Bill Cochran is a Roanoke Times outdoors columnist.

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Bill Cochran's Outdoors

Recent columns

• Hunters and anglers still in the conservation business
• Drum fishing on Virginia’s Coast comes in two colors
• Elk advocate finally gets his day
• Turkeys are plentiful, so why are hunting regulations so tight fisted?
• Column archive

Bill's Mailbag

• Remembering A. Willis Robertson
• Putting down a bear cub brings complaint
• Mail archive

Bill's Field Reports

• Eagles are up; black rail are down
• A. Willis Robertson great name for new DGIF headquarters
• Field reports archive

Resources

• Trout stocking schedule

Mike Smith, who lives in Botetourt County, is proud to admit that he is a varmint hunter, which means deer and turkeys aren’t his favorite targets; rather, groundhogs and crows are.

While set up in one field, Smith watched a coyote checking groundhog holes, sometimes sitting and watching for the emergence of a ‘hog, much like Smith was doing from a longer range.

What Smith was watching, he believes, was a fierce new competitor. In fact, Smith’s records show that the number of groundhogs has diminished sharply, and he pins the reason on coyotes. When coyotes move in, groundhog numbers go down, he said.

Traditional groundhog dens in open meadows and hayfields aren’t as numerous as they once were, he said. Active holes more likely will be found in hedgerows and near building, where groundhogs have a greater chance to escape coyotes, Smith said.

The summer of 2003 was especially hard on groundhogs, he said. Frequent rains delayed the cutting of hay, and that gave coyotes extra time to use the guise of standing hay to mask their stocking efforts.

Some hunters swear that coyotes are the reason that the turkey kill is seeing disappointing growth. The 20-percent decline in the gobbler kill this spring, they say, isn’t just the result of poor hatches, but also the work of coyotes.

I have not heard Gary Norman, the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries turkey biologist, support this theory, but I have had hunters relate that they were stalked by a coyote while working a turkey call. One taxidermist told me that this spring he received more coyotes to mount than he did gobblers.

BIG GAME CONTEST

Hunters who killed a trophy deer or bear during the 2003-04 season or a tom turkey during the 2004 spring season will have an opportunity to have them judged in competition during the 65th Virginia Big Game Contest next month. This is the granddaddy of all hunting contests, the only road to Virginia’s record book.

The event annually is divided into Eastern and Western Division, with the state finals alternating between the two areas each year. The Eastern Region Competition is set for Sept. 11 and 12 at the Southampton County Fairgrounds. The Western Region and State Finals are Sept. 25 and 26 at the Rockingham County Fairgrounds.

Complete details on entering a trophy, on seeing the show, on directions to the shows, on hours and fees can be found on the Virginia Peninsula Sportsmen’s Association website: www.vpsa.org.

REELING IN $1.34 MILLION

If you think the $200,000 for winning the Bassmaster Classic is neat, how about $1.34-million for a single fish? That's what Brett Jamison of Virginia Beach won during the 31st White Marlin Open out of Ocean City, Md. last week.

Jamison, who is 25, was aboard the Canyon Express when he hooked and landed an 84-pound white marlin while fishing 86 miles out into the Norfolk Canyon. It was the heaviest white marlin registered in the contest in 23 years.

Contestants in 377 boats often had to battle choppy water. The top blue marlin was a huge 895-pounder landed by Allen Roys of Stevensville, Va. Roys won an estimated $360,000. His catch was the second largest marlin in the history of the tournament.

These big fish point to a productive late summer-early fall billfish fishery.

WRITER MAKES IT TOUGH ON BILL

Curtis Badger has a way of being tough on his friends. Which of his 33 books, for example, should we choose as our favorite? I’ve always given that honor to his “Salt Tides.” No other book about Virginia’s Barrier Islands that I am aware of can match it. In fact, it is a classic among nature books.

Last year, Badger was out with a new book that gives “Salt Tides” a chase for his best book category. It is titled “Virginia’s Wild Side,” and is a collection of 50 stories by Badger about various outdoor activities in Virginia. It covers fishing, boating, hiking biking and nature in settings from Mount Rogers to Eastern Shore.

I’m particularly proud of “Wild Side,” because I had a minor role in its development. I made some suggestions, and Badger stayed with Katherine and me in our Catawba home a couple of times while he did research.

Turns out I’m not the only one singing the praises of “Wild Side.” Earlier this year the book won first place in the Virginia Outdoor Writers Association book competition. More recently it won second place in the national Outdoor Writers of America Excellence in Craft Award.

It is a fun-to-read book with a wealth of information that even a seasoned outdoor sportsman will find new and useful. But I guess if you forced me to pick a favorite I’d still go with “Salt Tides.” Both books have a prominent spot on my bookshelf.

FISHING REPORT

Greg Rose of Prince George landed 22 shellcrackers weighing up to 1.5-pounds during a recent trip to Little Creek Reservoir. He was using red wigglers for bait.

Dwayne Snyder, owner of the Fin & Skin Shop in Varina, won he Eastern Catfish Championships fished out of Osborne Landing on the James River. His winning catch was composed of blue cats that weighed 53 and 35 pounds apiece for an 88 pound total. His fishing partner was Mary Morse of Varina.

The Catfish Showdown on Kerr Lake attracted 84 boats that weighed 37 catfish for a 982.4-pound total. First place went to Butch Arthur of Baskerville who had a blue cat that weighed 48.54 pounds. Jason Smith of Nathalie was second with a flathead that weighed 44.48 pounds. Third place went to Paige Duffer of Red Oak for a 42.69-pound flathead.

