council this week named a new park after the late Delgate Vic Thomas of Roanoke, a champion of conservation and a longtime friend of outdoor sportsmen.

It isn’t the first time the name Thomas has gone onto something of significance to outdoorsmen. Last year, a 200-acre recreation area at Smith Mountain Lake was named after him because he played a major role in getting funding for the park.

Prior to that, a new hatchery on the Roanoke River at Brookneal given his name. Again, Thomas was instrumental in gaining funds for the modern facility that provides striped bass for Smith Mountain Lake and other water.

Thomas had his hand in so many things that members of the General Assembly called him “The Godfather.” But he was best known among anglers and hunters as “Friend of the Sportsmen.” And that he was. It didn’t matter if you were a Democrat or Republican, rich or poor, educated or not, Thomas was your advocate. A hunter and angler himself, he was smart enough to embrace the help of non-consumptive outdoorsmen -- bird watchers and hikers -- when it came to advancing a cause.

For 30 years as a House of Delegates member from Roanoke, Thomas acquired funding for parks, open space, boater access, game wardens, fish hatcheries and other projects. He protected the special funds contributed by hunters, anglers and boaters from politicians who sought to divert them to other causes. He was an unbending advocate of gun rights. He was behind the effort to protect the rights of Virginia’s to hunt and fish through a constitutional amendment. One of his last acts was to play a key role in the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ acquiring the 9,000-acre Big Survey Wildlife Management Area in Wythe County.

Thomas retired from the General Assembly in 2003 and died three years later. He was as much a symbol of the outdoors in Virginia as the bald eagle. Yet he also had the time and desire to serve the needs of the less fortunate, the mentally ill and the elderly.

For a number of years, I have hoped another delegate would step up to take his place, but none has and we are poorer for it. I have come to the conclusion that no one really can. Yet sportsmen must be diligent to look for candidates among those running for fall election who share their values and will be their friend and advocate.

BLUE FLAG DAY FOR BILLFISH

Seasoned anglers report that the billfish action off the coast of Virginia the past weekend was the best in recent memory -- maybe the best ever. Teams in the sixth Big Money Open offshore tournament reported catching and releasing a total of 143 white marlin.

“I’ve never see anything like this before,” Capt. Greg Span told Lee Tolliver, outdoor editor of the Virginian-Pilot.

Span, who works out of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach aboard the Canyon Express, reported catching and releasing 24 billfish. Some 22 of them came on Friday, which topped his previous one-day total of 12. His catch broke records that date back more than 12 years.

The nine boats in the Big Money tournament averaged 15.8 billfish apiece. Some boats ran out of the blue flags placed on outriggers to symbolize each catch-and-release.

Capt. Jimmy Bayne on the Sniper was second to Span with 18 white marlin and a swordfish. Capt George Powell on the Friendship was third with 18 whites and a blue.

The action was so hot, the captains said, that the teams were fighting five or six fish at a time.

“We’d have all these fish crashing through the bait spread -- just an amazing thing to see,” said Capt John Savage on the Episode. “You just try to do as good as you can and get as many to the boat as you can.”

Virginia’s white marlin catch has been down this year, compared to last, but the big weekend could change that. It also could bring the fishery some widespread publicity. Among the anglers enjoying the marlin blitz was Bill Dance, who produces and hosts a series of popular TV fishing shows. Dance, best known for his bass fishing, landed his first-ever marlin.

This was a return trip for Dance. He was in the Virginia Beach area last winter catching jumbo striped bass.

RAY, RAY FOR THE RAYS

Let’s see now, what to order for dinner? Crabs, oysters, clams, flounder or rays.

Rays?

You heard it right. If things go well, cownose rays could be the next seafood attraction in restaurants and grocery stores.

Right now, they are a bit of a nuisance along the Virginia coast and in the Chesapeake Bay where they grab baits intended for red drum and other sport fish then give the unsuspecting angler a case of sore arms and keen disappointment.

