Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.

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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

It has been a long while since I fished or waterfowl hunted on Back Bay, that 25,000-acre of brackish water wedged against the Atlantic Ocean in southern Virginia Beach.

There’s been little reason to. The largemouth bass all but disappeared. The same can be said of the ducks and geese. The aquatic grass that once grew so thick it could shut down outboard engines all but disappeared.

From the early 1970s to the early '80s, Back Bay dominated the trophy largemouth fishing in Virginia, accounting for well over 200 citations some years. Among them were wall-hangers weighing more than 12 pounds. The fishing attracted anglers all the way from Roanoke and beyond. The shallow water was a hotspot for fly-fishermen.

Waterfowl hunting was outstanding, so good that the then Commission of Game and Inland Fisheries provided an active guide service for hunters.

Then it all disappeared. Too much salinity, too little grass, too much apathy -- all of these things and more. Most sportsmen gave up on it as a lost resource.

Now comes research that Back Bay is making a remarkable recovery. It still has a long way to go. Problems remain, including bacterial runoff from animals and pets. But underwater grasses are expanding, fish stocks are on the increase and waterfowl is talking another look at the Bay. All this was reported at a recent Back Bay Forum in Virginia Beach.

“I caught more bass last year than when I was a kid,” said Todd Barnes, president of the Back Bay Restoration Foundation. “It’s just amazing to see the changes.”

Back Bay accounted for three citation largemouths last season, the most in several years.

The city of Virginia Beach says it is ready to help things along by spending money in pursuit of some of the strategies recommended in a recovery plan.

OPTIMIST CLUB TOURNAMETN APIRL 30-MAY 2

One of the oldest and largest fishing contests in Virginia, the 42nd Cave Spring Optimist Club Tournament, is set for April 30-May 2.

The Smith Mountain Lake event is offering cash prizes that total $15,000. Tournament profits help fund the club’s active youth programs.

This year’s edition is little changed. There will be cash prizes for largemouth bass, smallmouth bass, muskie, catfish, crappie and striped bass.

Tickets are $40 and can be purchased by mail by sending a check to Optimist Club of Cave Spring, Inc., P.O. Box 1276, Salem, Va. 24153. Include the name of each participant, address, phone number and e-mail.

Tickets also are on sale at the lake at Foxport Marina, the contest headquarters, Crazy Horse Marina, Virginia Outdoorsman and Captain’s Quarters; in Roanoke at Minnow Pond and Metro Heavy Duty Distributors (next to the Regional Trash Transfer Station); and in Rocky Mount at Franklin Outdoors.

The contest includes the annual Bill Cochran Youth Tournament, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. May 1. This is open free of charge to kids 12 and under who are accompanied by a paying adult. There will be categories for large fish (carp) and small fish (sunfish). Prizes will include saving bonds.

BIOLOGISTS RANK LARGEMOUTH FISHING

If you are looking for impoundments in Virginia that have the largest population of bass that are at least 15 inches in length, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has some information for you.

DGIF biologists have ranked Virginia’s reservoirs according to the abundance of bass in the population that are 15 inches or more as determined by electro-fishing efforts.

You may notice that some of the larger lakes don’t rank as high as might be expected. That is because smaller impoundments tend to have a hiker sampling efficiency.

Here are the top five lakes in order per district:

SOUTHEAST/TIDEWATER

1. Lake Prince, 777 acres, Suffolk County

2. Oak Grove Lake, 70 acres, Chesapeake

3. Western Branch, 1,570 acres, Suffolk

4. Harwood’s Mill Lake, 265 acres, York County

5. Lake Mead, 512 acres, Suffolk

SOUTH CENTRAL

1. Briery Creek Lake, 845 acres, Prince Edward County

2. Lake Burton, 76 acres, Pittsylvania County

3. Stonehouse Lake, 41 acres, Amherst County

4. Fairystone Lake, 168 acres, Patrick County

5. Carvins Cove, 630 acres, Roanoke County

Note: Smith Mountain Lake ranked seventh, Philpott 10th, Leesville 11, Kerr 15th in the top 25.

