Thursday, July 21, 2011
Bill Cochran's Field Reports: Jackson River fishery access back in court
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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Still another chapter is being written on the saga of the Jackson River, a stream that could be one of the finest public trout fisheries in the East, but is held back by people who want it for themselves.
The latest case involves three anglers who have been charged with trespassing by a developer upstream form Covington who wants to operate a private trout fishery without competition from outsiders along its golf course and second-home development. It claims three miles of the stream bottom through land grants that date back to the 1700s.
The anglers say they lawfully entered the river in kayaks at a public ramp upstream from the developer’s property and remained within the stream banks while fishing downstream.
The developer, North South Development, LLC, has charged the anglers with civil trespass for getting out of their kayaks and wading while fishing in an area posted with “No Trespassing” signs. It is seeking $10,000 in damages.
The case is set for Alleghany Circuit Court July 25. A criminal trespassing case involving the developer and the three anglers was dismissed by a judge in general district court last October.
The Virginia Rivers Defense Fund www.virginiariversdefensefund.org is urging anglers, paddlers and others who love streams to solicit help from Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli, requesting that he protect the rights of Virginia Citizens by participating in the case as a party defendant. At the moment, Cuccinelli has not filed papers with the court or expressed intent to defend the state’s interest. Lawyers for the anglers have asked the court to attach the state as a third-party defendant.
In a news release, Virginia Rivers Defense Fund said if the developer wins its claim on the stream bottom, it could serve as precedent to privatize other riverbeds in the state.
DOVE SEASON DEEPER INTO JANUARY; MORE DAYS FOR WOODCOCK
Sportsmen will be able to hunt doves a week deeper into January, but other than that dove regulations recently set by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries are pretty much the same as recent years.
There is the traditional three-way split season, with the first portion open the Saturday before Labor Day through Oct. 10. Hunting then will be from noon until sunset.
The season reopens Oct. 25-Nov. 5 and Dec. 26-Jan. 14. Last year it ended Jan. 8. Hunting during these dates is from one-half hour before sunrise to sunset.
The daily bag limit is 15.
Dove numbers in the Eastern Management Unit, which includes Virginia, have changed little according to records that date back to 1966. Just how good the season is can depend on how the agriculture harvest meshes with the hunting season.
The woodcock season went from 30 to 45 days in length. It will be open Oct. 29-Nov. 12 and Dec. 16-Jan. 14 with most of the extra days applied to the late season, a benefit to eastern hunters. The bag limit is three-per day.
The rail season is Sept. 10-Oct. 1 and Oct. 3-Nov. 19.
The September dates for the Canada goose hunting are Sept. 1-24 with a generous 10-per day bag limit. Virginia had the option of setting a bag limit of 15 to help control nuisance birds, but thoughts of hunters trying to carry 15 geese out of a field or off the water were a bit unsettling for state officials. Additional fall and winter goose hunting dates will be established when game officials meet in Richmond August 16.
The September teal season is Sept. 19-30 east of I-95 and Sept 26-30 west of I-95. The daily limit is four.
HERE’S WHAT WAS HAPPENING 40 YEARS AGO
During the first six months of 1971, Smith Mountain Lake dominated as Virginia’s top trophy smallmouth bass water, yielding 26 citation catches, including the state’s largest, which weighed 7 pounds, 3 ounces. The top eight smallmouths entered in the trophy fish program were from the 20,000-acre lake.
Smith Mountain got some help from the fact that high water in the spring kept many anglers off bass-producing streams including the James and New rivers. The James was second to Smith Mountain in smallmouth citations, accounting for five.
OUTDOOR BRIEFS:
>Monte Brackenridge has made the woods and fields safer for all of us who enjoy the outdoors. Since 1992, the Clifton Forage resident has personally trained more than 7,000 students in hunter safety. For that he recently received the William Dixon Morgan Memorial Award for excellence in hunter education.
>Seven-year-old Brandon Drewry landed a 79-pound cobia in the lower Chesapeake Bay that is a half-pound heavier than the current International Game Fish Association Small Fry World Record. A record application is being filled out on the catch, according to Dr. Ken Neill, an IGFA representative.
>Say you are in a dove field and know the shooting time ends at sundown, but when in sunset? Now you will be able to find that information, and much more, with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries new mobile application for the iPhone and iPod Touch. The app will get you the latest DGIF news, hunting/fishing regulations, help you locate a launching ramp, will even identify the fish you just caught. You can download the new program at HuntFishVA.com/app.
VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
The first Spanish mackerel of the season has shown up in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 85 pounds, 12 ounces, Saprina Esham, Bridgville, Del., caught at Quinby Inlet.
