Thursday, August 19, 2004
Penn Riggs reports on outdoor show
Bill Cochran
Recent field reports
I had an interesting couple of days the past weekend at the Virginia Outdoor Sportsman Show in Richmond, which is put on by Hugh Crittenden and sponsored by the Virginia Deer Hunters Association.
Saturday I attended with my 8-year-old granddaughter, Annie, and Sunday I returned with a dedicated hunting buddy, Fletcher Barnes. I came away thinking that the show, indeed, has something for everyone.
This was Annie’s first trip to the annual show. She was spellbound by all of the deer trophies in the big game contest and marveled at the mounted bears, cats, wolverines and host of other wildlife. I got here a little hand-painted arrowhead necklace with a turkey feather on it, and a huge variety of snacks throughout the day.
Resident clown HoneyBee gave her a great face paint, and I got us both a T-shirt from Hunters for the Hungry. I introduced her to Sherry Crumley, who was very gracious. Crumley plays a big role in the Women in the Outdoors Program and is on the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries Board.
Annie and I also attended a seminar on animal tracks and tracking by the DGIF. Tracking is one of her favorite pastimes in the outdoors. It was a great day.
Sunday I returned with Fletcher for some serious guy stuff. We stopped and talked to several custom knife makers and turkey call makers. One of my favorites was Southland turkey calls out of Alabama, a show regular. Southland makes a box call that is inexpensive and very effective. It has the best tones I’ve ever heard. Fletcher bought one with a nice walnut lid. I already have two.
Fletcher also got a pair of Muck boots from Dance, a new boot with a neoprene and nylon inner liner that looks and feels very comfortable.
We had a Brunswick stew lunch courtesy of Curles Neck Hunt Club, and were back at it.
The show always has a fair number of tree stand manufacturers, and it’s always great to see the new developments in those products. Summit was there in force with new accessories that reveal it really is in tune with the needs and desires of deer hunters.
We stopped buying stuff long enough to take in a deer hunting seminar by Darren Wood, who has had huge success hunting public land in the mountains. We also chatted with Denny Quaiff, of the Virginia Deer Hunters Association, who was pleased with the show’s attendance in view of the ugly weather situation from Hurricane Charlie.
Great show; great two days.
PENN RIGGS
WOO IS ON THE WAY
Woo Daves, Virginia’s best know bass tournament fisherman and winner of the 2000 Bassmaster Classic, has been in a bit of a slump recently. He failed to qualify for the 2004 Classic held recently in Charlotte.
But he has his sights on the 2005 Classic in Pittsburgh.
The past weekend, he won a Northern Open BASS tournament. This is one in a series of three events under a new BASS format that qualifies anglers for the CITGO Bassmaster Open Championship. The top five anglers in the championship earn a berth in the Classic.
The third tournament in the Northern Open series is set for Smith Mountain Lake, Oct. 14-16. Woo’s win last weekend on the Hudson River in New York means he comes to Smith Mountain as a favorite, which is the exact script the Smith Mountain tournament needed to lend it excitement. The Spring Grove resident has as big a fan base as anyone in tournament fishing. At 58, Woo has won five BASS tournaments and earned $600,000.
Woo finished a poor 65th in the first Northern Open held on Lake Erie/Niagara River in June. The two tournaments give him 499 points on the way to Smith Mountain.
With 11 anglers bearing higher scores, Woo will need a successful tournament at Smith Mountain. The competitors included Virginians Tony Black, fourth, 499; Mike Hicks, eighth, 472 and Kurt Dove, 11th, 467. The leader is New Jersey angler Pete Gluszeke with a 549 score.
BILL
VIRGINIAN DOES WELL IN FLW EVENT
Notes from the FLW Championship held the past weekend on Logan Martin Lake in Alabama:
Could Japan’s Takahiro Omori become the first pro ever to win a back-to-back Bassmaster Classic and FLW Championship?
No. Omori failed to make the cut in the FLW Championship, reporting that he was exhausted with all the hype that went with the Classic victory two weeks earlier.
Could Virginia native David Dudley win back-to-back FLW Championships?
No. He won the 2003 championship in Richmond, pocketing $500.000, but was eliminated early in the 2004 event. In a pre-tournament interview with Bass.com he acknowledge he wasn’t pleased with this year’s performance. “I bought a horse farm, we're in the process of adopting (a child), I'm trying to finish up building a church, and I built four houses in North Carolina. That was a nightmare."
Can a rookie win the FLW Championship?
Yes. Luke Causen, an unknown angler from Spokane, Wash. won the $500,000 first-place prize.
Does Jon Crews have an opportunity to become one of Virginia’s top all-time bass pros?
Yes. The personable 26-year old angler from Jetersville finished 12th in the FLW Championship, wining $18.000. He finished eighth last year on the James River in Richmond.
BILL
CHESEPEAKE BAY FISHING REPORT
Thankfully there was almost no effect from Hurricane Charlie here in Reedville. The fishing remains consistently good. Bottom fishing is producing croaker, trout, blues, and some flounder. Trolling is producing bluefish, a few Spanish mackerel as well as Rockfish.
My best catches bottom fishing have been in Tangier Sound between Tangier and Watts Islands. Trolling north of Buoy 62 along the channel edge has been good for blues to 3 pounds and Spanish mackerel over 20 inches.
CAPT. FERREL MCLAIN
Bayfish Sport Fishing Charters
OUTDOOR BRIEFS
>Reversing an earlier decision, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission has agreed to allow Newport News to take water from the Mattaponi River for a reservoir amid concerns that this would hurt the shad population.
