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Great squirrel hunting won’t last


Tuesday, September 10, 2013


Hunters had to make some choices this past Saturday. It was the opening of the urban archery season. It was the first Saturday of the dove and goose seasons. It was opening day of the squirrel season.

I was pleasantly surprised at the number of sportsmen who chose squirrel hunting. This activity has been in decline, overshadowed by interest in other species, particularly deer.

My old squirrel hunting partner, Billy Leonard, and I were talking about that Saturday.

"It is a sad thing that kids can go directly to hunting turkeys and deer," he said. "They seldom try squirrels."

That's their loss. Squirrels are fun and challenging. When you hunt them, you are exposed to all the elements of woodsmanship and marksmanship. Learn to hunt squirrels and you have the basis for successfully hunting anything else, including big game.

Saturday was a prefect day for squirrel hunting, crisp, bright, pretty much windless. And there were plenty of squirrels if you knew where to look.

Squirrels benefited from an excellent mast crop last fall. The abundance of food sent them through the winter in good shape. Add to that, the winter was mild. Survival was good and females produced large and healthy early litters.

Not so this time. Mast isn't available like it was last fall. The deeper we get into late summer, the more reports I have of poor mast. Leonard believes all the rain we had was harmful to mast production. It is the kind of season where you first have to find the food, such as a grove of hickories, in order to find the squirrels.

A poor mast year impacts squirrels a number of ways, Leonard points out. Their second litter of the year will be smaller, if at all. And they can become more guarded and spooky.

What hurts most of all, a poor mast crop this fall points to poor hunting next season.

So have fun, while you can.

Putting the squeal on feral hogs

Feral hogs are being called a "four-legged ecological disaster," and their impact has not escaped Virginia. Officials of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries have scheduled a meeting to discuss ways to deal with this threat to native wildlife.

Representatives of a number of organizations have been invited to participate in a stakeholders meeting scheduled Sept. 18 in Sandstone.

New populations of wild hogs are showing up in several parts of the state, where they compete for food with native wildlife species and cause damage to wild and agricultural lands.

DGIF officials say the hogs destroy turkey, grouse and quail nests. They also prey on fawns. They especially are destructive to wetlands and are know to carry diseases.

"Unfortunately, we are not immune to this problem in Virginia," said Bob Duncan, executive director of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. "We expect the outcome of this meeting to be an organized, informed network of stakeholders that will support initiatives aimed at successfully controlling feral hogs in Virginia."

Just over a year ago, the DGIF established a Feral Swine Committee. Wildlife officials have been identifying a growing number of previously unknown feral hog populations in Virginia, Duncan said.

It is illegal to release feral hogs in the state, but that isn't keeping some people from doing so. Legislation may be necessary to deal with the problem, officials say.

Heading the committee is Aaron Proctor, DGIF biologist arron.proctor@dgif.virginia.gov.

This camouflage makes you stand out

Ever since Jim Crumley of Botetourt County designed modern camouflage, the purpose of the product has been to help hunters blend into their background. Now there is a new design with the purpose of letting you be noticed.

It is called "Flage" and it is the work of TWN Industries, Inc, the leading water transfer printing supplier. Rather than using drab colors, Flage comes in a bright purple and gold combination that is shaped into blocky, iconic World War II patterns rather than the modern patterns of limbs, leaves, bark and vegetation. You will be more likely to see this on main street rather than in the backwoods.

"This pattern is for the person who wants to stand out not blend in," the company said. http://watertransferprinting.com/pr_35_Flag.html.

Outdoor briefs

  • A 13-pound, 9-ounce hybrid caught from Flannagan Reservoir has been certified as a Virginia record by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. The white bass/striped bass cross was registered by Joshua Neece of Dante. He was baiting with a shiner. Hybrids have been stocked in Flannagan and Claytor Lake for several years, and this month in Carvins Cove.
  • There is a new leader in the sheepshead category of the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. The 17-pound, 4-ounce trophy was entered by Craig Pendrell of Hampton, who was bait fishing off Back River.
  • Good habitat conditions across many of North America's waterfowl breeding areas should result in another large fall flight, according to Ducks Unlimited.
  • For nine years the Maryland Fishing Challenges has tagged a striped bass and offered a cash prize to anyone who comes up with it. No one has, until his year, when Blair Wheeler, 25, of Herndon, Va. caught a 19-pound striper bearing a tag worth $25,000.
  • Wildlife officials in New Mexico are investigating the death of more than 100 elk, which may be linked to the HD virus. This disease also has an annual impact on deer in Virginia.
  • A Silver Springs, Md. man is scheduled to appear in court Nov. 15 on charges he and three companions caught and kept more than 200 undersized striped bass from the Chesapeake Bay drainage. None of the men had a fishing license.

Events, seasons, dates

  • Hunters for the Hungry banquet, Saturday, 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 or Sportsman's Warehouse in Roanoke.
  • Sherwood Archers annual Bowhunters Jamboree, Saturday and Sunday, club range in Roanoke County near Hanging Rock (Timberview Road), 3-D targets to simulate hunting conditions, archery experts available to assist participants, more information from www.sherwoodarchersroanokeva.com.
  • Western Region Big Game Show, Saturday and Sunday, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, Harrisonburg, this is the show that measures for the Virginia record book deer, bear and turkey killed the past season. Awards ceremony 3 p.m. Sept. 15. Information from Jon Ritenour, 540-434-8028 or check www.VPSA,org. State Championship Sept. 28 & 29 (see below).
  • New River Valley Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation will sponsor a Sept. 20 fund-raising banquet at Custom Catering, 902 Patrick Henry Drive in Blacksburg. Doors open 5:30 p.m., dinner at 7:30 p.m. Tickets $65 for a single; $80 for a couple. Contact Edsel Frame, 540-639-0212 or edselframejr@aol.com.
  • Jakes event sponsored by Botetourt County Longbeards Chapter of the National Wild Turkey Federation, Sept. 21, registration at noon, activities 1 to 6 p.m., seven rotating stations set up to teach youngsters about turkey hunting, no charge, but for $10 you can become a member of the NWTF Jakes program, door prizes, information from Richard Pauley, 540-992-1883 or Pauleyr@nationwide.com. Earlier this year, the Botetourt chapter won the NWTF's top award for its Jakes program.
  • Blue Ridge Chapter of Virginia Deer Hunters Association banquet, Sept 21, Best Western Conference Center, 109 Apple Tree Lane, Waynesboro, tickets $45 for a single, $60 couple, discounts for members, tickets and information from Wayne Anderson, 540-997-0051.
  • 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.
  • Quail habitat tour, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sept. 27, Halifax County, sponsored by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, Quail Forever, Virginia Department of Forestry, NRCS and Virginia Soil and Water Conservation Districts, catered lunch, meet at Reese Farm Fresh Products in Scottsburg, more information from Jason Fisher, jasonf@vt.edu, register by calling DGIF office in Forest, 434-525-7522.
  • Youth deer hunting day, Sept. 28.
  • Eastern Regional Championship and State Championship Virginia Big Game Show, Sept. 28 & 29, Southampton County Fairground, Franklin, information from www.VPSA.org or Kenneth Pickin, 804-633-0275.
  • Meeting of the Roanoke Branch of the Quality Deer Management Association, Oct. 3, 6:30 p.m., Hollins Branch of the Roanoke County Library.

Have and event? Contact billkatcochran@gmail.com

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Weather Journal

Cold front will have more bark than...

2 days ago

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