Thursday, July 15, 2004
New stamp to open doors for hunters
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
Virginia is close to having a new hunting stamp that could open doors for outdoorsmen to hunt, fish and watch wildlife on certain private land.
Here’s how it would work: Private landowners would sign a lease agreement with the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Sportsmen who purchase a special stamp would be able to use the leased private land. Cost of the stamp would be the same as the price of a hunting license, which is $12.50.
The landowner would receive a portion of the license fees. Hunters would have to have their regular licenses in addition to the special stamp.
The mechanism to set this program up was a bill that quietly passed the 2004 General Assembly.
“This will be our first foray into leasing land for hunting, fishing and wildlife watching,” said Bill Woodfin, executive director of the DGIF. It is a system used in other states, he said.
The stamp system is expected to receive final approval by DGIF at its Aug. 19 meeting. While no property has been publicly designated for the stamp system, Woodfin said about 18,000 acres in the coalfield’s section of the state is under consideration.
The program appears to be a win-win situation. Hunters and other outdoorsmen would benefit, and landowners would gain some return for leasing their property.
BILL
NEW POLICY ON OHV USE
The U.S. Forest Service has announced plans for managing motorized off-highway vehicles on its property in view of growing interest by in this recreation. The agency says it has no clear, consistent policy regarding the use of OHVs.
The proposed rule would create a nationwide policy of travel management that requires each forest to designate a system of roads, trails and areas marked for OHV use. Once in place, these would be the only avenues that an OHV could travel.
Additional information is available on www.fs.fed.us/OHVPolicy.
APPALACHIAN TRAIL BOOKS UPDATED
If you were to list the most prolific writers on the subject of the Appalachian Trail, Leonard Adkins' name would be near the top. The same can be said of Victoria and Frank Logue.
Adkins, who lives near Fincastle, has written a dozen guidebooks, several of them with an AT flair, and the Logues, who live in Georgia, have written three AT books.
Two of the Logues books, “Appalachian Trail Day Hikes” and “Appalachian Trail Overnight Hikes,” were written a decade ago and were in need of updating. The Logues just didn’t have time to do it all, what we Frank being an Episcopal priest and building a new church.
So Adkins became part of the project, updating information on the Virginia to Maine section of the trail while the Logues covered North Carolina to Georgia. The revised books recently went on the market.
This isn’t just warmed over trail hash. Some hikes were eliminated, numerous others were added. “All in all, more than a third of the hikes are new ones from what were in the original book, and well over 50 percent of the text throughout the books is new,” said Adkins.
This is nuts and bolts information, nothing fancy, just copy that is useful to people who want to do their own hikes, whether day hikes or overnighters. Information includes maps, trailhead directions and difficult ratings.
The books are available at bookstores, on-line stores and from the publisher, Menasha Ridge Press, www.menasharidge.com.
BILL
SALTWATER FISHING HIGHLIGHTS
OFFSHORE: The great offshore fishing shows no signs of letting up.
“It’s been as close to the old days at Wachapreague as I can get,” said Capt. George McCullough who works the Janie Mac out of Wachapreague on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. “Fishing has just been spectacular and we’re not having to run very far.”
Boats out of Eastern Shore and Virginia Beach ports have been taking limits of bluefin tuna, but that may be giving way to action on bigger yellowfins. Marlin fishing has picked up and there are decent catches of dolphin and an occasional wahoo.
Most of the success is the result of trolling. Chunking for tuna often is attracting schools of jumbo bluefish, but look for that technique to increase as the season progresses.
INSHORE: Good flounder fishing, with reasonable numbers of fish in the 4-to 5-pound range and an occasional 8-pounder, is providing action in the lower Chesapeake Bay. Flounder are being caught from the Cell, off Cape Charles, to the High Rise of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel, as well as the Third and Fourth Islands of the bridge-tunnel.
BILL
FRESHWATER FISHING HIGHLIGHTS
>Chickahominy Lake is offering excellent top-water fishing for largemouth bass. Some fly-rod anglers are landing and releasing 15 or more bass per outing. A few of these fish press beyond the 5-pound mark. The bass also are hitting spinnerbaits and plastic worms.
