Law enforcement bill makes it one more step

Poachers must be drooling with what is going on in the Virginia General Assembly.

A Senate bill proposed by Richard Stuart that would prevent Conservation Police (game wardens) from doing a valuable part of their job has made it out of committee and into the full Senate.

SB26 if made into law would prevent officers from stopping a person for the purpose of determining compliance with laws, rules or regulations without reasonable suspicion. It repeals a section of state code that allows for inspection of game and fish for the purposes of enforcing bag and creel limits without first having made an arrest.

That means that a Conservation Police officer can't pull up to your boat and ask to see your fishing license and see what you've caught. That means an officer can't approach a duck hunter and ask to see their license and federal duck stamp, and can't ask to see how many they've shot.

Unless of course, they've already caught this person doing something illegal and arrested them.

I don't know many outdoorsmen or women who have ever had much of a problem with dealing with a wildlife officer - unless, of course, they were up to no good in the first place.

Proponents of the bill say this is a privacy issue. They argue that officers can still set up check stations on the water or in the woods similar to those done on the state's highways. What's the difference, I ask, in setting up a road block or simply approaching an outdoorsman in their environment?

Ya got me.

Opponents argue that these practices should be part of the day-to-day effort - as they have been for decades - to look out for the state's wildlife.

Poaching is going to happen regardless. There are people out there who just don't give a hoot about wildlife and rules governing them. But without the threat of potentially being asked to see a license or look in a live well, you can bet potential poachers walking the fence will jump over the the wrong side.

Drive on the beach? Get ready to pay

The word got out a couple of weeks ago about new rules for driving on the Cape Hatteras National Seashore.

New rules and new fees.

Pilot reporter Gabriela Souza just broke the story on the new costs.

The rates start on Feb. 15 and the cost is $120 for an annual permit, or $50 for a week. Oh ... and you'll have to watch a short video so National Park Service officials can feel confident that you know what you're doing.

There's supposedly a grace period involved and enforcement won't actually start until March 15 - right about the time anglers start traveling to the OBX to fish from the beach.

The 67-mile beach that, by the way, will now have 26 miles closed to all traffic.

Permits can be purchased and the video "enjoyed" at Coquina Beach, the Cape Hatteras Lighthouse visitor's center in Buxton, and at the Ocracoke visitor's center.

Business owners naturally are worried about what this will do to the number of visitors to the island. In an earlier story in the Pilot, several were quoted as saying these fees will keep beach-goers and anglers away, resulting in tougher than already tough times.

If you still care to go, and many will, go to the seashore's website for a map of closed areas and designated driving routes at: www.nps.gov/caha

And don't forget the popcorn for the movie.

Some Senate Bills would greatly hinder the state game department

Senator Richard H. Stuart (R-Westmoreland) this year has introduced five bills concerning the operation of the state game department.

Many outdoorsmen and women are questioning the Senator's motives for these bills after a recent run-in with the wildlife police officers.

Two of the bills are budget items that would cripple the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and a third would hinder the ability of the agency's law enforcement branch.

SB30 would transfer a total of $2.5 million to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission - an agency, like the game department, greatly in need of funding. State law, however, forbids the transfer of what are known as HB38 Funds to another agency. HB38 funds come from wildlife taxes, licenses and purchases and state code prevents their transfer.

One, that would change the name of the Conservation Police Officers back to game wardens, already has died in committee.

But SB26 would take away officers' ability to check licenses and bag limits because it says that police wouldn't be allowed to confront hunters or anglers without "reasonable suspicion of criminal activity." Officers now routinely check outdoorsmen and women for boat safety reasons and to make sure they are licensed. I've never met an outdoorsman who didn't mind these encounters. Only those doing something wrong have a problem with it.

The final bill- SB176 -  would prohibit those officers from enforcing fishing and boating laws in Back Bay and other inlets and waterways in the Tidewater - meaning tidal rivers in southeastern Virginia, throughout the Bay, and along the Eastern Shore. This bill effectively would remove officers from the state's top duck and goose hunting areas.

Which brings us to why many in the hunting community are claiming Stuart has it out for the game department after his involvement in a violation of federal migratory bird hunting laws.

Let's be perfectly clear - Stuart was not charged.

