Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.

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Bill Cochran's Outdoors

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• 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

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• Putting down a bear cub brings complaint
• Recommendations for Virginia’s Wild Turkey Management Plan
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• A. Willis Robertson great name for new DGIF headquarters
• Big striper smashes Optimist tournament record
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• Trout stocking schedule

Circle May 24 on your calendar if you enjoy fishing for sunfish. “We should see the full moon on May 24 and this should mean great fishing for bluegills,” said Jack Randolph, who posts a weekly fishing report.

May is the month that sunfish -- bluegills, shellcrackers, redears, redbreasts, bream -- go onto their spawning beds. This means they can be found close to the shoreline in shallow water where they are ready to bang at any bait or lure tossed their way.

Sunfish are willing to play the angling game anyway you wish. Their aggressiveness will challenge fly fishermen as well as delight kids dunking worms under a red-and-white bobber.

Where to find spawning bluegills? One of the first spots to look is a farm pond. These offer excellent habitat for sunfish. Most pond owners are happy for you to take some of your catch home, because they don’t want their water to become over populated. The fish are among the most tasty to eat.

While most anglers envision sunfish as a still-water species, some streams hold them. That can be said of the Nottoway, Blackwater and Chickahominy rivers in Eastern Virginia. The Chickahominy is a sunfish hot spot at the moment.

As for lakes, there are plenty to choose from across the state. Lake Mead is producing shellcrackers that weigh in excess of 2 pounds. Briery Creek Lake is best known for jumbo-size largemouth bass, but it also is home of trophy sunfish. Flannagan Lake, in far Southwest Virginia, shouldn’t be over looked, nor should Gatewood Lake in Pulaski County.

LOOKING BACK ON THE TURKEY SEASON

What kind of spring gobbler season was it? We really won’t know until the final kill tally is posted by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. What is known right now, there were 4,528 kills reported via the new DGIF Got-Game phone check system.

You don’t have to look far to find hunters who will tell you it was a tough season. But Freddy McGuire isn’t one o them.

“We had some great hunts this year, and believe it or not, here in Virginia was some

of the best hunting I have experienced in years,” said McGuire. “I worked birds every day and managed to tag out the first week and then put several other hunters on birds.”

McGuire hunted in six states for a total of 30 mornings or days.

“I was in on 17 kills and three misses. I finished the season off right by helping my brother get a gobbler the last day. The gobbler stayed in the tree until 8:55 a.m., but our patience won out and my brother actually let him finish breeding a hen before he killed the gobbler at 9:05.”

Even with this kind of success, McGuire believes it was a tough season for most hunters. On the positive side, hunters saw lots of jakes, which are birds born last spring. These birds should provide excellent sport next spring.

“Hopefully, we will have another good hatch [this spring] to get us back on track for future seasons,” McGuire said. His observations can be found on vaturkey.com.

State biologists say poor hatches have harmed population growth. Last spring, the kill of 14,338 represented a 20-percent decline from the previous season.

MARYLAND STRIPER A RECORD

When Allen Sklar caught a Maryland (coastal region) state record striped bass, he did it the hard way -- surf fishing. The Bishopville, Md. angler landed a 52-pound, 14.4-ounce striper last week while fishing the Atlantic Division of the Maryland Sportfishing Tournament. During the spring striper migration along Maryland’s Assateague State Park, Sklar fishing as much as 50-hours-per-week.

He was watching several surf rods baited with menhaden heads when the 50-inch fish hit. Sklar had started fishing at 6 a.m. At noon he ate a sandwich and through about leaving. He was alone and the trash fish were bugging him. Then one of his three rods bowed under the weight of the biggest striper he’d ever seen.

The previous Maryland striper record also was taken at Assateague. It weighed 52 pounds, 8 ounces and was caught May 2003 by Chris Salp.

GOODBYE TO JIMMY SAUNDERS

When Smith Mountain Lake was impounded, covering bottomland farms with tons of water, many farmers called it quits and moved on. Not Jimmy Saunders. Cows and corn simply gave way to boats and bait. Saunders and his family opened Saunder’s Marina on property they once farmed. It quickly became a major waterfront business on the lake.

Jimmy Saunders died May 14 at the age of 74. The family marina was sold a number of years ago.

Throughout his life, Saunders remained an unpretentious man of the soil. He liked to talk farming; he wore his cap tilted a bit sideways, the tail of his shirt was out and most of the time he was a day past a shave. Yet he made a successful transition to savvy marine operator because he liked people and treated them with respect. That earned Saunders not just customers, but friends.

I was proud to be one of them. During my coverage of the lake’s early years, Saunders was a loyal supporter, as was one of his close friends, Bob Cromer. None of us knew much about big lakes in the beginning, but we learned together.

SMITH RIVER REPORT

The Smith River in Bassett Virginia continues to draw me to its frigid waters where the stream-spawned brown trout and an occasional stocked rainbow make me forget the ache and pains that come with senior-citizen status.

Last Thursday, I waited until it was safe to enter the water up near the dam after the mid-afternoon generation. I was rewarded with a mixed catch of rainbows and browns that numbered well into the double digits.

Mine were all fooled by the Alleworm, a black-beaded nymph that has been very good to me in the past. I also talked with two local fishermen who were having great success with Power Bait while fishing over pods of fish in a couple of holes that the stocking truck visited a week ago.

Friday morning I took a fellow from North Carolina to the Special Regulations section for a half-day of fishing. He was a middle-aged, all-around sportsman who learned to fly fish in his youth, but had only recently returned to it. This was his first attempt to catch a fish with a nymph.