SOUTHWEST

1. South Holston Reservoir, 7,580, Washington County

2. Rural Retreat, 90 acres, Wythe County

3. Gatewood Lake, 162 acres, Pulaski

4. Flannagan Reservoir, 1,143 acres, Dickenson County

5. Bark Camp Lake, 48 acres, Scott County

Note: Claytor Lake ranked 6th.

NORTHWEST

1. Arrowhead Lake, 34 acres, Page County

2. Frederick Lake, 117 acres, Frederick County

3. Lake Laura, 44 acres, Shenandoah County

4. Shenandoah Lake, 36 acres, Rockingham County

5. Elkhorn Lake, 50 acres, Augusta County

NORTH-CENTRAL

1. Occoquan Lake, 2,100 acres, Fairfax County

2. Burk Lake, 218 acres, Fairfax County

3. Mountain Run Lake, 75 acres, Culpepper

4. Chesdin Lake, 3,100 acres, Chesterfield County

5. Motts Lake, 160 acres, Spotsylvania County

Note: Lake Anna ranked 7th

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

• Warmer temperatures and a quick green-up have turned on the turkeys. Sportsmen are reporting active gobbling and strutting activities. The season opens April 10.
• You win some and lose some. That’s the case for John Crews of Salem who won the season-opener Bassmaster Elite Series on California’s Delta then failed to make the cut the following week when the Elite Series moved to Clear Lake, Calif. The winner of that event was Byron Velvick of Del Rio, Texas who weighed a four-day total of 98 pounds, 6 ounces to take the $100,500 first-place prize. The series next stop is Smith Mountain Lake, April 15-18.
• A 51-pound, 5-ounce striped bass landed by fly fisherman Richie Keatley of Norfolk has been established as a world record in the 20-pound tippet class. Keatley was casting a hand-tied 3/0 Clouser blue-tinted fly along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced that it will offer an opportunity for landowners to enroll in the Conservation Reserve Program later this year which provides funds for wildlife work on private property. It will be the first general signup since 2006.
• A new study by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science suggests that menhaden in the Chesapeake Bay don’t help clean up the water by their filter feeding activities as was first believed.
• A new Cape Hatteras National Seashore off-road vehicle plan would close two popular areas -- Hatteras Inlet and the north point of Ocracoke -- to beach traffic as authorities try to balance beach use with bird nesting. Of the 68 miles of beach, the proposed plan would keep 29 miles open year-round, close 16 miles and have seasonal closures for the reminder. The plan has brought criticism from both anglers and birders. The 810-page plan is open to a 60-day comment period.

MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS

March 27 end of urban archery season

Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, April 2, 7 p.m., Moneta Community Center.

Youth spring turkey hunt day, April 3, 2010.

Trout Heritage Day, April 3

Spring gobbler season, April 10-May 15, 2010.

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

Captain Zed’s 20th annual Spring Flounder Tournament, April 16-25, Wachapreague.

Virginia Fly Fishing Festival, April 17 & 18, Waynesboro: .

Highland Drummer Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society banquet, April 17, 5:30 .p.m. Blackwell Restaurant, Lewisburg, W.VA. Information from Cnbro47@dishmail.net.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, 9 a.m. April 20 at the agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond

Botetourt Longbeards National Wild Turkey Federation banquet, May 1, Lord Botetourt High School, Daleville, $60 for couples; $45 for singles, tickets from Richard Pauley, Nationwide office, Daleville, 992-1883.

NRA annual meeting, May 14-16, Charlotte Convention Center, Charlotte, N.C.

Virginia Hunter Skills Weekend, May 14-16, Holiday Lake, detailed classes on a number of outdoor pursuits, ages 11 and up, $85 includes meals, lodging and instruction, information and registration.

North Carolina State University Sport Fishing School, May 30-June 3, 2010, Hatteras, N.C.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, 9 a.m. June 8 at the agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, 9 a.m. July 13 at the agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, 9 a.m. August 17 at the agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond

Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA banquet, Aug. 28, Salem Civic Center.

Hunters for the Hungry banquet, Sept. 25, Moose Lodge on Virginia 311 at food of Catawba Mountain in Roanoke County.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, 9 a.m. October 5 at the agency’s headquarters, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond

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