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tt ,^4^ -^ -yWO DiSiSiLJtR^g: ^\ k::^^ . CommonwealthofVirginia MarkR.Warner,Governor iiiiin LHUNTING & FISHING /^ ICENSE FEE b' WilliamL. Woodfin,Jr Subsidizedthispublication SecretaryofNatural Resources W.TayloeMurphy, Jr. Formanyofyou vidual pictvires for a variety of publica- DepartmentofGameand whohavecome tions. Hehasthreestateduckstampsto InlandFisheries to love Virginia hiscreditandhas donatedover500orig- William L. Woodfin,Jr.,Director tWihledlifneammaegazCianrel, icnoanltrpiabiuntteisngsmutcohDuocfkhsisUnsluicmcietsesd.asHea MembersoftheBoard "Spike"Knuthhas wildlifeartisttothefactthathehascon- CChhaarilremsaGn.McDamel, Fredericksburg bmeocuosmewistyhnhounny-- tciannuaebdotuotsotuurdynaatnudralleasrunrarsoumnudcinhgsa,shseo RViicchea-rcdhaLi.rmCoarnrigan,Arlington dreds of articles thathisillustrationsandpaintingscould CecilT. Campbell, Warrenton and original illus- bemoreaccurate. SherrySmithCrumley,Buchanan trations about Virginia's wildlife and ImightaddthatalongthewaySpike ChuckCunningham,Fairfax theplaces,andpeoplewhohaveshaped hasalsomanagedtosharehisloveofthe JimmyDean, Varina the states incredible outdoor heritage. outdoorsbyhelpingtohostandco-pro- DanielA. Hoffler, Eastville But, most may know him best for his duce over 300 television programs, DanR. McCoy, BigStoneGap artistic talents that have brought to life hoursand hoursofradioprogramsarid Will McNeely, Charlottesville the pages of Virginia Wildlife. After al- shared his knowledge about the out- JRaicckhaTr.dShEo.oRsamiiletyh,,CCohuersttlearnd most30yearsofwriting, picturetaking doorstohundredsofthousandsofindi- and painting his way tlirough the Old viduals through articles that have ap- Magazine Staff Dominion, Spike Knuth is officially peared in newspapers around the state. LeeWalker, Editor hanging out the sign on his office door Ask what his biggest accomplishment MelWhite,RonMessina,JuliaDixonSmit thatreads,"I'llbeoutoftheofficeenjoy- hasbeeninhislongcareerandSpikewill ContributingEditors ingtheoutdoors." tellyouithasbeensharinghisloveofthe EmilyPels,ArtDirector Retirement is something that most outdoorswithhiswifeSusieandhistwo SpikeKnuth, Illustrator,StaffWriter people work for all their life, but as sons,BarryandMatt. CarolKushlak, ProductionAssistant Spike puts it "it simply means I'll have Goodbyesarealwayshard todo,but StaffContributors: CarolHeiser msoonrewthiomelittoerwarliltyehaansdnpoatinhta.d"Faordaaypegro- Swphiokehhaavseacsosmureedtomeen,joayndhiasllcoonfttrhiobus-e Color separations and printing by Nittaiti ValleyOffset,StateCollege, PA. by in the last 50 years where he didn't tions in Virginia Wildlife, that as long as have his pen and paintbrush in hand, hecanpickupapaintbrushorpenthat Virginia midlife (ISSN 0042 6792) is publishd' idtr'sivhearadntdo beenltiehvuestihaastmhetosticllonhatsintuhee hViergwiilnliaa'lswraiycshcoounttdionourethoerhietlapgepraonmdotteo mIandoldnartnehdslsyFicbshhyaenrtgiheeess.VitSoregVniindrigaailnDlieaspuWabislrdctlrmiifepen,ttiPo.onOf.oGrBadoemxres74aar7n! showcasing all the wonderful natural trytoeducatepeopleontheimportance RedOak,Iowa51591-0477.Addressallothercoii resources that abound in the state. But, ofprotecting ournatural resources. We munications concerning this publication ' forthosewhoknowSpike, tliisisnoth- certainly wish him and his family the SVtirregeitn,ia Rmiidclhifmeo,ndP.,O.VBiorxgi1n1i1a04,234203100-1W1e0s4t.BrSouiS ing new coming from an individual verybestin thisnextstageofa truly re- scriptionrateis$12.95foroneyear,$23.95fortw