Thursday, September 29, 2005
Virginia sets CWD meetings
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
West Virginia wildlife officials have found three additional deer that they suspect have Chronic Wasting Disease. Lab tests are pending.
The free-ranging deer were found in Hampshire County, where earlier this month a single white-tailed deer was confirmed as positive for CWD. It was found within 10 miles of the Virginia line.
This prompted the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries to increase its CWD surveillance, especially in Northwest Virginia. Plans call for testing as many as 500 deer in the area, Virginia officials say. At this point, the test animals will be those killed by hunters or on the highways.
Three public information meetings have been scheduled in Virginia to provide background on the disease and the efforts to combat it. Hunters and the general public will be told what they can do to assist the DGIF. Information also can be found on the DGIF website: www.dgif.virginia.gov.
A meeting in West Virginia drew 150 attendees who were told of plans to actively collect and test deer. Officials in the Mountain State have tested more than 100 deer and plan to shoot additional animals next week.
The Virginia meetings are as follows:
October 3, 7 p.m., Woodstock, Shenandoah County Board of Supervisors meeting room 600 North Main Street, Woodstock.
October 5, 7 p.m., Purcellville, 130 E. Main Street.
October 6, 7 p.m., Winchester, Frederick County Board of Supervisor's meeting room
107 North Kent Street.The CWD-affected area in West Virginia lies within 10 miles of the Virginia border; 11 miles of the Maryland boarder and 24 miles of the Pennsylvania border.
STATE RECORD SAUGER
Virginia has its first state record sauger, a species that is the smaller cousin of the walleye. William Milton of Castlewood landed a 2-pound, 7-ounce sauger on a live minnow in the Clinch River earlier this month. It was 19.25-inches long.
The Department of Game and Inland Fisheries has imposed a 2-pound minimum-weight requirement for sauger in Virginia’s record system. No one has challenged that until Milton’s catch.
Fish officials say the species is found in Virginia only in the Clinch and Powell rivers in the western section of the state.
NEW NAME FOR WARDEN PATROLS
The word “POLICE” has a way of grabbing the attention of people—even those obeying the law. So the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries plans to mark its game warden patrol boats with “Police” rather than just “Game Warden.”
It will help the public better understand who is responsible for enforcing the law on lakes and rivers, said Col. W. Gerald Massengill, interim DGIF director. Massengill headed the Virginia State Police prior to his recent retirement from that agency.
The idea of giving warden boats a higher profile was voiced at a recent meeting on Smith Mountain Lake, which was attended by an estimated 300 people. The meeting followed the crash of a high-performance boat and cabin cruiser in late August that killed two people.
Warden boats aren’t just going to get a new name, but likely new equipment as well. Massengill is pressing for speed detection devices, he informed participants at the Smith Mountain meeting. Most water, including Smith Mountain Lake, doesn’t have speed limits, but an accurate account of speed can be useful evidence in court when reckless operation cases are being made, said Massengill.
BETTER ACCESS AT MOSSY CREEK
Mossy Creek, a deep, cold meadow stream in Augusta County, will make most people’s list of the “Top 5 Trout Steams in Virginia.” Flowing through private property, the stream’s access just got better. New fence crossings have been installed by Trout Unlimited, The Fly Fisheries of Virginia, Dominion and the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The project was the result of efforts by Seth Sprouse, a Boy Scout with Troop 84 in Stuarts Draft. Sprouse obtained landowner permission for the project, brought the various organizations together and designed and oversaw the work. This earned him an Eagle Scout Badge.
Working closely with Sprouse was Jim Donovan, president of TU’s Shenandoah Valley Chapter in Waynesboro. Dominion, a power company, allowed a number of its employees to work on the project during company time. Dominion adopted Mossy Creek as part of its annual “Putting Our Energy to Work for the Environment” program, said spokesman Dan Genest.
FISHING REPORT
>Trophy largemouth bass, normally a spring catch in Briery Creek Lake, have continued to delight anglers all season at the 800-plus acre public impoundment near Farmville. Bob Driscoll of Farmville recently weighed one at 9 pounds, 4 ounces.
Some anglers at Briery Creek are using huge top-water lures, the kind tossed by fishermen in California after a world record largemouth. They are called Matt Lures and sell for as much as $20.
