Thursday, March 30, 2006
Striper is a state record
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
It didn’t take long for Clay Armstrong of Mechanicsville to realize that the big striped bass he heaved into his boat on March 4 was a potential saltwater state record. Once the catch was onboard he and his fishing partners, Michael Lowery and Cameron Gray, headed for the scales at Rudee Inlent.
The 52-inch fish weighed 68 pound, 1 ounce.
Officials took three weeks to certify that the catch was a Virginia record, having recently adopted a go-slowly policy regarding potential record catches. Monday that certification came from Claude Bain, director of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament.
The previous record was a 63-pound, 8-ounce fish taken off Wachapreague, Jan. 2, 2005 by Paul Kleckner of Greenbackville.
Armstrong’s fish was hooked just after he and his partners deployed their spread of four trolling rods amid a bunch of diving gannets south of Sanbridge off Virginia Beach. All four rods immediately bowed under the weight of fish.
The all-tackle world-record striper weighed 78 pounds, 8 ounces and was taken in Atlantic City New Jersey in 1982. A 112-pounder was caught in a seine off Cape Cod, Mass., in 1889.
BILL
MUZZLELOADERS MUZZLED -- AGAIN
Hunt club members cheered when the Southampton County Board of Supervisors shot down a planned public hearing on an amendment that would have allowed the state muzzleloading season to take place in their country. The black-powder season is a popular event across the state, but is blocked in Southampton County by hunt clubs who prefer to pursue deer with dogs.
People who would like to hunt during the special season are denied that right, even on their own property, and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries loses much needed revenue from potential muzzleloading license sales. As for the dog clubs, one day they will need all the friends they can muster, muzzleloaders included.
Several supervisors said they voted against the proposed hearing because it was evident that a number of their constituents opposed muzzleloading hunting. The supervisor’s meeting drew an overflow crowd.
“People who want to hunt with black-powder guns can go to surrounding counties,” said one opponent.
But that is missing the point. If a major hunting season can be flaunted in Southampton, what is to keep other counties from picking and choosing which seasons they want? If that were to occur, chaos would be the result.
BILL
FISHING REPORT
>Mark your calendar for a fantastic croaker fishing year. While it is real early in the season, swarms of croaker are reported to be coming into the Chesapeake bay. There have been some early catches, even though croaker really don’t get cranked up until summertime.
>Alewives are the hot bait at Smith Mountain Lake. Largemouth bass weighing 3 to 6 pounds are hitting alewives fished behind planer boards near the surface over deep water. Stripers up to 18 pounds are being caught on free-lined alewives. One angler landed a 40-inch, 16.5-pound muskie on an alewife fished behind a planer.
>A 72-pound blue catfish was the winning catch in the Hopewell/Prince George Chamber of Commerce Catfish Tournament, which attracted more than 100 boats.
>At Kerr Lake, a crappie tournament out of Bobcat tackle shop was won by a 10-fish string that weighed 19.59 pounds. The largest fish was 2.69 pounds. Some crappie in Kerr have spawned out.
>Briery Creek Lake continues to turn out jumbo-size largemouth bass. One of the largest recent catches weighed 11 pound, 1.5 ounces.
>Jeff Wilson of Powhatan landed an 8-pound, 3-ounce largemouth bass at Lake Chesdin, where anglers have been doing well on bass, crappie and pickerel.
>Low, clear and cold water seems to be slowing the state’s herring and shad runs. Low stream flows also are impacting trout fishing in some areas.
BILL
CELEBRATING OPENING DAY
Trout season once had an opening day that attracted thousands of anglers, resulting in tangled lines, tangled traffic and, sometimes, tangled nerves. But many anglers loved it and miss the big affair now that Virginia has a year-round season.
For old-time sake, the Department of Game and Inland has a Heritage Day, when select streams and impoundments are closed briefly for stocking, then reopened. That reopening takes place 9 a.m. Saturday (April 1) at 16 areas.
Expect crowds, but Department of Game and Inland Fisheries officials say the program really hasn’t grown like they expected. Crowds are about 25 percent of what they were on the steams when there was an opening day.
“Heritage Day has not proven to be as popular as we expected,” said Larry Mohn, DGIF fisheries biologist.
Streams and impoundments in the Heritage Day program are:
Beartree Lake and Clinch Mountain fee fishing area, Washington County
Bark Camp Lake, Scott County
Cripple Creek (Ravens Cliff), Wythe County
Crooked Creek fee area, Carroll County
Douthat Lake, Bath County
Jennings Creek, Botetourt County
Lake Whitten, Tazewell County
Liberty Lake, Bedford /County
Lincolnshire Lake, Tazewell County
Middle Fork Holston River, Smyth County
Passage Creek, Shenandoah County
Pedlar River (upper), Amherst County
Pigg River, Franklin County
Rose River, Madison County
Tinker Creek, Roanoke City
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is scheduled to dedicate its new 2,800-acre Featherfin Wildlife Management Area April 6. The facility is located in Prince Edward, Appomattox and Buckingham counties and includes 10 miles of frontage on the Appomattox River.
