THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, September 3, 1995 TAG: 9509030185
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C17 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB HUTCHINSON
LENGTH: Long : 139 lines
Virginia deer hunters should kill at least 200,000 whitetails this season, and the figure could climb to 225,000 or higher.
So says the state's No. 1 deer authority, Bob Duncan, head of the wildlife division of the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
``The herd is in excellent shape,'' Duncan said. ``We estimate the statewide population at between 950,000 and a million deer and we're always conservative. So I think it's pretty safe to say that we have at least a million out there.''
If the kill hits 200,000 or better, it will be for the fourth consecutive time. The kill for the last three years respectively has been, rounded off: 200,000, 201,000 and 209,000.
Just 30 years ago, the annual kill averaged less than 20,000.
Duncan said several factors could alter the final tally, including the weather. ``If we happen to get a lot of rain or some sleet and snow in the final part of the season,'' he said, ``we obviously will not kill as many deer.
``But if we get ideal conditions, with just a few rainy days, 225,000 is a very real possibility. The bottom line is that the Virginia deer herd is in great shape.
``Three years ago, we had a serious kill when we got a tremendous late-season snow in some of the Western counties, especially Highland and Bath. But they're coming back, too. One more year and everything out there should be back to normal.''
Duncan expects the record 31,000 whitetails bagged last year by muzzleloader (black powder) hunters to increase significantly now that those hunters will be allowed to use scopes on their rifles.
``The interest in muzzleloading keeps climbing and climbing,'' he said. ``This change will put even more folks out in the woods with black-powder outfits.''
Virginia's earliest deer season is less than a month away. Hunting opens Oct. 2 in Chesapeake, Virginia Beach and the eastern section of Suffolk.
The general deer season will not open statewide until the traditional third Monday in November, this year Nov. 20.
OTHER GAME: Small-game prospects are also good for much of the state, according to Mike Fies, a research biologist with the game department.
Even quail numbers, which have been dropping for decades, should be a little better, thanks to a relatively mild winter.
``As usual, the best quail hunting will be in the eastern part of the state,'' Fies said. ``That's where you have the best habitat. There aren't many bobwhites once you get to the mountains.''
The rabbit season should be one ``filled with plenty of action and lots of chases,'' Fies said. ``Conditions have been almost ideal since last season. Little snow and good spring rains. Rabbits can usually take care of the rest.''
However, the best cottontail hunting probably will be in Southwest Virginia and the Central Highlands, where recent surveys produced the highest population estimates.
Squirrels will be particularly abundant this season, according to Fies. ``That's the result of two consecutive bumper crops of acorns,'' he said, ``and there's a direct correlation between them, the squirrel population's overall health and the number of offspring.''
N.C. DUCKS: North Carolina hunters will have an even more liberal duck season than their Virginia counterparts.
The Wildlife Resources Commission has approved a 50-day season, up from 40 days, along with increasing the daily bag from three birds to five.
Virginia recently approved the change from 40 to 50 hunting bags but limited the daily bag to four birds. Both states were selecting from an identical framework handed down by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
North Carolina dates will be Oct. 5-7, Nov. 20-25 and Dec. 11 through Jan. 20. The bag may not include more than one black duck, one hen mallard, two wood ducks, two redheads, one fulvus tree duck, one canvasback or one pintail. Blacks will be legal only during the two final segments.
The season for sea ducks will be Oct. 6 through Jan. 20. Snow and blue geese may be hunted Nov. 20-March 5; brant Nov. 20-26 and Dec. 8-Jan. 20; swan Nov. 20-Jan. 31 by special permit only. Limits are five blue or snow geese, two brant, five mergansers (only one hooded merganser, seven sea ducks (only four scoters) and 15 coots.
HUNTING HEARING: Sometimes things slip through the cracks, even for county officials.
Northampton County on the Eastern Shore somehow didn't realize it when the General Assembly earlier this year legalized the use of telescopic sights for hunting deer with muzzleloading or black-powder rifles.
The county had until May 1 to notify state wildlife officials if they did not want the scopes used in their area. They never acted.
Now county officials have called for a public hearing on the matter. It's set for Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. in the courthouse at Eastville.
The idea has the overwhelming support of black-powder hunters, according to Jim White Jr., who lives in Virginia Beach but hunts on the Eastern Shore.
``Statistics have shown that with a scope you're more likely to get a clean kill and you're less likely to shoot the wrong target,'' White said.
SMALLER COMMISSION: A study group looking into how the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries operates has suggested reducing the size of the 17-member board.
The study group, appointed by Gov. James Hunt, has suggested increasing the commission's power and scope while reducing the size of the board to between seven and 11 members, serving staggered three-year terms, with no limits on reappointment.
The group also is considering recommendations to limit the use of both commercial and recreational fishing gear and to give Marine Patrol Officers jurisdiction equivalent to game wardens.
The panel is to present its complete recommendations to the 1995-96 General Assembly.
CROAKER CAPERS: In the future, when folks talk about the ``good ol' days'' of croaker fishing, 1995 is likely to be mentioned prominently.
Croaker have been a godsend for bottom fishermen throughout tidal sections of the Chesapeake Bay this season, with excellent concentrations also reported along the oceanfront.
So far, only seven anglers have registered croaker, weighing at least three pounds, with the Virginia Salt Water Fishing Tournament. The biggest weighed 4-2.
But the best may be yet to come. In fact, this weekend could be a big producer as cooler weather continues to chase hardheads out of the river systems and into the Bay.
Caught on Hampton Bar by Tom Thompson of Newport News, that 4-2 fish is the biggest reported since a 4-6 catch that was the only croaker entry in 1988.
Nine fish weighing at least 3 pounds were reported last year. Still, hardheads were not as abundant as they have been this season. And only one citation-winner was reported between 1988 and 1993.
The bottom line is that this has been one of the best croaker seasons in a long time. Now if we can just get the spot to make a similar comeback.
SHORT CASTS: If you're looking for a place to launch your boat, fish, hike or just relax, pick up a copy of the new map published by the Chesapeake Bay Program. The map is free and covers the entire Chesapeake Bay and the Susquehanna River. To get a copy, call 1-800-662-2747. . . . Maybe boaters are getting the message that you need to be careful when on the water. Boating fatalities nationwide declined for the third consecutive year. The 784 deaths in 1994 were the lowest in modern times and a 25 percent drop since 1984, according to the National Marine Manufacturers Association. . . . Gov. George Allen will co-host the ``Governor's Dinner to Benefit the Hungry'' Sept. 9 at the home of Warren and Joan Polk in McLean. Profits from the dinner-dance will be contributed to the ``Hunters for the Hungry'' program, which provides venison to needy families. More than $11,000 was raised from the dinner in 1994. . . . Seven Virginia fishing clubs are expected to compete in the fifth annual Anglers Club Challenge Sept. 9, with headquarters at the Marina at Marina Shore in Virginia Beach. The event is sponsored by the Coastal Conservation Association. by CNB