Thursday, October 08, 2009
Wildlife food scarce in West Virginia
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Old Mother Hubbard’s cupboard is going to be bare in West Virginia this winter. The state’s annual mast survey has revealed that the production of acorns, walnuts, beechnuts and hickory nuts -- important food sources for wildlife -- are well below the 39-year average and will have a noticeable impact on the hunting seasons.
Wildlife officials predict the following:
DEER are going to be found in fields.
BEAR will be harder to come by, thus the kill will be lower.
TURKYES will be concentrated around their limited food sources, which often will be at higher altitudes. This means they will be more venerable to hunters and a slightly higher kill is anticipated.
SQUIRRELS will be less abundant in 2010 because reproduction will be impacted by the poor mast crop.
GROUSE numbers are expected to be up.
The mast survey was taken in 290 locations. Some of the hardest hit food producing trees included apples, down 76 percent; beech, 66 percent; chestnut oak, 62 percent; hawthorn, 60 percent; crabapples, 60 percent; hickory, 59 percent and walnuts, 52 percent.
No official report on the mast conditions in Virginia, but I am hearing reports it isn’t bad in some places.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
- The Roanoke Rifle and Revolver Club will have a single day of sighting in for the public this year on its range in Franklin County. The event, designed to help sportsmen get their guns zeroed for hunting, will be 9:30 to 3 p.m. Oct. 11. From Roanoke, the range is reached by crossing Windy Gap Mountain on Virginia 116. At the base of the mountain on the Franklin County side turn left on Virginia 678/ Truman Hill Road.
- Bob Duncan, executive director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, is hosting a meeting Friday in Richmond to establish a DGIF advisory group. A number of leaders of sportsmen organizations have been invited to attend. The purpose, said Duncan, is to get public input on the programs and future of the agency. An advisory group was in place a number of years ago, but was dissolved amid some troublesome years for the agency.
- NRA-endorsed candidates Del. Morgan Griffith and Bill Cleaveland, will be featured at an NRA-Political Victory Fund Friday, Oct. 9, 6 to 8 p.m. at the Roanoke Victory Center on Ogden Road. The event is free.
- In the past, saltwater anglers have found helpful information in the Virginia Saltwater Angler’s Guide, a multicolored booklet distributed by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. The agency says it no longer has the money to print the publication; however, you can find it online.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
Here are the standings in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament:
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
Snipe hunting season, Oct. 8-12; Oct. 21-Jan. 30
Public sighting-in day, 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. October 11, Roanoke Rifle and Revolver Club range. From Roanoke, cross Windy Gap Mountain on Virginia 116, then at the foot of the mountain on the Franklin County side turn left on Truman Hill Road.
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.
Annual Virginia Deer Hunters Association banquet, Oct 22, Kroger Center, Richmond, information from virginiadeerhunters.org.
Youth turkey hunting day, Oct. 17
Grouse season Oct. 24-Feb. 13
Early muzzleloading season, Oct. 31-Nov. 13
Rabbit season, Oct. 31-Feb. 27
Quail and pheasant season, Nov. 7-Jan. 30
Woodcock hunting season, Nov. 7-21; Dec. 26-Jan. 9, three per day.
Firearm’s deer season November 14.
Youth spring turkey hunt day, April 3, 2010.
Spring gobbler season, April 10-May 15, 2010.
BASS Elite Blue Ridge Brawl, April 15-18, Smith Mountain Lake.
North Carolina State University Sport Fishing School, May 30-June 3, 2010, Hatteras, N.C.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