who grew up around the lakes and markable career of bringing the out- years; $2.00 pereachback issue, subjecttoavai marshesofsoutheasternWisconsinand doorsalittleclosertoeachofus. aybeialri,ty.anOdutm-uofs-tcobuentprayidraitnesU.aSr.e f$u2n4d.s9.5TfoorsOuil beganhuntingand fishingattheageof scribe, call toll-free (800) 710-9369. Postmaste seven. Spike says he quickly became Please send all address changes to Virgin fascinated with the natural world Wildlife,PO.Box7477,RedOak,Iowa51591-047 PostageforperiodicalspaidatRichmond,Virgin around him and found that he had a andadditionalentryoffices. j burning desire to become a wildlife il- Copyright 2003 by the Virginia Department i lustrator, thanks in part to a movie GameandInlandFisheries.Allrightsreserved. called "Whispering Wings" produced The Department of Game and Inland Fisherii byDucksUnlimitedinthe1950s.Itwas shall afford to all persons an equal access i the sight and sounds ofwaterfowl that Department programs and facilities withoi sparkedapassiontopaintbirdsandes- rabeiglaitryd,tsoexr,acoer,caogleo.r,Ifreylioguiobn,elniaetvieontahlatoryiogiun,hdaiv pecially ducks in their natural habitat beendiscriminatedagainstinanyprogram,acti> thathelped his professional career take ity,orfacility,pleasewriteto:VirginiaDepartmei ofGameandInland Fisheries,ATTN:Complianc flight. Officer, 4010 West Broad Street. PO. Box lllO' Since that time Spike has illustrated Richmond,Virginia23230-1104. over 80 covers and thousands of indi- "ThispublicationisintendedforgeneralinformJ tional purposes only and every effort has bee madetoensureitsaccuracy.Theinformationcor tainedhereindoesnotser\easalegalrepresent: tion of fish and wildlife lawsor regulations.Th MissionStatement Virginia Department of Game and Inlan' Fisheries does not assume responsibility foran TomanageVirginia'.swildlifeandinlandfishtomaintainoptimumpopulationsof:illspeciestosei\ellieneedsoftlieCoininonwealtli; change in dates, regulations, or informationth< toprovideoppoiHinityfor:illtoenjoywildlife,inlandfish,boatingiuidrelatedoutdoorrecreation;topromote,safet\' mayoccurafterpublication." forpersons;mdproperty'inconnectionwithboating,lumtiiig;uidfl.shing. ¥ IRGINIA WILDLIFE page4 page 10 Aboutthecover:TheSmithRiver,belowPhilpottDam,haslong beenconsideredoneofthebesttailwatertroutstreamsinVirginia. Anglersoftenfindthemselvessurroundedinablanketoffogasthe coldwaterfromtherivermixeswithwarmair.©DwightDyke Features 4 AnglingforWesternVirginia'sBigThreeSunfish byBruceIngram Whenitcomestoapopularitycontest:There'snothinglikeadayof page 15 catchingamessofrockbass,redbreastsunfishorbluegill. 10 DwarfSunfish byTimCopeland Youmayneverreelinoneofthesesmallfish,buttheysurewillcatch your attentionifyoueverseeone. 12WhatLiesBeneath. .TheSurfaceOfTheSmithRiver? . byMaryDail FisheriesbiologistsaresmdyingtheSmithRivertofindwaysto improveoneofVirginiasbesttroutstreams. 15 HabitatatHome® by CarolA.Heiser Lookingforwaystoimprovetheenvironmentandhelpwildlife? Itmaybeassimpleasstarringagardenfornatureinyourownyard. Z(dTomorrow'sAngler byKingMontgomery Theimpressionsyoumakeonayoungstertodaywilllastalifetime. V IRGINIA JuneJournal WILDLIFE 30 Journal 33 Recipes Magazine 31 BackyardWild BreamontheTable Bird(andToad)Baths 34 NaturallyWild Subscriptions 32 OnTheWater ProthonotaryWarbler BoatInsurance??? 35 OutdoorCatalog subscriptioncallsonly 1-800-710-9369 DedicatedtotheConservationofVirginia's WildlifeandNaturalResources 12 issues for $12.95! 