Last year the outdoor scene was very different in a lot of ways. Some things just seemed “off” or not so good for the outdoors folks. Included in those reflections of less than stellar topics would be the poor croaker and spot fishing locally. Croaker used to be the bread and butter of any trip on the mid to lower Potomac and lower Rappahannock. Now, targeting them and actually catching a mess of fish for supper can be a bit of a challenge. Bluefish seemed to be less abundant in quality and quantity last season. Until mid to late October, rockfish were not all that an enthusiastic customer either. Our deer season in general was poor. There is talk of the possibility of HD having visited us again this past summer in small but spotty outbreaks although I have not gotten confirmation from officials that King George was hit. The coyotes are being blamed for putting a dent in our deer population. Undoubtedly they are impacting the deer numbers. The question is how much. After a decent opening early season for ducks –mostly wood ducks—and a decent opening weekend for the second split, the duck season has slowed to a crawl for most people I have encountered and heard from.
Now that I have gone over some of the less than appealing outdoor trends from last year, there are some good things going on in the outdoor world in and around King George and Westmoreland counties. Turkey numbers are good and birds were seen by various hunters this fall. Hopefully our wet and cool spring did not kill too many poults and numbers will remain strong. Small game numbers appear to be strong or on the upswing. Squirrels were scarce for a few years, but this year there appears to be a boom. Given the poor duck and deer numbers it may be time to venture out this month with a .22 in hand. Brunswick stew anyone? Rabbit numbers, at press time and according to local hunters, appear to be decent. As with anything, there are pockets of good hunting and some spots are better than others. On the fishing side of things, the Spanish mackerel made a good showing this past summer and hung around the lower Potomac and bay for a while. There were whiting to be had and even some sea and speckled trout being caught! There were also great reports of fat smallmouth bass being caught just below Fredericksburg this past fall. We have reports of really nice rockfish in the lower bay. Some reportedly pushed over 50 pounds. Maybe this year there will be a winter fishery off Virginia Beach although early reports are not showing many fish inside the “fence”. For the past few seasons there were virtually no fish in the area within the 3 mile line.
One of the pursuits I am involved in these days is mentoring new anglers and hunters. I started, with our local game warden’s help, a youth outdoor club. I am in the process of turning it into a 501c nonprofit to open some additional doors for financial assistance to help young people get introduced to the outdoors. Since its inception some 6 years ago, many youth in our area tried fishing, hunting and shooting and had very positive experiences. The response from parents and the community has been very supportive. I hope to take the club to a new level in the next few years.
This past year we partnered with National Wild Turkey Federation to take 8 youth on a bird hunt. Every youth got a pheasant or a chukar after spending a few afternoons prior to the hunt learning to hit moving targets with a shotgun. This year we will be repeating the event with NWTF, as it was well received last year. This year I was also able to accept an invitation to take 8 youth on a youth only deer hunt. I was a bit nervous because the deer hunting was so slow locally. The hunt was held at the gorgeous farm of Bruce Lee in Essex County. Of the 8 kids that went, 4 got a deer. That is great success! The others are determined to get a deer and are now hooked on the outdoors. I thank Bruce Lee, Mac McLennan and their helpers for inviting the kids from the club to come down free of charge. They were great hosts!
I also had the pleasure of seeing another local outdoorsman, Steve Purks, get the kids infected with the waterfowling bug. He called in a number of geese for some young ladies earlier this season and they all limited out! I have heard of other youth getting similar successful opportunities with him. Without people like Steve, Mac, Bruce and others in our area, the youth would not have the opportunities that they do. We hope to have some fishing opportunities and more hunting opportunities this year too.
With a new year ahead of us, let’s make the best of what we have and be grateful for the opportunities. Most of all, let’s share those opportunities and mentor others, especially our youth, in the outdoors. It is a healthy pursuit that we enjoy. I challenge all of the readers to make a point this year to take someone that has not fished, hunted or shot a firearm out to do one or more of those things. We will better our image and our traditions by bringing more folks on board even if they just learn about the positive aspects of what we do but never really take up that passion themselves. Best wishes to you in the New Year!
Now that I have gone over some of the less than appealing outdoor trends from last year, there are some good things going on in the outdoor world in and around King George and Westmoreland counties. Turkey numbers are good and birds were seen by various hunters this fall. Hopefully our wet and cool spring did not kill too many poults and numbers will remain strong. Small game numbers appear to be strong or on the upswing. Squirrels were scarce for a few years, but this year there appears to be a boom. Given the poor duck and deer numbers it may be time to venture out this month with a .22 in hand. Brunswick stew anyone? Rabbit numbers, at press time and according to local hunters, appear to be decent. As with anything, there are pockets of good hunting and some spots are better than others. On the fishing side of things, the Spanish mackerel made a good showing this past summer and hung around the lower Potomac and bay for a while. There were whiting to be had and even some sea and speckled trout being caught! There were also great reports of fat smallmouth bass being caught just below Fredericksburg this past fall. We have reports of really nice rockfish in the lower bay. Some reportedly pushed over 50 pounds. Maybe this year there will be a winter fishery off Virginia Beach although early reports are not showing many fish inside the “fence”. For the past few seasons there were virtually no fish in the area within the 3 mile line.
One of the pursuits I am involved in these days is mentoring new anglers and hunters. I started, with our local game warden’s help, a youth outdoor club. I am in the process of turning it into a 501c nonprofit to open some additional doors for financial assistance to help young people get introduced to the outdoors. Since its inception some 6 years ago, many youth in our area tried fishing, hunting and shooting and had very positive experiences. The response from parents and the community has been very supportive. I hope to take the club to a new level in the next few years.
This past year we partnered with National Wild Turkey Federation to take 8 youth on a bird hunt. Every youth got a pheasant or a chukar after spending a few afternoons prior to the hunt learning to hit moving targets with a shotgun. This year we will be repeating the event with NWTF, as it was well received last year. This year I was also able to accept an invitation to take 8 youth on a youth only deer hunt. I was a bit nervous because the deer hunting was so slow locally. The hunt was held at the gorgeous farm of Bruce Lee in Essex County. Of the 8 kids that went, 4 got a deer. That is great success! The others are determined to get a deer and are now hooked on the outdoors. I thank Bruce Lee, Mac McLennan and their helpers for inviting the kids from the club to come down free of charge. They were great hosts!
I also had the pleasure of seeing another local outdoorsman, Steve Purks, get the kids infected with the waterfowling bug. He called in a number of geese for some young ladies earlier this season and they all limited out! I have heard of other youth getting similar successful opportunities with him. Without people like Steve, Mac, Bruce and others in our area, the youth would not have the opportunities that they do. We hope to have some fishing opportunities and more hunting opportunities this year too.
With a new year ahead of us, let’s make the best of what we have and be grateful for the opportunities. Most of all, let’s share those opportunities and mentor others, especially our youth, in the outdoors. It is a healthy pursuit that we enjoy. I challenge all of the readers to make a point this year to take someone that has not fished, hunted or shot a firearm out to do one or more of those things. We will better our image and our traditions by bringing more folks on board even if they just learn about the positive aspects of what we do but never really take up that passion themselves. Best wishes to you in the New Year!
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