>Avid turkey hunter Carson Quarles, who lives in Roanoke County, killed the largest turkey gobbler of his career during a trip to White Oak Plantation in Tuskegee, Ala. It weighed 23 pounds; had a beard of 12 1/8 inched and spurs of 1 and 5/16th inches. It was estimated to be 4 to 5 years old and was believed to be the highest scoring tom ever taken at White Oak. It will be displayed in the facility’s lodge. Quarles is a former board member of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
>Outgoing Interior Secretary Gale Norton moved to expand the influence of hunting and outdoor sports organizations by forming a Sporting Conservation Council. The 12 members will advise federal agencies on conservation and outdoor issues. Included are representatives of the Ruffed Grouse Society, National Wild Turkey Federation, Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation, Boone and Crockett Club of America and Ducks Unlimited.
>One of the top names in bass fishing, Kevin VanDam, winner of the 2005 CITGO Bassmaster Classic, has been disqualified from the Elite Series, Santee-Cooper (S.C.) Showdown, for allowing his non-boater partner to dive his boat while he was on the deck looking for bass beds. VanDam said he was unaware of the BASS rule that says a non-boater only can drive in an emergency.
>Hunting Camp Journal magazine and Thompson Center Arms Co. want to award the hunting camp that best demonstrates wildlife and land stewardship, camp management and hunter heritage. If you think your camp might qualify, check for information on www.huntingcampjournal.com.
>The National Wild Turkey Federation is offering a discounted $10 membership to active duty military personnel.
>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has published a notice inviting public comment and participation as part of the scoping process in drafting a Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement on the hunting of migratory birds. Comments can be set to www.huntingseis@fws.gov. Information is available at www.fws.gov/migratorybirds/fedreg/MGBHR.HTML.
BILL
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
The Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament standings:
FLOUNDER: 9 pounds, caught by David Butler, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 2 ounces, Steve Harding, Norfolk, off Virginia Beach.
SPECKLED TROUT: 12 pounds, 1 ounce, Barclay Shepard, Poquoson, Elizabeth River.
STRIPED BASS: 68 pounds, 1 ounce state record, Clay Armstrong, Mechanicsville, off Virginia Beach.
TAUTOG: 18 pounds, 8 ounces, Paul Hurtubise, McGaheysville, off Virginia Beach.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Wal-Mart BFL bass tournament, Smith Mountain Lake, April 1, information from www.flwoutdoors.com.
Youth spring gobbler hunt, April 1.
Spring gobbler season, April 8-May. 13.
Virginia Ducks Unlimited State Convention, April 21-22, DoubleTree Hotel, Charlottesville, information from Tom Colligan, TColligan@verizon.net.
Sixth annual Virginia Fly Fishing Festival and Wine Tasting, Waynesboro, April 22-23, www.vaflyfishingfestival.org.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, April 25, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
Annual Downing Ruritan Club David H. Horne Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit Hunters for the Hungry, Richmond, information from Braxton Bell, 804-739-3010.
Annual Bluefish Derby, June 9-10, sponsored by Smith Point Sea Rescue, $5,000 prize for the largest bluefish and largest striped bass; $250 for largest croaker, information from Jett Hardware in Reedville, 804-453-5325.
NRA Whittingon Adventure Camp for youngsters, June 11 for two weeks, teaches shooting and traditional outdoor sports, information from info@nrawc.org.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, June 20, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
Hunters for the Hungry Sporting Clays Benefit Shoot, Edmunds Farms Sporting Clays, Halifax, June 24 & 25, information from Clarence Morris, 434-572-6986.
NRA Whittingon Adventure Camp for youngsters, July 25, for two weeks, teaches shooting and traditional outdoor sports, information from info@nrawc.org.
Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, sponsored by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, Aug. 11-13, Mechanicsville, information from www.sportsmanshow.com.
Smith Mountain Lake Classic and Antique Boat Society Show, The Point at Mariners Landing, Aug. 11 & 12, www.woodenboats.net.
Belvoir Bowhunters 3D Tournament to benefit Hunters for the Hungry, Aug. 13, information from Bob Foster, 703-758-5540.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Aug. 22, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 23.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Oct. 17, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
Bassmaster tour event, Smith Mountain Lake, Oct. 26-28, information on www.bassmaster.com.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Dec. 12, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
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