Thursday, December 08, 2005
CWD update
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
West Virginia officials have found an additional deer that tested positive for Chronic Wasting Disease (CWD). This makes a total of five deer in that state carrying this highly contagious and fatal disease.
The latest discovery was found about 4 miles from the Virginia line, according to Bob Duncan, chief of the wildlife division of the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. All five of the deer have been in about a 5-mile radius of each other.
Virginia officials have collected the heads of 550 deer for testing from Clarke, Frederick, Londoun and Shenandoah counties. Tests of the first 70 have come back with no indication of CWD.
All tests are expected to be completed by mid-December.
BILL
THE REAL FIGHTING GOBBLERS
Is the wild turkey destined to become the next nuisance wildlife species in suburban areas, following the whitetail deer and Canada goose? That’s a question raised by Wall Street Journal, which carried a recent front-page article about wild turkeys attacking people.
These birds have a reputation of being shy and illusive, but the Journal contained accounts of them attacking a dirt-bike rider, joggers and others. One Massachusetts Wildlife Department official near Boston said she had received 25 calls this year about aggressive turkeys.
I asked Gary Norman, the turkey biologist for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, if there were similar reports in Virginia.
"We’ve had two," Norman said. "One in Verona where a group of gobblers took up residence on a street and harassed children. The other was in Southwest (Virginia) involving gobblers that were not afraid of people and were attacking individuals."
There also have been non-aggressive instances, such as one where turkeys were roosting on cars.
BILL
SPEED LIMIT BAD IDEA
Smith Mountain Lake isn’t likely to get the boating speed limits recommended by an 11-member Smith Mountain Lake Water Safety Task Force. At a public meeting near the lake Tuesday, Col. Gerald Massengill, interim director of DGIF, told the Task Force that he would not support speed limits. DGIF backing would be vital for limits to succeed.
The concept was pretty much of a dead issue from the beginning, but it does not mean that the Task Force has failed. Indeed, the group has drawn attention to safety issues at the lake. What it likely will get is what it needs most, more game wardens to patrol the heavily boated 20,000-acre lake.
Perhaps the biggest victory in this issue is the good chance that DGIF will get full funding of Virginia’s 2-percent watercraft sales and use tax. During the past three years, some of this money has been diverted to non-boating expenditures by the General Assembly. These funds should be used for boating safety efforts, including more warden patrols.
Also likely to receive considerable attention is mandatory boating education for boat operators. Massengill is recommending that training be phased in over an eight- to 10-year period. This is similar to how mandatory hunter education evolved. It started with youngsters and new hunters.
Massengill presented an excellent idea to the Task Force concerning boating education. Why not let it begin by requiring violators of boating laws to complete a course as part of their penalty, he suggested. Let’s do it!
BILL
GUIDES HAVE GOOD YEAR ON NEW
The 2005 smallmouth bass season has been excellent on the New River, according to year-end reports from two guide services.
“We caught a lot of good fish,” said Blane Chocklett, of Blue Ridge Fly Fishers, a fly shop and guide serviced headquartered in Roanoke, Va.
Smallmouths in the 18- to 20-inch range were abundant, Chocklett said. A highlight of the season was guiding one angler who landed 10 bass 18 inches or longer during a single trip.
Mike Smith, who operates Greasy Creek Outfitters, headquartered in Floyd County, reports that 2005 was an excellent year for his guide service. He and his staff ran more than 150 trips and registered nearly 50 trophy fish, including 32 smallmouth bass, six walleye, one muskie, nine rainbow trout and one brook trout.
The top smallmouth was a 6-pounder that measured 23 inches. Three other smallmouths measured 22 inches.
BILL
NOW ABOUT THOSE APPETIZERS
At the time, it seemed like a good plan. With the Outdoor Writers Association of America scheduling a board meeting in Roanoke, Va., the weekend before Christmas, I would open our house to a social for my fellow writers and Mark Taylor, outdoor editor of the Roanoke Times, would provide appetizers.
No sweat, he said. He would bring venison appetizers.