24 issues for $23.95 VOLUME NUMBER 64 6 Wea Angling for BigThredi byBruceIngram Rock bass, bluegill and redbreast are three T hree recent fishing trips of ofthe 11 species ofsunfishfound in mine stand out not because they produced trophy bass, Virginia. Thesefun to catch andfeisty citationtrout, orovergrownstripers, butbecausetheyengenderedplenty fighters offer plenty ofangling action, and ofpiscatorialpleasureofthepanfish kind. On the upper James, my son are a great sportfor all ages. Markand 1 enjoyed avoyagewhere every eddy seemed to yield a rock bass to my delighted offspring. A Bud LaRoche, a regional fisheries HaditatRequirements week later on the South Fork of the manager for the Virginia Depart- ShenandoahRiver, thehardeststrik- ment of Game and Inland Fisheries Rock bass (AmblopUtes rupestris) ing fish of the day was a large red- lists the rock bass, redbreast sunfish hold the title as the panfishwith the breastsunhshthatsmashed a3-inch and bluegill sunfish as the three most colorful nicknames. This sun- longtopwaterplug, thenlooped the most popular and widespread sunfish is known variously as a redeye, bait twice around a rock. And on a fishinWesternVirginia.Followingis blackp—erch, rocksunfishandmyfa- BotetourtCountyfarmpond,Ispent someinterestingbiological informa- vorite goggle-eye. As several of a relaxing day flyfishing with pop- tionon the region'sbig three, where these monikers intimate, the rock pers for willing bluegills that later to go in the western reaches of the bass possesses large eyes of a crim- served as the main ingredient for Old Dominion to catch them, and sonnaturewith the second mostdi- dinner. somehow-totips. agnostic featurebeing its dark olive sides. Rock bass also possess large mouths, which extend beyond the eyes and dark blotches on the gill A flaps. similarspecies in Virginia is the Roanoke bass, which typically grows much larger in size and is largely restricted to the Roanoke Riverdrainage.Therockbasshassix spines in the anal fin whereas the Roanokebasshasthree. Ayounganglerproudlydisplaysa rockbassthatwascaughtwhile wadingtheJames Riverin Bote- tourtCounty. VIRGINIAWILDLIFE* www.dgif.state.va.us [em Virgin Sunfisii "Normally, anglers will find rock bass in streams that have cobble, boul- dersandfasterflowingwater, like theJames, New, Rappahannock andSouthForkoftheShenandoah," says LaRoche. "Rock bass typically feed in the main current, but they will also move to the shoreline and hide around boulders and sub- merged logs. This is especially true on rivers like the James where rock bass will hide along the banks to avoid flathead catfish, which are their major predator. Rarely will anglers find rock bass in deep, slow movingpools. "Rock bass have been making a comebackon theJamesbecauseflat- head catfish numbers have recently decreased.Fishermenhavejustbeen wearing out those big flatheads and Asmallspinnerbaitand ultra-light spinningtackleisaperfectcombina- tionforcatching redbreastsunfish crimsonshade), longblackgillflaps, (above) and bluegill (left), illustra- small mouths, and turquoise-col- tion bySpikeKnuth. oredstreaksacrossthecheeks. "Redbreast sunfish are found in keeping a number of them. Fewer thesamewesternVirginiastreamsas flatheadsmeansmorerockbass." the rockbass, butthey arenotlikely Redbreast sunfish (Lepomis auri- tobefoundinthesameplaces," says tiis)alsosportsomeinterestingnick- LaRoche. "Redbreasts prefer differ- names, amongthemtheyellowbelly ent habitat niches such as deep and sun perch. Redbreasts are char- pools, shaded shorelines and the acterized by theiryellowbellies and fringes of water willow beds. And lowersides(redduringthebreeciing whilerockbass,especiallyafterthey