Once while surf fishing from Smith Island on the southern tip of Virginia’s Eastern Shore, I hooked ray after ray while fishing for red drum. Some of these kite-shaped characters weighed 50 pounds and had a 3-foot wingspan. They fought so hard that my back and arms could take no more. So I invited my host to grab the rod next time there was a hit.

He did, and that next hookup was a citation-size red drum, the only one we caught that day.

From May to September, rays can be seen in huge schools in the Chesapeake Bay. Scientists believe they have developed an appetite for oysters, adding to the hard times of this popular species and the watermen who harvest them.

So what to do with the rays? Eat them, is the newest answer.

But first you have to develop a market for them. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission has provided a $75,000 grant for a Richmond chef to develop recipes for rays. Don’t laugh. Blow toads have found their way onto fancy restaurant menus.

The cownose ray has been given a more palatable name -- the Chesapeake ray - -and there has been travel to South Korea to develop a market. Still, promoters say it is going to take more time.

Hope remains that the harvest of rays could save some oysters and save some watermen -- maybe even save sore muscles of anglers.

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

• Sherry Crumley of Botetourt County has been reappointed to a four-year term on the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Brent Clarke of Fairfax County was named to replace Thomas Stroup of Fairfax. Clarke is managing member at C&E Real Estate Services Company.
• The recent Hunters for the Hungry banquet in the Roanoke area netted just over $21,000, an amount that brought a “Wow!” from Gary Arrington, the special events coordinator. The money will go toward processing deer contributed by hunters to feed the hungry.
• Too many menhaden are being caught by commercial fishermen in the Chesapeake Bay before they have a chance to spawn, says the Virginia Coastal Conservation Association. The association has asked the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to put restrictions on the catch and to promote at-sea observers on menhaden boats. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission has scheduled a hearing on menhaden 6 p.m., Sept. 28 at its headquarters in Newport News.
• Virginia had the top team and the top angler -- Jeff Freeman -- in the Bassmaster Federation National Mid-Atlantic Divisional Tournament held in Wheeling, W.Va. Freeman’s three-day catch weighed 18-13 and earned him a berth in the BASS Federation National Championship Oct. 28-30 on Florida’s Harris Chain of Lakes. A strong finish there sends him to the Bassmaster Classic. From Wytheville, he finished 28th in the 2008 Classic.
• Task Force 20/20 is a group of industry leaders from hunting and sport shooting who have posted a goal to increase participation in hunting and recreational shooting by 20 percent over the next 5 years.
• Michigan’s Kevin VanDam won the Toyota Tundra Bassmaster Angler of the Year award, his fifth such win. The award’s $200,000 prize brings his BASS earnings to more than $3.5 million.
• There will be a kayak-only redfish tournament in Florida next year thanks to a partnership between tournament sponsor IFA Redfish Tour and kayak maker Hobie Cat. Information from redfishtour.com.
• The National Shooting Sports Foundation has launched a media campaign designed to correct widespread misperceptions among gun owners and non-gun owners about AR-15-style rifles. “The best-selling rifles in America today are those based on the AR-15 platform -- they are today’s modern sporting rifles -- yet they remain America’s most misunderstood firearm because of confusing caused by their cosmetic features,” said Steve Sanetti, president of the foundation, a trade association for the firearm’s industry.
• The NRA has teamed up with some of the brightest stars in country music for what it calls NRACountry. Plans are underway for concerts and other factors that emphasize patriotism, freedom, pride in America and gun safety. A line of merchandise is in the making. The first concert will feature Justin Moore. To learn more about this event, check theValoryMusicCo.com/JustinMoore.
• Bassmster.com has unveiled its redesigned Web site, featuring a cleaner, simpler format that features how-to, news and tournament information.

VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT

There is a new leader in the wahoo category of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Here are the standings:

BLACK DRUM: 84 pounds, 12 ounces, William Brown, Hampton, Inner Middle Ground; C-13

BLUELINE TILEFISH: 20 pounds, 10 ounces, Kenneth Bowe, Chester, Norfolk Canyon.

COBIA: 105 pounds, 8 ounces, Wes Blow, Newport News, lower Chesapeake Bay.

CROAKER: 5 pounds, 3 ounces, Nathan Clendenin, Richmond, lower York River. .

DOLPHIN: 39 pounds, Robert Manus, Ark, Triple Zero’s.

FLOUNDER: 12 pounds, 12 ounce, Mike Perron, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 7 ounces, James Eisenhower, Norfolk, Fourth Island of Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.

KING MACKEREL: 33 pounds, 1 ounce, Ed Cromwell Jr., Virginia Beach, inshore waters off Virginia Beach.

KINGFISH: 1 pound, 12 ounces, Bill Pope, Norfolk, Sandbridge Pier.

SEA BASS: 8 pounds, 4 ounces, Wei Zhohg Zheng, Saranac, N.Y., Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel.

SHEEPHEAD: 17 pounds, 4 ounces, Lesley Inge, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake Bay.

SPADEFISH: 14 pounds, 14 ounces, state record, Roland Murphy, Fredericksburg, the Cell.

SPANISH MACKEREL: 6 pounds, 7 ounces, Michael Bell, Lynchburg, 26 Mile Hill.

SPECKLED TROUT: 13 pounds, 14 ounces, Michael Whittaker, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.

SPOT: 1 pound, 2 ounces, Chris Brooks, Virginia Beach, Elizabeth River.

STRIPED BASS: 66 pounds, 8 ounces, Pete Johnson, Hampton, Smith Island.

TAUTOG: 21 pounds, 13 ounces, Skip Feller, Virginia Beach, wreck off Virginia Beach.

TUNA (BLUEFIN): 168 pounds, Paulette Johnson, Uniontown, Ohio, 100 Fathom off Virginia Beach.

TUNA: 230 pounds, Jeff Creekmore, Chesapeake, Norfolk Canyon.

WAHOO: 72 pounds, 4 ounce, Lonnie Brock, Virginia Beach, 100 Fathom off Virginia Beach.

MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS

Virginia Big Game Eastern Regional and State Championship, Sept. 26 and 27, Southampton County Fairground, Franklin, information from vpsa.org or Kenneth Pickin 757-229-0409.

National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 26.

Special youth deer hunting day, Sept. 26.

Hunters for the Hungry Sporting Clays Benefit Shoot, Sept. 27, Flying Rabbit Sporting Clays, Mount Crawford, $50 per shooter, prizes and lunch provided information from 540-574-2529.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission hearing 6 p.m., Sept 28 on striped bass, shad, scup and sea bass, at commission headquarters, 2600 Washington Ave, Newport News.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission hearing 6 p.m., Sept 29 on menhaden, at commission headquarters, 2600 Washington Ave, Newport News.

Virginia Marine Resources Commission hearing 6 p.m., Oct. 7 on gray trout (weakfish) at commission headquarters, 2600 Washington Ave, Newport News.

Tri-County (Botetourt, Craig, Roanoke) Wildlife and Forestry Association dinner meeting, Oct. 12, Hunter’s Den on 311, 4 miles south of New Castle, 6 p.m., program on deer by Matt Knox, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ deer project coordinator, guests welcome, $10, reservations required, call Hunter’s Den, 540-864-6701.

Snipe hunting season, Oct. 8-12; Oct. 21-Jan. 30.

Annual Virginia Deer Hunters Association banquet, Oct 22, Kroger Center, Richmond, information from virginiadeerhunters.org.

Woodcock hunting season, Nov. 7-21; Dec. 26-Jan. 9, three per day.

BASS Elite Blue Ridge Brawl, April 15-18, Smith Mountain Lake.

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