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Bill Cochran

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BILL: Thank you for sharing the Billy Leonard squirrel hunting remembrance. I would like to read other articles about this gentleman. Is there an archive somewhere I can read via the Internet?

CARL: The Billy Leonard articles appeared in magazines and in The Roanoke Times more than 25 years ago and are not available via the Internet.

BILL: Read your article on Billy Leonard this morning. He used to be a regular visitor to Creasy’s Gun Shop (in downtown Roanoke) this time of the year. You are bringing back those old memories again.

BILL: I appreciated the article this past week; it helped bring back old memories of my past joys.

Unfortunately, I will not be entering the woods this year due primarily to Virginia’s current Sunday hunting ban. After four years, my daughter and I no longer enjoy being afield. Being restricted by school and work responsibilities, and having only on a Saturday to hunt, leads to miserable results and frustrations.

My hunting dogs are getting old and their days are getting limited. I have experienced much pride and awe watching my dogs freeze on a covey of quail or retrieve waterfowl. Unfortunately, Virginia’s bobwhites are declining, apparently as hunter numbers also decline nationwide.

Perhaps one day Virginia will allow its residents and visitors the opportunity to enjoy the hunting lands the entire weekend.

BILL:

I see where an invasive algae called “Didymo” or “Rock Snot,” as fisheries people refer to it, has been found in the upper Jackson River tailwater section below Lake Moomaw. It looks like this pest will be tough on aquatic insects and other organisms in the river that are necessary for healthy trout populations. It sounds like this stuff can be spread pretty readily via boots, boats and the like. How concerned are our fish biologists on it spreading?

JOHN: I handed your question to Department of Game and Inland Fisheries’ biologist Scott Smith. His reply:

“At this time Didymo has been found in Virginia in the Jackson, Smith and North Fork of Pound Rivers. You’ll notice that it always seems to be below cold tailwaters. This is the same pattern as seen in other southern states, including Tennessee and Arkansas.

“This means that it may be unlikely to spread anywhere else in Virginia, and that it already is in all the places that it’s likely to show up.

“As for the impacts to fish/bugs, nobody seems to know what to expect so far. There’s been some evidence that it changes the composition of the benthic community, resulting in fewer mayflies and more midges, but even this isn’t consistent around the country. From what I know, there haven’t been any consistent impacts to fish from this stuff. Some places have seen declines in fish number after Didymo, while other actually have seen increases. The jury is still out on possible impacts to fish.

“At this point, we are trying to spread the word to anglers on how to avoid spreading Didymo. We are producing posters and wallet cards for distribution and are working up something for our Web site. However, given what we currently know, it doesn’t appear likely that Didymo will turn up in other Virginia streams anytime soon. This may change, but at the present time it looks like it is already in most of the suitable locations where it is likely to thrive. Nevertheless, we are going to attempt to inform river users on how not to spread it any further.

“I wish I could tell you more about this stuff, but we all are early in the learning process. It is a terrible nuisance for anglers, but nobody has seen any problems with the fish.”

Our thanks to Scott Smith.