An article in the Fredersicksburg Free Lance Star last month covers the conviction of Westmoreland County Supervisor W.W. Hynson Jr. for possession of an untagged goose shot during a January hunt. The goose was shot by Senator Stuart's 11-year-old son. Game department officers also charged Hynson for baiting migratory birds and taking them from a baited area. Magistrate Judge Dennis W. Dohnal dismissed those charges despite wheat being found in Hynson's boat and floating near the blind.

Stuart testified that he gave the bird to Hynson because he didn't want to spend half a day plucking and preparing it. He also stated that, despite being a former state prosecutor, he had no idea the bird had to be tagged.

Ignorance of the law, as the saying goes, is no excuse. Tags are provided with the license and instructions clearly state that hunters must tag killed animals before they can be removed from the site.

The incident sheds a dark shadow over the Senator's bills, especially where law enforcement is concerned. Internet chat boards concerning hunting and wildlife conservation have blown up since the Free Lance Star's story exposed the incident.

I've got a call into Stuart's office requesting an interview on his reasons for the bills, and to ask him about how they look given the situation he found himself in while goose hunting.

If I hear back from him, his comments will appear in a story I'm writing for Sunday's Virginian-Pilot.

Sunday hunting on the move...now another hunting issue at hand

Year in and year out in rural areas of Virginia, hound hunters get together to test the tracking skills of their dogs in field trials.

Most of these events involve tracts of land that are inclosed with high fences. Inside each there are wild fox and coyote. Scorers are positioned throughout the "pen" and give points to the dogs who are hottest on the tail of the chase animals.

Champions are declared and the value of each dog and potential breeding stock rise for the winners.

There currently are bills in both the Senate and House of Delegates Natural Resources committees that would make it a Class I misdemeanor to erect or maintain such a pen for field trial purposes.

These events are a big deal in the hound hunting world and most, if not all, use them to raise money for projects like feeding the needy in their respective community. Most raise thousands of dollars for such projects.

While many don't like the idea of penned trials, not having them creates a worse situation. To exercise and train their dogs, many hound hunters would have to let their dogs run in the wild.

We're all well-aware of the controversy surrounding hound hunting. Having dogs run loose out of season unfortunately would only make things worse.

I've been to a couple of these penned field trials. No fox or coyote were hurt in the ones I saw, and the dogs all were well taken care of very well.

And they really seemed to love the chase. It's in their blood, afterall.

At one event, more than $10,000 was raised to help the needy in the area. Is the Humane Society and other anti-hunting dog groups prepared to step in and help if these events are no longer allowed?

The bill in the Senate to do away with pens is SB202 and could come to vote Thursday.

Many hunters - and unknowingly lots of hounds - are waiting a decision.

Sunday hunting set for the House where it will face tougher test

By now everybody in the Virginia hunting world knows that four bills combined into Senate Bill 464 have made history by advancing out of committee for the very first time.

Today the bill was passed by the Senate by a vote of 25-14. The vote was less lopsided than expected, likely because of an amendment that approves the taking of any wild bird or animal outside of 250 yards from a place of worship. Another amendment to put the issue in the hands of local communities also played a role in the voting, but was turned away.

There's one more vote Thursday to send the bill on its way.

Proponents of the bill would have done themselves a better chance in the future by increasing that distance by at least double ... if not more. Shots heard during Sunday church services are one of the big sticking points with those opposed to Sunday hunting.

Now four similar bills are in the House of Delegates Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources.

It's no secret that a stiffer test awaits.

But if what surely will be a combination of the four bills makes it out of committee for a second time, anything's possible. The governor is on record that he favors Sunday hunting because he has said he will sign into law the bill if it makes it to his desk. And Delegates know that the state game department also approves the change to one of the state's oldest laws.

In politics, nobody can ever really know what an outcome will be. So parties on both side of the issue now will lobby, speak at forums and try to convince those making the call. Both sides have excellent arguments for their respective cause.

And the rest of us can only wait.

Virginia has another record striper ... nobody is surprised

Just found out about a marvelous catch made by a Prince William County angler that likely will become the state record striped bass.

The 74-pounder caught Friday by Cary Wolfe first must be certified by the state, but it was weighed in at Long Bay Pointe Marina, so there should be little problems with the catch.

Yes, pictures of the angler holding the fish in the boat show him using a gaff to hoist it. Rest assured, the fish was netted to get it out of the water and there is video to prove it. And, no, they weren't outside the legal 3-mile line like several people already are acussing.

Wolfe hadn't fished for big striper in a couple of years and was on the Bada Bing with Capt. Tim Cannon and mate Richard White - who happens to be the anger's brother-in-law.