He was a quick learner and ended the morning with an even dozen fish brought to hand. He would have nearly doubled that if he had been a bit more aggressive on the strike.

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

>Two Virginia congressmen are at opposite ends on the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act. One of the sponsors of the bill, H.R. 800, is Rick Boucher, D-Va. Leading the opposition is Bobby Scott, D-Va., who has a background of supporting antigun and antihunting issues.

>James Ben Feinman, 48, a lawyer from Lynchburg, was fined $7,500 in federal count in Arkansas and sentenced to two years probation for illegally baiting a farm that he leased in order to lure waterfowl. The Associated Press reported that the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Feinman used an all-terrain vehicle with a spreader attached to take rice from a dump truck and spread it at night.

> Shoot machine guns? Legally? Even watch? You bet. The Roanoke Rifle and Revolver Club has scheduled its Third Annual Machine Gun Shoot at its Franklin County range on July 2, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Spectators can watch for $2, but must have eye and ear protection which will be available at the range. Some machine guns will be available for test firing by visitors from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Directions to the range can be found on www.roanokerifle.com. Information is available from Mark Steinle.

>If you find a deer fawn, leave it alone. That is the message from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Often this time of the year people will find what they considered an orphaned fawn and take it home. That is the worst thing you can do for the animal. What’s more, it is illegal. Fawns purposely are left alone for lengthy periods by their mothers so as not to call attention to them.

>The 10.5-pound largemouth bass that John Humphries caught from Chesdin Lake was the kind that would put a wide grin on the face of any angler. That grin might have been even wider had Humphries launched at Whippernock Marina rather than at a state ramp. The marina had a big-bass pot worth $1,100.

>The herd of 25 elk released in Wisconsin’s Chequamegan National Forest 10 years ago now numbers 103. The U.S. Forest Service is setting up viewing areas. If the herd continues to expand, officials say, hunting is a possibility, according to the AuCoin Report.

>The US Fish and Wildlife Service has announced that federal assistance allocations to state wildlife agencies for 2005 will exceed $530 million.

>If you are a Lepidoptera enthusiast -- lover of butterflies -- you will delight in a new, user-friendly book titled “Butterflies of the East Coast” published by Princeton University Press.

>The Center for Consumer Freedom last week testified before the Senate’s Environmental and Public Works Committee that highly visible tax-exempt groups, including PETA, the Humane Society of the United States and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, have ties to violent organizations like the Animal Liberation Front and Earth Liberation Front.

SALTWATER TOURNAMENT

Colder than normal water temperatures are being credited with lowering the number of citations registered in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament by almost 50 percent. Here are the leading entries:

BLACK DRUM: 93 pounds, 6 ounces, John Quigley, Baltimore, Md., lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.

CROAKER: 3-pounds, 8 ounces, Russell Owens, Virginia Beach, Elizabeth River.

FLOUNDER: 11 pounds, 7 ounces, Michael Behe, Sr. Franklin, Pa., Wachapreague.

GRAY TROUT: 11 pounds, 2 ounces, Benjamin Thomas, Chesapeake, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.

SEA BASS: 6 pounds, 14 ounces, Chad Stoker, Chesapeake, caught off Virginia Beach.

SPECKLED TROUT: 11 pounds, 3 ounces, Brain Pomije, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.

STRIPED BASS: 63 pounds, 8 ounces, state record, Paul Leckner, Greenbackville, Bradford Bay.

TAUTOG: 15 pounds, 10 ounces, John Scappari, Monroe Township, N.J., ocean off Eastern Shore.

MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries public meeting on hunting, fishing, nongame and boating issues, 6:30 p.m. May 26, Augusta County Government Center, Verona.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries public meeting on hunting, fishing, nongame and boating issues, 6:30 p.m. May 31, Izaak Walton League Building, Centerville.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries public meeting on hunting, fishing, nongame and boating issues, 6:30 p.m. June 2, Virginia Highlands Community College, Abingdon.

Fourth Annual Pigg River Ramble Canoe Race and Second Annual Breakfast on the Blackwater Fun Float, June 4 and 5, information and registration from historicrockymount.com/events/pigg_river_2005.pdf.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries public meeting on hunting, fishing, nongame and boating issues, 6:30 p.m. June 6, DGIF headquarters, Richmond.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries public meeting on hunting, fishing, nongame and boating issues, 6:30 p.m. June 7, Northside High School, Roanoke.

Triangle Bowhuners 3D archery shoot, entire family can participate, June 12, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., information form Jim Overfelt.

Return to Nature fund raising banquet, guests are Richard Petty and Ward Burton, July 19, Cattle Annie’s in Lynchburg, $60 per ticket, funds go for reaching youngsters with a conservation message. Doors open 5:30 p.m., dinner at 7 p.m. Information from return2nature@aol.com. Tickets at 434-847-4671 or ballowax.com.

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

Urban archery season, Sept. 17-30 and Jan. 9-25.

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

Bowhunting season, Oct. 1-Nov. 18 and Dec. 5-Jan. 7.

Fall turkey hunting season, Oct. 31-Nov. 12; Nov. 24 and Dec. 12-Jan. 7.

Muzzleloading season east of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 5-18.

Muzzleloading season west of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 12-18

Deer hunting season west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 19-Dec. 3

Deer hunting season east of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 19-Jan. 7

Late muzzleloading season, Dec. 17-Jan. 7.

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