A 10-pound largemouth bass was caught at Briery Creek Lake by David Faulk. Getting almost as much attention was a 2.5-pound crappie from Wilkes Lake, located near Briery Creek Lake in the Farmville area.

OUTDOOR BRIEFS

>The Virginia Institute of Marine Science is among several organization investigation a die off of an estimated one-million, 12- to 17-inch croakers along the coast of Virginia, Maryland and Delaware. Maryland officials blamed the kill on a sudden temperature change in the Atlantic Ocean, but other investigators believe the fish were stressed prior to that. Smaller croaker kills occurred in the Chesapeake Bay several weeks ago.

>Gary Arrington, formerly a regional director of the National Wild Turkey Federation and state game warden, has joined the staff of Hunters for the Hungry. His title is Special Projects Coordinator.

>The new U.S. 17 highway under construction along the eastern border of the Great Dismal Swamp in Chesapeake will feature several wildlife crossing designed to give bear, deer, raccoons and other species safe passage beneath the busy highway. Bears and other animals frequently have been killed on the existing highway.

>The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has approved three new non-toxic shot types for waterfowl hunting: B tungsten-bronze-iron, a new formulation of tungsten-iron, and tungsten-tin-bismuth B. This makes a total of 10 non-toxic shot types available waterfowl hunters.

>Snakeheads fish no longer are confined to Virginia and Maryland. The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission has confirmed the presence of the undesirable fish in Meadow Lake. A total of six snakeheads have been taken from the lake.

>Most of us have a hard time seeing anything of detail at 2,321 yards, but the USMC recently set a world record by firing a 16 5/8-inch rifle group at that distance—never mind the wind was blowing 10 to 15 mph.

VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT

Here are the standings in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament:

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: 14 pounds, 4 ounces, Betty Smith, Chesapeake, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.

GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 1 ounce, Gary Costanzo, Williamsburg, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.

GRAY TROUT: 12 pounds, 12 ounces, Greg Thayer, Gloucester, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.

KING MACKEREL: 21 pounds, 8 ounces, Chuck Riddleberger, Joppa, Md., off Eastern Shore.

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: 19 pounds, 3 ounces state record, Jeff Hutton, Virginia Beach, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.

SPADEFISH: 13 pounds, 10 ounces, Jake Mapp, Franktown, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.

SPANISH MACKEREL: 6 pounds, Ann Barse, Cambridge, Md., off Eastern Shore.

SPECKLED TROUT: 13 pounds, 12 ounces, Walter Kellum, Hayes, Mobajack Bay.

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 (BLUEFIN): 164 pounds, Matthew Abell, Pocomoke, Md. off Eastern Shore.

TUNA (OTHER): 207 pounds, William House, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.

WAHOO: 80 pounds, Alex Hazel, Riva, Md., off Eastern Shore.

MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS

Wheelin’ Sportsman Benefit to teach disabled how to enjoy the outdoors, Aug. 13 and 14, Clarion Hotel in Williamsburg, sponsored by Bass Pro Shops in Hampton and Colonial Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, information from Doug Smith, 757-262-5217.

Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, Aug. 13-15, The Showplace, Richmond, www.sportsmanshow.com.

Virginia Field Archery Association 2004 Championship, Triangle Archers, Aug. 14 and 15, Blacksburg, open to all NFAA members, handicap card required, you may john NFAA prior to registration, registration fee $20 or $45 maximum per family, shoot starts 9 a.m. each day, registration at range 6-10 p.m. Aug. 13 and prior to 8:30 a.m. Aug. 14. Information from James Overfelt, 540-320-0924 or 540-552-8023.

Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Aug. 19, 9 a.m. at department headquarters, 4000 W. Broad Street, Richmond.

Mother-Daughter Outdoors Event, Aug. 20-22, Appomattox, opportunity for women 9 and up to learn outdoor skills. Information from www.dgif.state.va.us/events/index.html.

New River Valley Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation Chapter banquet, 6 p.m. Aug 21, Custom Catering, Blacksburg, single ticket $45, couple $60, contact Chris Kaknis, (H) 540-552-8230; (W) 540-552-5592.

The Triangle Bowhunters of the New River Valley three 3-D archery events on its property between Christiansburg and Blacksburg: Aug. 22 and Sept. 19. Information from vfaa.ogr or from Jim Overfelt, jimo@vt.edu.

Return To Nature fundraiser banquet, features NASCAR driver Ward Burton and “Survivor” all-star “Big Tom,” Sept. 14, Lynchburg, tickets $60, information and tickets from www.ballowx.com.

Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival, Sept. 17-19, Richmond/Petersburg, information from dugof.com.

Mother-Daughter Outdoors Event, Aug. 20-22, Appomattox, opportunity for women 9 and up to learn outdoor skills. Information from dgif.state.va.us/events/.

Eastern Regional Championship of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 11 and 12, for deer, bear and gobblers taking east of the Blue Ridge during the most recent hunting seasons, Southampton County Fairgrounds, details on www.vpsa.org.

Virginia Outdoors Weekend, Sept. 17-19, for families, Westmoreland State Park, information from dgif.state.va.us/events/.

Western Regional and State Championship of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 25 and 26, for deer, bear and gobblers taken during the most recent hunting seasons, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, information from www.vpsa.org.

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.

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