season, the malesespecially flaunt a growlargerinsize, consumea lotof JUNE 2003 Above:TheSouth Forkofthe ©Bruce Ingram Shenandoah Riverisamarvelous populationandnotesthatthismem- ion anglers caught was the bluegill redbreastsunfishstreamandholds ber of the catfish clan can similarly sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus). This excellentpopulations. Below: Ofall decimate redbreast sunfish num- panfish'sbynamesincludebluesun- thesunfishspeciesnonemaybeas bers. Butthesamecannotbesaid for fish,copperbellyandbreamorbrim. populartocatchandeatasthe muskies. Frankly, the nicknames bream and bluegill. "The Department is doing a brim are real sore spots forme. True muskiestudyontheNewRiverand bream live in European lakes and the preliminary data indicates that can weigh up to 15 pounds with a minnows; redbreastsaremorelikely shinersarethemajorfoodforone-to nice fish running 3 pounds. When topreyuponstoneflies,mayfliesand two-year-old muskies and that the someone tells me that they caught various other aquatic insects. Red- biggerfisheatmainlysuckers," says some really large bream, I ask how breasts also will often cruise shore- Williams. "From what we know so many ofthem were over 10 pounds lines as they search for beetles, far from the preliminary data, I and then explain what real bream grasshoppers,cricketsandotherter- would not classify the muskie as a are. restrials." majororminorpredatorofrockbass Bluegillsoftenvaryagreatdealin DepartmentfisheriesbiologistJoe andredbreasts." theircoloration. Gillscan sporthues Williams agrees with LaRoche that Chances are that the first game- from dark blue to light yellow, but flatheads can se- fish that many, if not they almost always possess six to verely impact most. Old Domin- eight irregular vertical bars that are the rock bass quitevisible.Oftendefiningtraitsin- clude black gill flaps, a dark blotch on the rear of dorsal fins, and small mouths that do not extend beyond the eye. Unlike European bream, American bluegills infrequently topapound;a9-inchfishisavery nicespecimenindeed. "In Virginia, bluegills are real bug eaters with aquatic and terrestrial insects being a major part of their diet," says LaRoche. "Occasionally, though, bluegills will consume fish. For ex- ample, atLeesvilleLake, Ihaveseen Bluegill largebluegills congregate above the VIRGINIAWILDLIFE* www.dgif.state.va.us turbines at the dam and wait for large redbreast will measure 9 inch- shad to approach. Then just before es, but most of them will run 5 or 6 the shad are sucked in, the bluegills inches. will rush out and attack. Generally, LaRoche relates thatbluegills can though, bluegills prefer the still sometimes be found in the state's water sections of the state's lakes upland rivers, specifically those sec- and ponds. Docks and backwaters tions above power dams. But the aregreatplacestofishforthem." state's lakes and ponds are where copperbelliesthrive. WheretoGo "Leesville is one of the best lakes for big bluegills because the water AsBudLaRochenotedearlier,the levelsfluctuatesomuchthatthefish upper James and Rappahannock don't typically produce large year above their respective fall lines, the classes," he says. "Typically, the entire length of the New, and the fewer bluegills there are, the larger South Fork of the Shenandoah all they grow. That's the problem with harbor goggle-eyes. Christian bluegillsonSmith Mountain, forex- Goebel, who operates Shenandoah ample. There are so many of them River Outfitters in Luray says that that many of the fish are only 5 or 6 for some reason the South