BLUELINE TILEFISH: 19 pounds, 8 ounces, Tony Levinson, Poquoson, Norfolk Canyon
COBIA: 84 pounds, Kerri Pennybacker, Hampton, First Island Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
CROAKER: 3 pounds, 9 ounces, Jake Didra, Lusby, Md. Rappahannock River
DOLPHIN: 32 pounds, David Barnhart, Virginia Beach, Southern Tower
FLOUNDER: 12 pounds, 3 ounces, Hunter Gray, Chesapeake, Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 8 ounces, Joshua Williams, Chincoteague, off Chincoteague.
KING MACKEREL: 45 pounds, 8 ounce, Jarrod Sergi, Virginia Beach, 26 Mile Hill
KINGFISH: 2 pounds, Lori Bowen, Chesapeake, Sandbridge surf,
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, Gerald Walker, Summerville, S.C. Triangle Wrecks
SHEEPSHEAD: 14 pounds, 3 ounces, Allen Owen, Jr., Virginia Beach, Third Island of Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
SPADEFISH: 11 pounds, 9 ounces, Norong Nhek, Williamsburg Seagull Pier on Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel
SPANISH MACKEREL, 4 pounds, 6 ounces, Neil Lankford, Carrsville, along Virginia Beach
SPECKED TROUT: 12 pounds, 9 ounces, Michael Whittaker, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River
STRIPED BASS: 55 pounds, 1 ounce, James Greenwood, Chesapeake, False Cape
TAUTOG: 16 pounds, 1 ounce, Neal Taylor, Virginia Beach, Triangle Wrecks
TUNA (bluefin) 140 pounds, Jesse Bendily, Virginia Beach, The Fingers
TUNA (other) 267 pounds, 8 ounces, Frank Riganto, Virginia Beach, Norfolk Canyon
WAHOO: 55 pounds, Raymond Garvey, Virginia Beach, 100 Fathoms off Virginia Beach
MEETINGS, SEASONS AND EVENTS
3D archery shoot July 30, Spring Lake Archery Park, Moneta to benefit Hunters for the Hungry, shooting 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. with awards in eight categories. The entry fee is $25 for adults and $10 for youth 12 and under. For information, contact David Merritt at Spring Lake Archery, 540-598-9907 or Gary Arrington of Hunters for the Hungry, 434-665-7658.
Meeting of Smith Mountain Striper Club, Aug. 5, 7 p.m. Moneta Community Center, program on reading fish finders.
Smith River Trout Unlimited Chapter river clean up and cook out, Aug. 6, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., meet at Fieldale Trail Canoe Ramp, information form Darrin Doss.
Whitetail Outfitters 3D archery tournament, Triangle Bowhunters range, Aug. 21, registration 9 a.m. to noon, $12 single, $25 family, $6 kids, awards 4 p.m., range located at 1250 Burley Lane, Blacksburg, information from Jim Overfelt.
Virginia Hunter Skills Weekend, Aug. 26-38, Holiday Lake 4-H Center, Appomattox, basic outdoor skills taught to all ages, $105 includes meals and lodging, register at holidaylake4h.com/upcoming. Sponsored by the Virginia Hunter Education Association, Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Holiday Lake 4-H Center.
Friends of NRA banquet, Aug. 27, Salem Civic Center, information/tickets from Mike Kessler, 540-884-2917 or Al Milton, 540-797-7777.
Early Canada goose season Sept. 1-20, 10 per day.
Dove season Sept. 3-Oct. 10; Oct. 25-Nov. 5; Dec. 26-Jan. 14. 15 per day
Hunters for the Hungry banquet, Sept. 10, Roanoke Moose Lodge #284 (foot of Catawba Mountain on Virginia 311), $25 singles; $40 couples, children under 12 free, 5:30 p.m., tickets or information from Ralph and Lois Graybill, 540-427-5125 or Fred and Phyllis Wells, 540-992-3874.
Rail season Sept. 10-Oct 1; Oct 3-Nov. 19
Western Big Game Contest, Sept. 10 and 11, Rockingham County Fairgrounds.
Meeting of Smith Mountain Striper Club, 7 p.m., Sept. 16, Moneta Community Center.
Whitetail Outfitters 3D archery tournament, Triangle Bowhunters range, Sept. 18, registration 9 a.m. to noon, $12 single, $25 family, $6 kids, awards 4 p.m., range located at 1250 Burley Lane, Blacksburg, information from Jim Overfelt.
September teal season, Sept 19-30 east of I-95; Sept 26-30 west of I-95
Eastern and State Big Game Show, Sept. 24 and 35, Southampton County Fairgrounds, Franklin.
Virginia Waterfowling Workshop, Sept 30-Oct. 2, 22 classes, Holiday Lake 4-H Center, $130 includes courses, lodging and meals, information and registration.
Snipe Season Oct. 6-10; Oct. 22-Jan. 31
Woodcock season Oct. 29-Nov. 12; Dec. 16-Jan. 14
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