>The HumaneUSA PAC has released its list of endorsed candidates that it believes will carry the animal-rights banner during the coming elections. The endorsements came earlier than expected, causing the Sportsmen’s and Animal Owners’ Voting Alliance to counter by accelerate its endorsement timetable, according to Bob Kane, of Madison County, Va., a SAOVA spokesman. The SAOVA homepage is mailman.montana.com/mailman/listinfo/saova_virginia.
>Myrtle Beach is a popular vacation destination for many people, but it isn’t the greatest spot along the coast for fishing. If you want to improve your chances there, hire a guide. One I recommend is shallow-water expert Mark Dickson, who has been enjoying one of the best flounder bits in years. His Web site is fishmyrtlebeach.com.
>Sportsmen can watch the fall migration of waterfowl through a real-time mapping on Waterfowler.com.
>Jack Rankin Schroeder, a nationally known wildlife artist from Arlington who was a two-time winner of the Maryland duck stamp contest, has died at the age of 76.
>Police in Pittsburgh arrested a personal-watercraft operator who reportedly assaulted an angler after the angler complained that the operator was splashing water on him and some children while they were fishing from the bank.
>Ducks Unlimited will take over the management of how Federal Duck Stamp images are licensed to manufacturers who place the images on a wide variety of consumer products. DU is expected to use its expertise to expand and manage the licensing program for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
BILL
VIRGINIA SALTWATER FISHING TOURNAMENT
There is a new leader in the croaker category in the Virginia Saltwater Fishing Tournament. Here are the standings:
BLACK DRUM: 95 pounds, Joseph Roub, Baltimore, Md., Hog Island Bay.
COBIA: 88 pounds, James Neill, Lanexa, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
CROAKER: 5 pounds, Jarvis Taylor, Richmond, lower York River.
DOLPHIN: 43 pounds, 6 ounces, Steve Richardson, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
FLOUNDER: 14 pounds, 4 ounces, Betty Smith, Chesapeake, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TRIGGERFISH: 4 pounds, 1 ounce, Gary Costanzo, Williamsburg, lower-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
GRAY TROUT: 12 pounds, 12 ounces, Greg Thayer, Gloucester, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
KING MACKEREL: 21 pounds, 8 ounces, Chuck Riddleberger, Joppa, Md., off Eastern Shore.
KINGFISH: 1 pound, 14 ounce, Bobby Smith, Portsmouth, lower-western Chesapeake Bay.
POMPANO: 1 pound, 10 Ounces, Varnell Williams, Virginia Beach off Virginia Beach.
SEA BASS: 6 pounds, 14 ounces, Mark Fueller, Rio Grande, N.J., off Virginia Beach.
SHEEPHEAD: 19 pounds, 3 ounces state record, Jeff Hutton, Virginia Beach, lower eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPADEFISH: 13 pounds, 10 ounces, Jake Mapp, Franktown, upper-eastern Chesapeake Bay.
SPANISH MACKEREL: 6 pounds, Ann Barse, Cambridge, Md., off Eastern Shore.
SPECKLED TROUT: 13 pounds, 12 ounces, Walter Kellum, Hayes, Mobajack Bay.
SPOT: 1 pound, 8 ounces, Susan Davis, Petersburg, lower Your River.
STRIPED BASS: 63 pound state record, Carolyn Brown, Virginia Beach, off the Virginia Coast.
TAUTOG: 22 pounds, 9 ounces, Julie Ball, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
TUNA (BLUEFIN): 164 pounds, Matthew Abell, Pocomoke, Md. off Eastern Shore.
TUNA (OTHER): 207 pounds, William House, Virginia Beach, off Virginia Beach.
WAHOO: 80 pounds, Alex Hazel, Riva, Md., off Eastern Shore.
BILL
MEETINGS/EVENTS/SEASONS
Department of Game and Inland Fisheries board meeting, Aug. 19, 9 a.m. at department headquarters, 4000 W. Broad Street, Richmond.
Mother-Daughter Outdoors Event, Aug. 20-22, Appomattox, opportunity for women 9 and up to learn outdoor skills. Information from dgif.state.va.us/events/.
New River Valley Chapter National Wild Turkey Federation Chapter banquet, 6 p.m. Aug 21, Custom Catering, Blacksburg, single ticket $45, couple $60, contact Chris Kaknis, (H) 540-552-8230; (W) 540-552-5592.
The Triangle Bowhunters of the New River Valley three 3-D archery events on its property between Christiansburg and Blacksburg: Aug. 22 and Sept. 19. Information from vfaa.ogr or from Jim Overfelt, jimo@vt.edu.
Return To Nature fundraiser banquet, features NASCAR driver Ward Burton and “Survivor” all-star “Big Tom,” Sept. 14, Lynchburg, tickets $60, information and tickets from ballowx.com.
Ducks Unlimited Great Outdoors Festival, Sept. 17-19, Richmond/Petersburg, information from dugof.com.
Mother-Daughter Outdoors Event, Aug. 20-22, Appomattox, opportunity for women 9 and up to learn outdoor skills. Information from dgif.state.va.us/events.
Eastern Regional Championship of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 11 and 12, for deer, bear and gobblers taking east of the Blue Ridge during the most recent hunting seasons, Southampton County Fairgrounds, details on vpsa.org.
Virginia Outdoors Weekend, Sept. 17-19, for families, Westmoreland State Park, information from dgif.state.va.us/events.
Western Regional and State Championship of Virginia Big Game Contest, Sept. 25 and 26, for deer, bear and gobblers taken during the most recent hunting seasons, Rockingham County Fairgrounds, information from vpsa.org.
Smith Mountain Striper Club fall tournament, Oct. 9., information from Rex Smith, smithrex@charter.net.
CITGO Bassmaster Open tournament, Oct. 14-16, Smith Mountain Lake.
Got an event? Let us know: xtails@earthlink.net