>The Chesapeake Bay striped bass season opens Oct. 4 and should offer good action early on for small fish with bigger catches building as the season progresses to the end of December. The limit this season is a bit tricky. You can keep two fish between 18 and 28 inches or you can keep one that size and one in excess of 34 inches.
>Kevin Jones of Bethesda, Md. landed blue catfish in the tidal James River that weighed 51 and 43 pounds. Catfish better than 50 pounds also are being caught in Kerr Lake.
>The Chickhominy River has been rewarding bass anglers with abundant catches. Mike Buchanan and P.J. Buchanan of Richmond landed seven during a recent outing while using Mann’s Minus 1’s.
>Fishermen are reported to be doing well with walleye, hybrids and catfish in Flannagan Reservoir.
>Richard Thurston of Mechanisville won a two-day tournament on Little Creek Reservoir with a 26.48-pound total of bass. A two-day contest at Kerr Lake was won with a 28.8-pound catch.
>Jimmy Moore of Chesterfield landed a 7 pound, 2 ounce largemouth at Lake Chesdin.
THINK BASS, NOT CHEESEBURGER
They call him Cheeseburger, but Steve Roberts of Lynchburg had bass on the brain during the recent Mid-Atlantic Division Competition of the BASS Federation. Roberts dominated the event, leading the Virginia team to first place. Using a green pumpkin jig-and-pig while fishing Cobbossee Lake in Maine, Roberts pulled in a three-day catch of 15 bass that weighed 40 pounds, 10 ounces.
Earning top spot on the Virginia team advances Roberts to the Federation Championship in January, where he has a chance to qualify for the 2006 Bassmaster Classic set for February. This will be Roberts first Federation Championship.
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>Virginia will get the chance to show off its birding trail when it hosts the International Watchable Wildlife Conference in Virginia Beach Oct. 12-14. The keynote speaker will be Kenn Kaufman, author of the Kaufman Field Guide Series. William Hartwig, chief of the National Wildlife Refuse System, also will be a speaker. A variety of workshops will be offered. Information is available on www.watchablewildlife.org.
>The non-profit Trust for Public Land, working in behalf of the Commonwealth of Virginia, has acquired 438 acres on the York River in Gloucester County for a future state park. Cost of the land was $3.9 million.
>Charlie Sledd, program development director for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, has been elected president of the National Association of State Boating Law Administrators.
>Bruce Lemmert, state game warden based in Loudon County, recently was recognized by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for his investigative work that helped bring down a wildlife poaching ring that reached from Virginia to New Mexico.
>Kentucky wildlife officials confiscated a snakehead fish from a Hopkins County resident who had bought the banned fish from a Tennessee pet store. The resident not only lost his fish but was fined $25.
>The Women’s Bassmaster Tour preview event has reached its quota of 100 boats. It is scheduled Oct. 20-22 on Sam Rayburn Reservoir in Texas.
>The NRA is urging its Virginia members to support George Allen’s 10th annual Hoedown in Richmond Oct. 1. “George Allen is a loyal and proven friend of Virginia gun owner’s and sportsmen who deserves your support,” the association told its members.
>The U.S. Forest Service reported that Hurricane Katrina damaged or destroyed approximately 19-billion board feet of timber across 5 million acres in Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi. That would have been enough to build 800,000 homes and produce 25-million tons of paper.
>Cogon grass, a hardy weed that has the potential to be more of a scourge than Kudzu, has established a beachhead in the Southeast U.S. The weed has overwhelmed forests in Africa and Asia.
>Actor Bruce Willis has been named winner of the 2005 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation award. The foundation said Willis is an avid outdoorsmen and a strong voice for conservations.
>The Theodore Roosevelt Conservation Partnership (TRCP) and Orion Multimedia have announce the debut of “Life in the Open,” a new hunting and fishing show that will air on Outdoor Life Network October 2 and every Sunday at 10:30 a.m. EST. It also will also air Mondays at 12:30 p.m. EST.
SALTWATER TOURNAMENT
The Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament has a new leader in the Spanish mackerel category. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 93 pounds, 9 ounces, Willie McWhite, Jr., Richmond, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.
COBIA: 93 pounds, Tilford Smith, Newport News, lower western Chesapeake Bay.