>Blue catfish action has resumed in the tidal section of the James River near Richmond. Many fish in the 20-pound range are being landed. Some weigh more than 50 pounds. John Lott of Charlottesville landed a 58-pounder.
>Virginia’s major smallmouth bass streams are hitting their summer stride, which means decent fishing for anglers casting soft baits and top-water lures during low light periods. Some streams have been a tad high for the best sport during the earlier season. Anglers may notice a scarcity of medium-size bass, the result of recent drought years, which hurt production.
JACK RANDOLPH
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>The snakehead fish count from the Potomac River continues to rise, reaching 14 the past weekend.
>Over 1,000 new fishing-related products are expected to be introduced during the July 14-16 International Convention of Allied Sports Fishing Trades (ICAST) Show in Las Vegas, which observers say represents a new spirit of enthusiasm for the fishing industry. One of the items is a new Berkley line that is reported to be virtually invisible underwater yet is gold colored in the sunlight, thus the angler can see it and the fish can’t. It is called Vanish Transition.
>The National Shooting Sports Foundation says it aims to keep hunting and shooting interest before outdoorsmen through its new website as the election approaches: VoteYourSport.com.
>Smith Mountain Lake had its third boating fatality of the year when a 33-year old South Carolina woman died after her rented personal watercraft collided with a 39-foot powerboat. One of the lake’s earlier fatalities also involved a personal watercraft.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
The Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament has its first bluefin tuna entry of the season and there are new leaders in the cobia, croaker and sheepshead categories. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 95 pounds, Joseph Roub, Baltimore, Md., Hog Island Bay.
COBIA: 88 pounds, James Neill, Lanexa, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
CROAKER: 5 pounds, Jarvis Taylor, Richmond, lower York River.
DOLPHIN: 43 pounds, 6 ounces, Steve Richardson, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 13 pounds, 8 ounces, Mark Roberts, Virginia Beach, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TROUT: 12 pounds, 12 ounces, Greg Thayer, Gloucester, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 14 ounce, Bobby Smith, Portsmouth, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
POMPANO: 1 pound, 10 ounces, Varnell Williams, Virginia Beach off Virginia Beach.
SEA BASS: 6 pounds, 14 ounces, Mark Fueller, Rio Grande, N.J., off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPHEAD: 15 pounds, 9 ounces, Mike Firestone, Virginia Beach, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 13 pounds, 10 ounces, Jake Mapp, Franktown, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPECKLED TROUT: 12 pounds, 14 ounces, Ivan Hutton, Virginia Beach, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 4 ounces, Gilbert Smith, Charles City, lower Rappahannock River.
STRIPED BASS: 63 pound state record, Carolyn Brown, Virginia Beach, off the Virginia Coast.
TAUTOG: 22 pounds, 9 ounces, Julie Ball, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
TUNA: 112 pounds, 4 ounces, Alan Ellison, Fruitland, Md. off Eastern Shore.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Deltaville Chapter of the Coastal Conservation Association meeting, speaker is Jack Travelstead, VMRC’s chief of fisheries, will address menhaden , social at 5 p.m., dinner follows, program at 7 p.m., RSVP/information David Nobles, dinobles@aol.com.
Virginia Trappers Association’s Convention and Sportsman’s Show, July 23-25, Luray, $5 admission, primitive camping available, information from Bryan Nelson, redfox12172@netscape.net.
The Triangle Bowhunters of the New River Valley has announced it schedule of three 3-D archery events on its property between Christiansburg and Blacksburg. Dates for the events are July 25, Aug. 22 and Sept. 19. Information is available from vfaa.ogr or from Jim Overfelt, jimo@vt.edu.
Bassmaster Classic, July 30-Aug. 1, Lake Wylie/Charlotte, N.C.
Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, Aug. 13-15, Richmond.
Mother-Daughter Outdoors Event, Aug. 20-22, Appomattox, opportunity for women 9 and up to learn outdoor skills. Information from gif.state.va.us/events/
Virginia Outdoors Weekend, Sept. 17-19, for families, Westmoreland State Park, information from dgif.state.va.us/events/
Smith Mountain Striper Club fall tournament, Oct. 9., information from Rex Smith, smithrex@charter.net.
CITGO Bassmaster Open tournament, Oct. 14-16, Smith Mountain Lake.
Got an event? Let us know: xtails@earthlink.net
