Thursday, October 22, 2009
Bill reveals best time to kill trophy buck
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
When is the best time to kill a trophy buck? Does it have to do with the rut, the moon phase, the weather, the hunting pressure, the day of the week, the food supply, the region you hunt? Maybe a combination of these? Or none of them?
I’ve talked to as many successful trophy hunters in Virginia as anybody, and I’m going to guess that most would say the rut is the most powerful influence on killing a wall-hanger buck.
But this year I’m seeing a lot of articles in hunting magazines that are telling us that most everything we know about the rut is wrong. Of course, this sells magazines.
Now some publications are naming the very days that are the best time to kill a trophy. That’s nice, because it sure saves a lot of time sitting out there in the woods.
The November issue of Outdoor Life states: “The all-time top-five days for trophy harvest are from Nov. 8-12.”
Mark them on your calendar and start asking for these days off from work.
To see if I could come up with a magic formula, I took the top 100 deer in Virginia’s recent state big-game contest and plotted them on the calendar to see what the hot dates were.
Last season’s top trophy day was Nov. 1, which was a Saturday and opening day of the muzzleloader season. Six bucks that placed in the top 100 in the state contest were killed that day.
It appears obvious that the trophy take would be higher, what with it being a Saturday and the opening day of the season, factors that increase hunting pressure. But the day before, the last day of October, four trophy kills were recorded. That would be during the bow season which had been open most of October. Nothing throughout the season matches these 10 trophies taken in two days. They account for 10 percent of the top-100 contest winners last season.
So did the rut play a role or the weather? There wasn’t a moon change, and it appeared to be a bit early for the peak of the rut.
The next single best trophy day was Oct. 4, a Saturday that happened to be the first day of the bow season. It accounted for five trophies in the contest. That probably had to do with bowhunters dealing with deer that had been undisturbed. The first day always is a good day.
The very best run of trophy success for last year was from Oct. 28 through Nov. 22. Trophy deer were checked every day during this 26-day period except Sundays when hunting is off limits.
Past that, Thanksgiving Day was a peak trophy day, accounting for three contest-quality deer. That probably had to do with hunting pressure in eastern Virginia counties where holiday hunting with dogs is a big attraction. In fact, the two days before Thanksgiving and the two days afterwards were productive.
Another modest peak occurred Dec. 1-3. Oct. 25 also was a good day with three bow kills.
So what does all this mean? I’m thinking it means the best time to go trophy deer hunting is anytime you get the chance.
BILL
NOT A ‘SPECK-TACULAR’ YEAR FOR TROUT
Anglers along the coast of Virginia report that the fall-winter speckled trout season has been slow to take off, that many of the fish being caught are throwback size. I talked to one angler who reported catching 11 undersize trout during a single outing, no keepers. There have been a few reports of 4- to 5-pound fish on both the ocean and bay side of Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
Underscore few. Anglers have been saying, “Any day now.”
The leading entry in an Eastern Shore contest sponsored by the Northampton County Chamber of Commerce and Chris’ Bait and Tackle Shop, called the “Speck-tacular” Tournament, is a modest 2- pound, 15- ounce catch by William Heath who lives on Virginia’s Eastern Shore.
The tournament runs though Oct. 31 (information on northamptoncountychamber.com) but “any day” hopes are being dashed by a weather forecast that holds promise of a “Noreaster.”
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
- Hunters afield when the fall turkey season opens Saturday should be aware there is a bumper beech crop this year, and beech mast is a favorite food of turkeys. Beech production is reported by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to be the best since 1992, and those are the last figures I have available. I recall that DGIF biologist Kit Shaffer, a turkey hunting giant of another generation, always placed high emphasis on beech during the early season.
- The Coastal Conservation Association is encouraging its members to support a moratorium on the harvest of gray trout (weakfish). The population is reported to be at an all-time low, the result of high natural predation. The CCA wants a moratorium on both recreational and commercial fishing of this species. Not a single gray trout citation has been registered with the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament this year.
- There are a multitude of bird books on the market, which is good because even a casual birder needs more than one. Few have larger or sharper pictures than the just released “Birds of Eastern North America” and “Birds of Western North America.” The Princeton University Press books by pros Paul Sterry and Brian Small are outstanding and sell for a modest $18.95 each. The photos are of such superb detail you expect them to fly off the pages.
- Jeff Freeman of Max Meadows is the Virginia entry in the Bassmaster Federation Nation Championship set for Oct. 28-30 on Harris Chain of Lakes, Florida. The 56 contest anglers will be competing for a spot in the Bassmaster Classic.
- Has the slow economy caused a drop in fishing license sales? Maybe just the opposite. Sales are up nationwide 7.7 percent this year. That was the best single-year increase since 1970. The slower economy may have given sales a boost by creating more time for fishing, said the American Sportfishing Association.
- When I purchased a package of jig heads from a popular tackle shop recently, I thought something looked different. There were four lures in the package with a $2.99 price tag. Back home, I compared this to a purchase I’d made several months earlier. Same brand, same size jig head, same color, same weight, same price tag. The difference, my most recent purchase had one fewer lures in the package.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
With the 2009 Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament heading toward the home stretch, so far anglers have not weighed in a single qualifying bluefish. 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: 5 pounds, 1 ounce, Thomas Shepard, Virginia Beach, Hanks Wreck.
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
Board meeting of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Oct. 22, 9 a.m., DGIF headquarters 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
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
Benefit bass tournament organized by Greg Bowman in behalf of a 34-year old friend with cancer, Oct. 25, Smith Mountain Lake, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., headquarters at Smith Mountain Lake State Park, $60 per boat entry fee, 70 percent payback, 30 percent goes to the cancer victim and $10 toward a big fish prize in largemouth and smallmouth division. Information from Bowman at 540-570-0213. Sign up at the lake beginning 5:30 p.m. on day of the tournament.
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.
Smith River Trout Unlimited meeting, Dec. 3, 6:30 p.m. at Rania’s Restaurant in Martinsville, program by Scott Smith, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ biologist on the Smith River fishery, guests welcome, meals available, information from Al Kittredge or smithrivertu.com.
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.
