Thursday, January 19, 2012
Bill Cochran's Field Reports: Production could lag at striped bass hatchery
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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I remember on May 11, 1999, when the new, state-of-the-art Vic Thomas Striped Bass Hatchery was dedicated on the banks of the Roanoke River near Brookneal. It replaced a 1960s facility that was little more than a shed subject to floods, power outages, a scarcity of funding, fish die-offs and missed quotas.
The feeling of the dignitaries, fish officials and anglers who gathered for the dedication of the new Department of Game and Inland Fisheries facility was that never again would Virginia have to worry about coming up short in its efforts to stock striped bass fingerlings in Smith Mountain Lake, Claytor Lake, Lake Anna, Leesville Lake and other impoundments.
Until now. Words like “shuttering” currently are being used to describe the future of the facility.
The hatchery is without a manager, following the recent retirement of Ken Mitchell, who was with the DGIF for more than 35 years. This lack of personnel could result in unmet production goals.
“The loss of the hatchery manager and other key regional positions places us in a situation where manpower to conduct all of the functions associated with striped bass production are limited,” said H. Eugene Gwathmey, Jr., DGIF Region 2 Lands and Facilities Manager. “We could run into a situation where production problems might limit the number of fingerlings we are able to produce, and this could mean that we fail to reach our allocation levels.”
So why not just hire a new manager and other personnel to carry the workload? After all, money spent at the hatchery is multiplied many times by tourism dollars at the lakes.
Here’s where things get complicated. Even through the DGIF generates its own funding, mostly through fishing and hunting license sales and boat registrations, it currently is under a governor-mandated hiring freeze, just like other state agencies.
A request to fill the position of manager has been submitted by DGIF to the governor’s office, said Gary Martel, the department fisheries head.
“It is a bit early to say much else,” he said.
The potential loss of a year class out of the Smith Mountain Lake’s striper population just when it is on a rebound is worrisome to members of the Smith Mountain Striper Club. The 20,000-acre lake received 327,500 fingerlings last year. The stocking target this year is 300,000.
Bear bill is back
A bill that would dissolve the current combination deer, bear and turkey big game license and give authority to the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to establish a separate license for each of these species has been introduced in the General Assembly with support from hound hunters.
The measure, HB 338, is sponsored by Del. Tony Wilt, R-Harrisonburg, a bear hunter himself who has become the go-to guy in the General Assembly for hound hunters. Wilt introduced a similar bill last year that was shot down when legislators noted that going from one license to three would mean a significant boost in money collected from big game hunters. Many hunters didn’t like the idea.
Wilt’s latest bill would result in a $23 charge for each separate license. The DGIF already has authority to pull the bear tag off the big game license and establish a separate bear license at the cost of $25. That idea received heavy discussion last year, but was defeated by the DGIF board.
Non-hound hunters often see the separate bear license as an attempt by hound hunters to have the resource to themselves, something hound hunters deny.
Outdoors briefs:
- The Virginia Deer Hunters Association is happy with the way the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is organized. In a recent survey, members were asked if they supported a proposal being floated by the governor to consolidate DGIF with another natural resource agency. Ninety-four percent of the members who responded wanted the DGIF to remain independent. Some 81 percent said they were satisfied with the performance of DGIF.
- Six months ago, Gov. Bob McDonnell was scheduled to fill three vacant positions on the 11-member Board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. That is yet to be done and sportsmen are wondering why. Six months from now there will be three additional vacancies. Board members currently are spread thin when it comes to filling committee assignments. The important Wildlife and Boat Committee is scheduled to meet for three hours Jan. 18 with just two committee members.
- Overnight attendance in Virginia State Park campgrounds, cabins and lodges increased three percent last year, the agency’s 75th anniversary. Overall attendance was the second highest on record.
- Members of the Smith Mountain Striper Club are mourning the death this week of Frank Skillman, who served as the club’s tournament director and was a source of information on stripers through seminars and personal contacts. He is said to have fished more than 250 days a year. He won one tournament by catching a striper off his dock while getting his boat ready to launch, said Bob Rowe, president of the club.
- West Virginia reported a deer kill of 132,323 this season, a 24-percent increase over the previous season. The fall turkey kill was up four percent, reaching 1,172. The bear kill of 2,007 was the third best on record, but 16 percent below the record kill of 2010.
- The Ruffed Grouse Society is offering a gift subscription to its magazine and a free dinner at any of its banquets to any women or youth (16 and under) who pass a hunter education course or participate in a Woman in the Outdoors Program.
Meetings, seasons and events
Bass and Saltwater Fishing Expo, (previously the Richmond Fishing Expo), Jan. 20-22, Farm Bureau Center, State Fairgrounds, Richmond, exhibits, seminars, equipment, boats, $8 adults, information: info@ncboatshows.com.
HuntFest, Jan. 27-29, Roanoke Civic Center, features Michael Waddell and Randy Oitker along with seminars, equipment displays, contests, outfitters and various vendors. www.HuntFestVA.com
Board meeting of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, 9 a.m., Jan. 31, 4,000 West Broad Street, Richmond
Smith Mountain Striper Club meeting, Feb. 3, at 7 p.m. Moneta Community Center, program by Jared Key on kayak fishing
National Wild Turkey Federation annual convention, Feb. 9-12, Gaylord Opryland Resort, Nashville
Mid-Atlantic Sports & Boat Show, Feb. 10-12, Virginia Beach Convention Center, www.vaboatshow.com
Greater Virginia Sports and Big Game Show, Feb. 17-19 Rockingham County Fairgrounds near Harrisonburg, www.vasportsshow.com
Southwest Virginia Boat Show, Feb. 24-26, Roanoke Civic Center
Twenty-fifth annual Western Virginia Sports Show, Feb. 24-26, Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, www.westernvasportshow.com
The Highland Drummer Chapter Ruffed Grouse Society, seventh annual banquet, March 3, 5:30 p.m. Blackwell’s Restaurant, Elks Club Golf Course, Lewisburg, W.Va., tickets $50, information from Charlie Brown, cnbro47@frontier.com.
Tidewater Boat Show, March 26-28, Hampton Roads Convention Center, www.agievents.com
Virginia Fly Fishing Festival, April 13-15, Waynesboro, www.vaflyfishingfestival.org
Sport Fishing School, June 3-7, Hatteras, N.C., sponsored by NC State University, classroom and Gulf Stream instruction, information from www.ncsu.edu/cpe/fishing.html
Friends of the NRA Banquet, Aug. 25, Salem Civic Center
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