CROAKER: 4-pounds, 8 ounces, Elliott Souldourian, Virginia Beach, lower western Chesapeake Bay.
DOLPHIN: 52 pounds, Willi Fenske, Hopewell, ocean off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 17 pounds, 2 ounces, Hopie Firth, Poquoson, lower western Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 12 ounces, James Daughtrey III, Suffolk, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TROUT: 12 pounds, 14 ounces, William Flipin, Hayes, upper eastern Chesapeake Bay.
KING MACKEREL, 47 pounds, Frank Riganto, Virginia Beach off Virginia Beach.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 15 ounces, Pete Ballo, Stamford, Conn., off Virginia Beach.
POMPANO: 3 pounds, 2 ounces, Mark Ottarson, North, Mobjack Bay.
SEA BASS: 6 pounds, 14 ounces, Chad Stoker, Chesapeake, off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPSHEAD: 16 pounds, 8 ounces, Steven Hord, Williamsburg, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 12 pounds, 8 ounces, Jerry Carnell, Jr. Oxford, N.C. upper eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 9 pounds, 2 ounces, Bob Tolhurst, King George, upper western Chesapeake Bay.
SPECKLED TROUT: 11 pounds, 3 ounces, Brain Pomije, Chesapeake, Elizabeth River.
SPOT: 1 pound, 4 ounces, Robert Richardson, Richmond, Elizabeth River.
STRIPED BASS: 63 pounds, 8 ounces, state record, Paul Leckner, Greenbackville, Bradford Bay.
TAUTOG: 18 pounds, 4 ounces, Larry Larue, Virginia Beach, ocean off Virginia Beach.
TUNA (BLUEFIN) 158 pounds, Eric Holum, Silver Springs, Md., ocean off Eastern Shore.
TUNA: 90 pounds, 8 ounces, John Mackey, Virginia Beach, ocean off Virginia Beach.
WAHOO: 83 pounds, 3 ounces, John Hamilton, Norfolk, ocean off Eastern Shore.
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Bowhunting/crossbow season, Oct. 1-Nov. 18 and Dec. 5-Jan. 7.
Virginia Shooting Sports Association annual meeting and NRA Shooting Sports Clinic, 11 a.m., Oct. 1, Holiday Lake 4-H Education Center, Appomatttox, open to everyone interested in shooting sports, no fee, lunch included. For information and registration call (540) 672-5848 or go to http://www.myvssa.org/am.htm
Chesapeake Bay striped bass season opens Oct. 4 and continues through the end of the year.
Roanoke Valley Friends of NRA banquet, Oct. 15, Salem Civic Center, $30 single, $50 couple, 27 firearms and other items to give away, proceeds go to grants and programs for youth and sports shooting programs, information from Chris Kessler, 884-3259.
Meeting of the tournament committee of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament to discuss trends and potential rule changes, Oct. 17, 6:45 p.m., Oceans East Tackle Shop, Virginia Beach. Public comments will be received.
Final action on proposed hunting, fishing, trapping, boating and non-game proposals by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Oct. 27, 9 a.m. DGIF headquarters, 4000 West Broad Street, Richmond.
H.C. Edwards Chapter of the Ruffed Grouse Society banquet, Oct. 28, Augusta Expoland, Fisherville, $55 individuals, $75 individual and guest, information from Matt Smith, 540-432-7732 (W) or 540-459-3559 (H).
Fall turkey hunting season, Oct. 31-Nov. 12; Nov. 24 and Dec. 12-Jan. 7.
Muzzleloading season east of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 5-18.
Wilderness First Aid class, Nov. 5 and 6, Blacksburg, 18-hour, two-day study, cost is $160, registration and information from http://wfa.net.
Muzzleloading season west of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 12-18
Deer hunting season west of the Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 19-Dec. 3
Deer hunting season east of Blue Ridge Mountains, Nov. 19-Jan. 7
Board meeting of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Nov. 29, 9 a.m., DGIF headquarters, 4000 W. Broad Street, Richmond.
Board meeting of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Dec. 16, 9 a.m., DGIF headquarters, 4000 W. Broad Street, Richmond.
Late muzzleloading season, Dec. 17-Jan. 7.
Got an event? Let us know: xtails@earthlink.net.