That was back before the hunting season began. Now, after the bow season, the muzzleloading season and the general firearm’s season, Taylor is confessing that he is yet to kill a deer, which is pretty significant if you plan to provide venison appetizers.
Saving Taylor’s hide is the fact that the late bowhunting season opened Monday. Never mind, Mark, that the deer have been honed to the ways of hunters since early October. I’m holding a spot on our table for those venison appetizers.
BILL
KERR PRODUCING HEFTY CATCHES
Cold-weather fishermen have been enjoying hefty catches at Kerr Lake. An 18.5-pound striped bass was weighed at the lake’s Bobcat tackle shop.
The shop sponsored a crappie contest the past weekend, which was won with a 10-fish catch that weighed 13 pounds. Two of the crappie weighed 2.82 and 2.43 pounds. The crappie are reported to be holding at 8- to 20-foot depths.
The Bobcat also reported weighing a 36-pound flathead catfish.
JACK RANDOLPH
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
* Veteran striped bass fisherman Mike Smith notes that the parasite problem appears to be declining in striped bass at Smith Mountain Lake. “Some fish are completely free of them and some (parasites) have moved deeper in the gills,” Smith said.
* The Virginia BASS Federation said it would not support legislation that would place speed limits on boats using Smith Mountain Lake.
* Carolyn Brown, a well-known Virginia Beach angler, landed a 44-inch striped bass, which was her 100th such citation. She is the first woman and the third angler to reach this milestone. Striper fishing has improved along the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel were fish up to 50 pounds have been caught.
* Volunteers have tagged 87,000 fish in Virginia saltwater the past 11 years, and more than 10 percent have been recaptured. The tagging is part of a program by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. The commission is looking for anglers who want to participate. Details can be obtained from mrcswt@visi.net. Participants must complete training. Species targeted include black drum, black sea bass, cobia, flounder, gray triggerfish, red drum, sheepshead, spadefish, speckled trout and tautog.
* A federal judge in New York City has ruled that the city may ignore federal law and go ahead with its lawsuit against firearms companies. Firearms industry defendants say they will appeal the decision.
* Hunters shot a record 3,331 black bears during Pennsylvania’s recent three-day season. The figure does not include kills on several wildlife management units that previously took place. The largest bear checked was a massive 733-pound male. Fourteen bears were taken that had estimated live weights in excess of 600 pounds.
* Mustad, best know as a maker of fishing hooks the past 125 years, has announced it will expand its product line to include monofilament, tools, swivels and fish attractants.
* Yamaha Outboards is playing Santa this month by offering buyers of its new outboards a three-year extended service contract worth up to $2,600 or a $1,000 cash rebate.
SALTWATER TOURNAMENT
There is a new leader in the sea bass category of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 93 pounds, 9 ounces, Willie McWhite, Jr., Richmond, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.
BLUEFISH: 18 pounds, Carolyn Brown, Virginia Beach, ocean off Virginia Beach.
COBIA: 96 pounds, Michael Goodove, Virginia Beach, 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: 2 pounds, Joseph Phelan, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
POMPANO: 3 pounds, 2 ounces, Mark Ottarson, North, Mobjack Bay.
SEA BASS: 7 pounds, 1 ounce, Newman Merritt, Chincoteague, ocean off Eastern Shore.
SHEEPSHEAD: 20 pounds, 12 ounces, Arun Nhek, Newport News, pier of Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel.
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, 8 ounces, Willie Fleetwood, Hampton, lower James 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.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Striped Bass World Championship, coastal Virginia, through Dec. 31, prizes valued at nearly $10,000, information on www.StripedBassWorldChampionship.com .
Late archery season through Jan. 7.
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, 9 a.m., Dec. 14, DGIF headquarters 4000 W. Broad Street, Richmond.
Late muzzleloading season, Dec. 17-Jan. 7.
Richmond Chapter Ducks Unlimited banquet, Feb. 16, Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, details on www.durichmond.com.
Bassmaster Classic, Feb. 24-26, Lake Tohopekaliga in Kissimmee, Florida.
Got an event? Let us know: xtails@earthlink.net.