Fork seems to contain many more rock iVnicrhgeisnlioan'gs.Ooftchoeurrse,maaljloofrwelsatkeersn bass above the Bixlers Ferry Bridge (Moomaw, Philpott, Claytor and Whetherit'sfromtheshorelineorin Holston)containbluegills. a boat, wettinga lineforbluegill, "But the region's farm ponds is redbreastsunfishorrockbass wherefishermenwill typicallycatch (below) isagreatwaytointroduce thebiggestbluegills.That'swhereto ayoungstertotheenjoymentof gotofind8-to9-inchandevenlarger fishing. bluegills." Shenandoah, my kids love to fish AnglingTips small minnow plugs for rock bass On our recent float down the and suiifish," says Goebel. "Those upper James, my son Mark caught plugs that can be twitched on the his redeyes on a Cordell Big O surfaceandthenwhenretrievedrun crankbait. Similar small crankbaits, about 6 inches under the top are es- those that measure under 2 inches, peciallyeffective. ButifIhadtopick arejustafewoftheluresthatwillbe- justone lure forboth ofthese game- witch rock sunfish and yellowbel- fish, it would be an inline spinner. lies. Both rock bass and redbreasts can't "On the South Fork of the seemtoleaveaspinneralone." than below it. Many of the smaller riversinwesternVirginia,continues LaRoche, alsocontainrockbass, among them the Maury, Roanoke, Rapidan and North Forkofthe Holston, just to name a few. Red- breast sunfish also frequent thesamestreams. Rock bass typically attain lengthsof6 to 7inches, and myper- sonal best was a fish from a James tributarythatwent12inches.Atruly Rock bass JUNE 2003 OnatriplastJunedowntheSouth Fork with Christian and his son Caleb, the youngster caught a number ofplump redbreasts that fell for ultralight crankbaits. Usually, the fish mauled thecrankbaitassoonas itlanded oraftera few cranksofthe reel. My biggest rock bass have all been caught when I was fishing for jumbo size smallmouths. Given their large mouths, overgrown rock bass can easily engulf 6-inch plastic worms and 4-inch plastic crawfish — and tubebaits all classic lures for largerriverbronzebacks. My biggestredbreasts, truebehe- moths that measured 10 inches in length, have come from the James between Scottsville and Richmond and fell to, of all things, V4-ounce buzzbaits. More likely lures include 2-inchgrubsanddownsizedtopwa- terpropbaits.Effectivelongrodpat- terns for both rock bass and red- breastincludedamselanddragonfly — imitationsand theold standby the SneakyPetepopper. Bluegills are great fun on flyrods, and, frankly, don't worry about matching the hatch with this game- fish. Any dry or wet fly that works for trout will attract gills, and small poppers and imitations of terrestri- als will entice them as well. Again, VIRGINIAWILDLIFE* www.dgif.state.va.us though, don't spend time debating thecolorschemesandrealismofany PfunPanfishingPfacts fly thatyou plan to toss to these ag- gressivepredators. » Femalerockbasswilllayonav- Ofcourse, budding anglers espe- erage around 5,000 eggs, but cially don't have to be experts with themaleguardsthenest. the long rod to bewitch bluegills. Friend Doke Harbison of Roanoke » JRaomceksbaosrsSahreennaontdonaathi,veatmootnhge and liis two grade-school-age chil- otherstreams. dren. Leal"! and Luke, joined me at a Botetourt County farm pond last » Redbreastsunfish arenativeto June. The duo baited up with por- westernVirginia'srivers. tions of nightcrawlers, aiid the kids » A redbreast may take four or caughtanumberofgillsbydunking fiveyearstoreach6inches. portionsofwormsunderared-and- » Bluegills rarely live to be over whitebobber. sixtoeightyearsold. Icanthinkoftwomajorreasonsto » Bluegillsareoneofthemostin- fish for rock bass, redbreast sunfish troduced panfish in Virginia and bluegills. All three are fun to andelsewhere. catch, especially for kids, and make outstandingtablefare.Quitesincere- • Copperbelliesspawnwhenthe ly, each memberofthistriotastesfar water temperature reaches the better than their close relatives, the mid-60s, one female can lay as largemouth, smallmouth and spot- manyas35,000eggs. Asthewarmermonthsofsummer approach, whynotplana tripto ted bass. Those are reasons enough oneofthemanylakes, streamsor to ply Western Virginia's waters for CanoeRental riversfoundinWesternVirginia? theregion'sthreemostpopularpan- Anglerswhoenjoypursuingsun- fish. D fishwillfindthatflyfishingisanex- Shenandoah River Outfitters cellentmethodtolurefishintobit- BruceIngramistheauthoroftwobookson cansupplycurrentriverinforma- ipnegr.sLaenftd:Astgreoaomdersse,ltechtaitoinmiotfaptoepi-n- RriivveerrfisGhuiingdeanadnfdloTathieng:NTehwe JRaimveesr t6iCoAnNaOnEd2o)f.fers guided trips (800- sects, isallthatyou needtoget Guide,bothavailablefromEcopress(800- theirattention. 326-9272) or directly from the authorfor $15.00 at P.O. Box 429, Fincastle, VA 24090.HeandhisfamilyliveinFincastle. JUNE 2003 D^warf What these little fish nevercatchonebyhookandlinebut outline and makes dwarf sunfish these tiny sunfish are an important hard to see in vegetation. Scientists lackinsize^ they and colorful part of Virginia's consider the dwarf sunfish a primi- make up for in wildlife. All are small, less than 4 tivegenusoftheCentrarchid family inchesmaximumlength.Dwarfsun- (sunfish,crappie,blackbass). their colorful fisharecompressed and shaped like Insome circles, dwarfsunfishare the other sunfish but have more popularasfishforaquariaandwater appearance. flowing dorsal and anal fins and a gardens. They adapt readily to rounded, spoon-like tail. This shape aquariumlife,althoughmaleterrito- byTimCopeland makes them excellent at h—overing riality limits the number per tank. and making sharp turns useful Theyhelpkeepmosquitoesdownin maneuvers in the shallows of the outdoor watergardens (as they also Althoughfamiliarinoutline, calm, weedywaterstheyprefer. The dointhewild).Thereisawell-estab- the tiny fish in my hand blackbanded sunfish has distinct lished blackbanded sunfish popula- was something different vertical black bands. The banded tion in captivity in Europe and andspecial. Itsshapewasthatofthe and bluespotted sunfish are hard to southeast Asia and this species is abundaiit bluegill, but its body was distinguishexceptduringspawning legally available from these sources. the color of old leather with shim- season. When on the lookout for However, they are endangered in mering spots of robins-egg blue. It mates, the male bluespotted is dark Virginia,anditisillegaltotakethem wasabluespottedsunfish,oneofthe brown with numerous bluish spots, fromthewild. most colorful inhabitants of Vir- whilethebanded isgreenish-brown Wild dwarf sunfish are found in ginia'scoastalplainwaters. with bands still apparent under the backwaters and swamps on the—At- This species is one of three sel- light-colored spots. Females, juve- lantic and Gulf Coastal Plains all dom-noticed dwarf sunfish (genus niles and non-spawning males of three are present in Virginia. The Enneacanthus); the bluespotted, both species have indistinct vertical bluespotted is the most widespread banded, and blackbanded sunfish bands with light spots otherwise. and occurs throughout Virginia's found inVirginia'swaters. You may Thispatternhelpsbreakupthebody Coastal Plain and even above the