The fish will eclipse the 73-pounder caught almost to the date four years ago by Chesapeake's Fred Barnes.

Read more in Monday's Virginian-Pilot.

Sunday hunting gets a big boost. But it's not yet a done deal

The Senate Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and Natural Resources Thursday by an 11-4 vote moved along a bill that would allow hunting on Sundays.

The bill now goes to the full Senate for approval, where it is expected to pass.

But the issue expects to meet a stiff resistence when it reaches the house.

Still, no former bill to open up hunting has ever made it out of committee, so this is a milestone for advocates of making Sunday a 7-days-a-week sport.

Read tomorrow's Pilot for more on this story.

An important time for hunters in Virginia

The General Assembly's Committee on Agriculture, Conservation and National Resources is expected to deal with a couple of hot-button topics the next two Thursdays.

First up will be several bills designed to give landowners permission to allow hunting on Sundays. The issue has pitted hunters against hunters. Many opposed to the current ban on Sunday hunting have argued that most southeastern Virginia land owners won't allow hunting on their land if the ban is lifted.

But owners of smaller tracts of land that wish to hunt would be able to.

Only one thing is for sure, there has been considerable time spent by lobbyists from both sides of the issue. And there likely will be a full house when the committee discusses the proposed bills.

Next week the committee is scheduled to look at doing away with ordinances that allow enclosed pens used in hound trials if the dogs are allowed to chase live animals - which they are in almost all cases - like fox and coyote. If proposed bills are passed, it would become a Class 1 misdemeanor to erect or maintain such a pen.

Field trials of this nature are a way of life in rural southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina. They allow hound hunters to train their dogs, give them needed workouts, and hone their skills. And most if not all do a considerable amount of community good by raising funds for the needy.

Hunters of all sorts are anxiously waiting to see if these bills get killed in committee or passed along for General Assembly approval.

Rockfish Shootout winners and prizes

The final numbers - the ones you can take to the bank - are in after another successful run of the Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout.

The ninth edition of the event featured 161 teams and a new division for bluefin tuna, which have been swarming coastal waters inside the legal 3-mile limit - mingling in with all of the striped bass.

The team on Pimp Fish Pirates won that division with a 265-pounder worth $3,256.

In the artificial bait division that featured 137 teams saw anglers on Fishing Fever II weigh in their three-fish limit for a total of 128.3 pounds - good for $49,745.

Next in order of finish were: Mackenzie Rae Fish Bomb II with 125.2 pounds and $17,231, Fin Finder II with 124.55 and $39,519, Nearwater with 122.95 and $4,727, Stray Cat II with 122.95 and $12,389 and Hot Rod II with 122.85 and $16,908.

Variances in prize money depended on how many entry levels teams bought into.

The live bait division featured 24 teams and was won by Lady S II with 107 pounds and good for $7,684, followed by Real Dirt III with 106.85 and $4,842, Murphy's Irish Pub II with 106.5 and $2,122, Pit Crew II with 106.15 and $828 and Handyman 3 with 103.55 and $1,413. Lady S also did well on the first day of fishing and took an additional $103 by finishing seventh overall.

The tournament paid out a total of $175,586.

Congrats to all ... and don't spend it all in one place.

Last day of the rockfish shootout...it's all on the line

Today is the final round of competition in the ninth annual Mid-Atlantic Rockfish Shootout taking place out of Rudee Inlet in Virginia Beach.

So far the catching has been pretty good, with Friday's second day seeing quite a few three-fish limits coming in at an average of 40 pounds a fish.

Team Fishing Fever leads going into today's round, which will be fished in fantastic weather conditions that will make it a wonderful day. Fishing Fever has a 3-fish weight of 128.3 total pounds, trailed by Fish Bomb II with 125.2, Finfinder II with 124.55, Nearwater with 122.95, Hot Rod with 122.85, Legacy I with 122.65 and Instigator with 122.4.

In the live bait division, Murphy's Irish Pub II leads with 106.5, followed by Pit Crew II with 106.15 and Max King's Marine I with 100.65.

Pimp Fish Pirates lead the inaugural tuna division with a 265-pound bluefin caught on the first day. Several bigger tuna were caught Friday and there likely are even bigger ones out there to be had today.

The field features 161 teams and a total payout of $175,586.

Teams currently are on the water grinding it out for a last chance to take the lead and get into the money.

Like always, we'll be back with more.