Thursday, August 31, 2006
Bill Cochran's Field Reports: Deer feeding off limits
Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.
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Beginning Sept. 1, a new regulation will make it illegal to feed deer in Virginia until Jan. 6.
Passed by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, the purpose of the regulation is to puts the skids on the increasingly popular trend of feeding deer, which is a big business in some states.
Virginia wildlife officials are opposed to the artificial feeding of deer for a number of reasons, including the potential transmission of disease, the creation of human-deer conflicts through the taming of wildlife and the boosting of deer numbers in areas where there already are enough of these animals.
Some hunters are disappointed with the new regulations because they think that feeding increases the quality of the deer in their hunting area.
Deer feeding can create law enforcement problems, because it already is illegal to hunt over bait. The line between feeding deer and baiting them can be thin, officials say. For this reason, the no-feeding period generally follows the dates of the hunting seasons.
BILL
APPLICATION TIME FOR PARK HUNTS
Hunt in state parks? You sure can. At least, in several of them.
Applications are being accepted for special lottery deer hunts at Belle Isle State Park in Lancaster County, Grayson Highlands State Park in Grayson County and Kiptopeake State Park in Northampton County.
Belle Isle will hold a muzzleloader hunt Nov. 14 and 15 and a general firearms hunt Jan. 3 and 4. Grayson Highlands has a muzzleloader hunt scheduled Nov. 13 and 14 and a general firearms hunt Nov. 20 and 21. Kiptopeke will feature an archery/muzzleloader hunt Oct. 13 and a shotgun hunt Nov. 3.
Be aware that applications must be received well ahead of time and will be included in a lottery. Details and an application form can be found on www.dcr.virginia.gov/parks/hunting.
False Cape State Park will hold hunts for deer and feral pigs in conjunction with hunts on the Back Bay National Wildlife Refuge. The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries is handling these. Look for application information on vaquotahunts.com. The hunts are set for Oct. 7, 9-11 and 26-28.
BILL
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>Hunters can contribute up to $2 to the Hunters for the Hungry program when they purchase their hunting licenses. Collections this way has been disappointing. License agents just don’t remind hunters of the option. Even at the headquarters of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. I bought three licenses there last week and was not reminded of the check-off option. I can’t totally blame it on the clerk, because I didn’t think about it until I got home.
> For 15 years, Bob Tully operated On Target, a shooting range and gun shop in Roanoke. He could be counted on as a volunteer to work at functions that benefit hunting, shooting and wildlife. Bob died recently at the age of 51.
>Open space is important to Virginians, according to a recent poll conducted by the state. Nearly 78 percent of the respondents said that the state should spend public funds to prevent the loss of exceptional natural areas. Only two percent said open space was not important.
BILL
SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
The summer’s excellent sheepshead fishing has produced a new leader for that category in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Here are the standings for the non-release entries:
BLACK DRUM: 83 pounds, 13 ounces, Charles Porter, Birdsnest, caught at Oyster Bay.
COBIA: 109 pound pending state record, Joseph Berberich II, Hayes, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
CROAKER: 4 pounds, David West, Deltaville, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
DOLPHIN: 56 pounds, 6 ounces, Richard Koch, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 13 pounds, 13 ounces, Lewis Graves, Sr., Fredericksburg, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 15 ounces, Phillip Gaskins, Chesapeake, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TROUT: 12 pounds, 4 ounces, Marvin Williams III, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
KING MACKEREL: 33 pounds, Patrick Beattie, Foster, off Virginia Beach.
KINGFISH: 2 pounds, 2 ounces, Any Backowski, Chesapeake, off Virginia Beach.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 2 ounces, Steve Harding, Norfolk, off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPSHEAD: 17 pounds, 13 ounces, Arun Nhek, Newport News, lower western Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 14 pound state record, Austin Edwards, Powhatan, Cell in the Chesapeake Bay.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 5 pounds, 8 ounces, Michael Mayhugh, Nokesville, lower Potomac River.
SPECKLED TROUT: 12 pounds, 1 ounce, Barclay Shepard, Poquoson, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 4 ounces, Michael Mihalcoe, Gloucester, lower York 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.
TUNA, BLUEFIN: 168 pounds, Cory Cinque, Annapolis Md., off Eastern Shore.
TUNA: 260 pounds, John Travers, Damascus, Md., off Eastern Shore.
WAHOO: 83 pounds, William Cooke II, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Early season for resident Canada geese, Sept. 1-25, five daily limit.
Dove season opens Sept. 2 and the first portion continues through Sept. 23. Follow-up dates are Oct. 7-Nov. 4 and Dec. 28-Jan. 15.
Rail hunting season is Sept. 8-Nov. 16.
Eastern Region Championship Virginia Big Game Show, Sept. 9 and 10, Southampton County Fairgrounds, Franklin, information from vpsa.org.
Tri-County (Botetourt, Craig, Roanoke) Forestry & Wildlife Association pot-luck party, Sept 10, 2 p.m., Brae Lock Farm near Explore Park, bring covered dish, horseshoes, fishing, shooting, hiking deadline for reservations is Sept. 1, contact Ellen Horn at Hunters Den, 540-864-6701.
Smith River Trout Unlimited meeting, Sept. 7, 7 p.m. at Ranias Restaurant in Martinsville, program on trout in the classroom, public is welcome, more information from Al Kittredge.
National Hunting and Fishing Day, Sept. 23.
Western Region and State Championship Virginia Big Game Show, Sept. 23 and 24, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, information from vpsa.org.
Philpott Lake Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society inaugural sportsmen banquet, Oct. 6, Bassett Country Club, 6 p.m., information/tickets from Robert Woods.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Oct. 17, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA banquet, 5:30 p.m., Oct. 21, Salem Civic Center, tickets $40; $70 for couples, information from Mike Kessler, 540-884-2917, or Harvey Bulaski, 540-343-9040.
Bassmaster Northern Open, Smith Mountain Lake, Oct. 26-28, information on bassmaster.com.
Woodcock season Nov. 4-18; Dec. 23-Jan. 6.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Dec. 12, 4000 W. Broad St., Richmond.
Western Virginia Sports Show, Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, Feb. 16-18.
BASS Elite Series, June 7-10, 2007, Smith Mountain Lake, information from bassmaster.com.
Got an event? Let us know: xtrails@earthlink.net.
