Thursday, May 11, 2006
Brothers dominate tournament
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Brothers Jerrett and Garrett Williams of North Tazewell dominated the Big Fish Category of the annual Bill Cochran Youth Tournament on Smith Mountain Lake last weekend.
Jerrett entered the largest fish, a 7.26-pound carp while his brother, Garrett, was a close second with a 7.24-pound carp. Third place went to Billy Houser of Hardy, who posted a 6.08-pound carp.
In the small fish category, Clayton Matney of Roanoke was the winner with a .48-pound sunfish. Second was Ell Moore of Salem, whose sunfish weighed .38-pounds. Elisabeth Taylor of Roanoke was third with a .38-pound fish.
The youngsters won saving bonds and fishing tackle.
The youth tournament was sponsored by the Cave Spring Optimist Club as part of its 38th annual event on Smith Mountain. The winners in the adult divisions were:
LARGEMOUTH BASS: Roger Webber, Bedford, 7.25 pounds
CRAPPIE: Gary Hall, Rocky Mount, 2.12 pounds
SMALLMOUTH BASS: David Marsico, Salem, 4.62 pounds
CATFISH: Don Horn, Writz, 29.94 pounds
BILL
SALEM’S CREWS STILL CRUSING
BASS has called John Crews “Perhaps the hottest angler on the planet.” From Salem, Crews finished tenth in the recent CITGO Bassmaster Elite Series on Clark Hill Reservoir in Columbia County, Ga. He won $13,500 by weighing a catch of 54 pounds, 4 ounces.
The tournament winner was Davy Hite of Ninety Six, S.C., who landed 71 pounds, 12 ounces for the $100,000 top prize.
Crews hasn’t won an Elite event, but has been remarkably consistent, making the final cut three times this season. This has ranked him third, with 1233 points, in the prestigious BASS Angler of the Year standings, behind Michael Isconelli (1296) and Greg Hackney (1238).
BILL
WHAT DO YOU THINK ABOUT DEER?
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries wants to know what you think about deer. Do you want more? Less? Better quality animals? Does your neck of the woods need a regulations change?
The DGIF is revising its Deer Management Plan and a big part of that involves public input. The plan can be found on the DGIF Web site, where you can make comments on the draft through June 16. The site is www.dgif.virginia.gov/draftdeerplan.
The plan, which covers deer populations, habitat; deer damage and deer-related recreation, will identify a framework of what needs to be done, how it should be done and when it should be done, according to Nelson Lafon, biologist of the DGIF.
Input on quality deer management and a decline of deer in the northern Shenandoah Valley is expected to be high.
BILL
PARASITES UNDER STUDY
Parasites remain a problem in Smith Mountain Lake striped bass, but officials still don’t know how damaging they are.
“We are trying to find out if there is any affects to parasite fish beyond just a bunch of tiny holes in their mouth,” said Dan Wilson, a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries biologist.
The research has been a slow process, he said.
“It appears that the infected fish are not as healthy and their respirations rates are higher if they have the parasites,” Wilson said. “We are looking at blood parameters between infected and non-infected stripers for things like immune responses and other things that my affect a fishes health.”
The research is scheduled through next fall, he said.
Some anglers have reported that there are fewer parasites in stripers than observed 2- to 3-years ago. The parasites now appear to be most abundant in the smaller fish, under 25 inches, Wilson said.
Bob Armstrong of Penhook caught a 38.45-pound striper last week that he reported did not appear to be affected by parasites. It was the largest striper from the lake in recent memory and is evidence that not all of the big ones were lost during a major die-off that occurred three years ago. Earlier a 26.76-pound striper caught by Fred Price won the Smith Mountain Striper Club’s spring tournament.
BILL
CWD BACK IN THE NEWS
Just when sportsmen were forgetting about the dread Chronic Wasting Disease, four more deer tested positive in West Virginia a short distance from the Virginia border. That makes a total of nine in the Mountain State.
The new entries in this fatal, neurological disease were detected when West Virginia wildlife officials killed 85 deer in March and April in an effort to monitor CWD. The deer were found in a small area in Hampshire County. No deer in Virginia have tested positive.
West Virginia officials are discussing plans to eradicate some of the deer in the area with a special two-day hunt for antlerless deer in October, but that has not been approved. Officials also are talking about restricting deer feeding and baiting and placing restrictions on the transportation of a deer carcass. Virginia officials already have dealt with feeding and transportation issues.
BILL
BRINGING BACK MOUNTAIN LIONS
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has released a draft plan to reintroduce the endangered mountain lion to its historic range in the East, but officials in Arkansas wonder if that is a good idea.
The draft plan includes reintroducing mountain lions in Alabama, Mississippi and the interior highlands of Arkansas. Federal officials say there is a small, resident group of mountain lions in the Orlando area of Florida, but they are threatened by sprawling development and inbreeding. Some have been hit by vehicles. Wildlife officials say it is time to expand the range.
Virginia is included in the animal’s historic range.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>One angler reported seeing four boats recently fishing with artificial lures in Witcher’s Creek (Cedar Keys) on the lower end of Smith Mountain Lake. Be aware that a special regulation mandates the use of bait with a single-point, unweighed hook in the area from April 15 to May 31. This is done to abate snagging efforts when large numbers of striper crowd into the cove during the springtime.
>It took a 6-pound, 5-ounce flounder to win the $1,500 first-place prize in a Wachapreague fishing contest.
>Greasy Creek Outfitters, which offers guided trips on the New River, Claytor Lake and Southwest Virginia trout streams, is touting a new lodge in Floyd County. The owner-outfitter is Mike Smith, who is the author of several guidebooks on Virginia fishing. His Web site is www.greasycreekoutfitters.com.
>The name Woo Daves hasn’t been showing up recently in BASS tournament fishing news. Maybe this explains why: Woo recently caught and released a 50.5-inch red drum while drifting for flounder off Cape Charles. Daves has a vacation home in the area.
>The Georgia Department of Natural Resources is experimenting with a predatory beetle to combat woolly adelgid, an aphid-like insect that is killing Eastern hemlock.
>Several of the country’s leading hunting, fishing and conservation organizations have delivered a message to key members of Congress raising objections to a proposal to sell public land administered by the U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management. The groups included BASS/ESPN, Congressional Sportsmen’s Foundation, Federation of Fly Fisheries, Izaak Walton League, NRA, Quality Deer Management Association, Ruffed Grouse Society and Safari Club International.
BILL
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
Citations in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament have passed the 700 mark with new leaders in the croaker and flounder categories. Here are the standings:
CROAKER: 3 pounds, 5 ounce, Howard Stutzman, Chesapeake, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
FLOUNDER: 9 pounds, 9 ounces, ED Clark, Hardyville, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay. 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, 1 ounce, Paul Hurtubise, McGaheysville, off Virginia Beach.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Spring gobbler season continues through May. 13.
An 18-hour, two-day class in Wilderness First Aid, May 16 & 17, Blacksburg, includes classroom study, hands-on practice, and results in a two-year certification, $160, registration on a first-come, first-served basis, information: 703 836-8905 or http://wfa.net.
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 Street, 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 Street, Richmond.
National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 23.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Oct. 17, 4000 W. Broad Street, 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 Street, Richmond.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
