ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Thursday, October 10, 1996 TAG: 9610100059
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-2 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: OUTDOORS
SOURCE: BILL COCHRAN
On the opening day of the bowhunting season, when many archers were griping about how hard it was to pattern a deer - ``all those acorns have them scattered'' - Richard Leftwich was field-dressing an 8-point buck.
Success came because Leftwich, a bowhunter for going on nine years, knew a good thing when he saw it. What he saw was a white oak tree in Franklin County that was dropping acorns that were being gobbled up by bucks. A perfect place for a tree stand.
``I went in the Sunday before the season and walked the mountain pretty much and found me a couple of buck rubs and what I call buck droppings - big clumps,'' said Leftwich, who runs the archery shop at Trebark Outfitters in Roanoke County. ``Granted, you never know what drops them, but usually when you get clumps you've got a mature deer.''
The day before the season opened, Leftwich went back to hang his stand in the white oak tree. He was screwing in portable steps when things began to happen.
``I had a real nice 8-point come up the ridge and go right around me about 40 yards away,'' he said. ``Then, I had a 7-pointer come in on the white oak and he fed under it for about 30 minutes. I had to hang on the side of the tree. He finally walked on off. That was 10:55 in the morning.''
The bucks, he said, were traveling together, not an uncommon occurrence at this time of the year, before the rut puts them into competition.
``That was about all of the scouting I needed,'' Leftwich said. ``That is where I wanted to be.''
When the season opened Saturday, Leftwich was perched in the oak tree well before daylight.
``I knew sometime between daylight and 11 o'clock I was going to see a deer,'' he said.
The wait was a short one. At daylight, the buck left a field, where it likely had been feeding on clover, and headed straight for the oak tree. He was four yards from the tree when Leftwich shot him.
On Monday, Leftwich killed a doe in an area of Roanoke County where he said the herd was overrun with antlerless deer. That was his contribution to balancing the herd. His next target is a trophy buck.
``The first one was a starter buck,'' said Leftwich, who estimates he has killed 25 deer with a bow. ``It probably had a 14- or 15-inch inside spread. I am looking for an 18- or 19-inch inside spread. I want to get a good wallhanger. I am going to go after a big one now.''
The young bow season hasn't been as kind to some hunters. Only four deer have been checked at Trebark, and Leftwich has registered two of them.
When food is abundant, the deer don't have to move as much, he said. Their bedding and feeding areas won't be far apart.
``When it comes to bucks, they are going to be where the acorns are,'' he said. ``A lot of hunters are seeing deer, but they haven't got the shot they want. The acorns spread them out. They will hit one oak tree one day and another the next. It is hard to pattern deer.''
FOLLOW THE SHAD: When you find the shad, you've gone a long way toward finding the bass at Smith Mountain Lake. That's the advice Mike Huffman has for fishermen in the Virginia B.A.S.S. Federation Charity Open Tournament, scheduled for Saturday. Registration starts at 5a.m. at Waterwheel Marina.
``I think the fish are starting to school right now and you can find them anywhere,'' said Huffman, a federation official from New Castle. ``Where there are shad, chances are you will find bass around them.''
Huffman enjoyed an impressive catch in the rain Wednesday, but said it probably wouldn't count toward locating fish Saturday, which is expected to be a clear day. ``I will have to start all over,'' he said.
THE RIGHT COLOR: Attention to details made a difference for Ken Morehead, the Paducah, Ky., angler who won the Bassmaster Top 100 on the Potomac River.
Morehead noticed the fish in his livewell were spitting out small crawfish, and the pinchers on the critters had a smattering of orange. So Morehead added an orange blade to his spinnerbait and ran up a winning tournament total of 15 bass that weighed 54 pounds, 11 ounces.
Second was David Fritts of Lexington, N.C., who weighed a 48-pound, 7-ounce total. Virginia's top angler was Rick Morris of Virginia Beach, who finished 20th. Woo Daves of Spring Grove was 58th; David Dudley of Lynchburg 69th; and Chris Daves of Spring Grove 102th.
LENGTH: Medium: 83 linesby CNB