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Roanoke has a new quality deer management chapter

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Bill Cochran

Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Roanoke now is one of seven localities in Virginia that have a chapter of the Quality Deer Management Association, a national organization committed to improving the health of the deer herd and enhancing the hunting experience.

Twenty-two people turned out recently to help organize the Roanoke branch, evidence that there is growing interest in QDM. Albert Crigger of Roanoke County, a member of the national organization for 13 years, was elected president. He and Jacob Kegley of Bedford spearheaded efforts to start the new chapter. Kegley was elected treasurer. James Hancock, is vice president.

There still is plenty of time for hunters to get involved in the new chapter, Crigger said. In fact, the position of secretary is open, and volunteers are needed to staff a booth at the August 3 Sportsman's Warehouse Expo in Roanoke. The chapter's email is roanokeqdma@yahoo.com

The Roanoke Branch received donations from the Rockingham Branch to help the new chapter get on its feet. One of its first objectives will be to sponsor a fund-raising banquet, Crigger said. Other goals include:

Hosting seminars to educate the public.

Sponsoring field days to examine wildlife habitat.

Hosting youth programs and recruiting new hunters.

Supporting causes such as Hunters for the Hungry and Wounded Warriors.

Other chapters have spent time on antler point restrictions (APR), which seeks to improve the quality of bucks by protecting the younger males. Crigger said that wasn't discussed during the organization meeting.

It was, however, a topic last week at a Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting in Richmond when the agency expanded APR to five additional counties: Alleghany, Augusta, Bath, Highland and Rockbridge.

Tough fishing on James sends B.A.S.S. winner on long run to Chickahominy

Randy Howell won the tough 2013 Bass Pro Shops Bassmaster Northern Open on Virginia's James River last weekend by mashing his outboard throttle forward and running 40-plus gas-guzzling miles to the Chickahominy River to find fish.

Once there, he reported catching 80-percent of his bass on a wacky-rigged Yamamoto Senko soft stickworm. His three day limit of 47 pounds, 11 ounces was worth $1000 a pound.

Don't let Howell's Alabama license plate fool you into thinking he outfoxed the local boys. Howell grew up near Lake Gaston, about an hour's drive from the James/Chickahominy fishing grounds.

Second was Mike Hicks of Goochland with 41-10. Big-name pro Michael Isconelli of New Jersey was third with 41-4.

Kelly Pratt of Williamsburg, the winner in 2011, placed fourth, which is the same spot he held last year. He entered 40 pounds, 4 ounces.

In addition to Hicks and Pratt, two other angers from Virginia made the top 10, Wayne Vaughan of Chester (fifth) and Steve Colgin of Lanexa (10th) .

For Howell, it will be back home in Alabama come February. His win in Virginia qualified him for the Bassmaster Classic, to be held on Lake Guntersville, Ala.

Never heard of John Hutchens? A lot of crooks have

Capt. John Hutchens is the recipient of the 2013 national Guy Bradley Award for his work as a Conservation Police Officer for the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The award is a prestigious recognition that goes to one person in the country per year.

So how come you've probably never have heard of the good captain?

That is because for 31 years he has served as the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries undercover agent. Covert officers simply don't have their names and faces flashed around. But that is OK now. Hutchens is retiring.

So is Col. Dee Watts, chief of the DGIF law enforcement division. He officially has announced his retirement after 26 years with the agency.

Outdoor briefs

The news was so good that Andy Rosenberger sent an email alerting his friends. The message was that Butch and Betty Kelly had heard a bobwhite quail calling on their property in the Catawba Valley of Roanoke County. It is an area where quail have all but disappeared. Rosenberger, by the way, is one of the Virginia quail biologists working to restore this species. I live near Butch and Betty, but have not heard a quail for two or three years. I did hear them this spring in Central Virginia and on the Eastern Shore.

Curtis Colgate, a 32-year old business consultant from Virginia Beach, is the new chairman of the board of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Elected vice chairman was Ben Davenport of Chatham. Colgate, who grew up hunting and fishing in the Chase City area, said hunter recruitment and retention will be one of his high priorities.

Catch a 1,323-pound shark that measures 11 feet and you might expect to be treated like a hero. Not necessarily, according to Texan Jason Johnston, who landed the potential record off Huntington Beach, Calif. Conservationists criticized the catch, saying shark populations are vulnerable to over-fishing.

Fish experts in Kentucky are investigating a massive kill of white bass in 8,270-acre Cave Run Lake. No other species appears to have been harmed. Many of the white bass had marks on their body caused by bacterial infection, but that likely wasn't the cause of the kill, the experts say. Officials quickly restocked the lake with 64,000 fingerling white bass.

Events, seasons, dates

Ridge Rifle Association (Botetourt County) basic pistol class, Saturday, NRA certified, eight hours of class and range time, $50, contact Jim and Lucy Gaffney, rrnraclass@gmail.com or 540-254-2813.

National Bobwhite Technical Committee, June 22-26, Hotel Roanoke.

Triangle Archers 3D tournament, Sunday, on club range between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, $12, $25 per family, cub and pee wee $6, information from Jim Overfelt, 540-552-8023.

Smith Mountain Striper Club tournament, July 20, Captain Quarters, www.smithmountainstriperclub.com/tournament-info.html

Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show, Aug. 9-11, Richmond Raceway Complex, sponsored by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, www.sportsmanshow.com

Triangle Archers 3D tournament, August 18, on club range between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, $12, $25 per family, cub and pee wee $6, information from Jim Overfelt, 540-552-8023.

Friends of NRA Banquet, Aug. 24, Salem Civic Center, doors open 5:30 p.m., 25 firearms up for grabs, tickets $45 for a single, $80 for a couple, $35 for youth, information and ticket available from Mike Kessler, 540-529-7304, and Al Milton, 540-797-7777.

Hunters for the Hungry banquet, Sept. 14, Moose Lodge on Virginia 311 in Roanoke County, tickets $25 for a single; $40 for a couple, tickets and information from Ralph and Lois Graybill, 540-427-5125, and John and Wanda Reed, 540-427-4788.

Smith Mountain Striper Club tournament, Sept. 14 Captains Quarters, www.smithmountianstriperclub.com/tournament-info.html

Triangle Archers 3D tournament, Sept. 22, on club range between Christiansburg and Blacksburg, $12, $25 per family, cub and pee wee $6, information from Jim Overfelt, 540-552-8023.