We often take the sense of smell for granted – until it’s gone. During the COVID era, many reported the loss of smell as the virus damaged sensitive cells withing the nose. Generally, the ability to smell returned, though sometimes it took years to recover. As humans, we have a pretty good sense of smell, but nothing like that of a dog. For years, I had bird dogs, mostly English Setters. My … [Read more...]

For over 75 years, revenue from the sale of hunting and fishing licenses has financed Virginia game management, game warden salaries, numerous conservation projects and fish hatcheries, to name a few. But now there are fewer and fewer outdoorsmen buying licenses and many projects are in peril – including our fish hatcheries. Says Asheley Stimpson of the DWR, “Virginia has nine fish hatcheries … [Read more...]

“Ladybug, silver dollar, rabbit's foot, with a four-leaf clover and a horseshoe.”  You’d have to go all the way back to 1958 to recall those lyrics in a song recorded by Billy & Lillie called “Lucky Ladybug”. Only Boomers would ever even have heard of it. But I think of that song often, whenever the term “lucky ladybugs” arises. Along with silver dollars, rabbit's … [Read more...]

I went out to get the paper a few days ago and saw a wonderful sight. There was a worm in the driveway after an evening’s rain. That’s a good sign. That means spring is not far away when lawns and gardens will teem with worms.I have always had an affinity for worms, dating back to the days when my dad and I went down to the creek bottom behind our house to dig them for bait. When I had a paper … [Read more...]

Houston, we’ve got a problem. Actually, it’s Virginia, we’ve got a problem. We are losing our wildlife and habitat and the funds to help are drying up. For years, license fees for hunters and fishermen fully supported the Game Department, now called the Division of Wildlife Resources (DWR). Those fees paid for the salaries of Biologists and Game Wardens, in addition to fund the purchase and … [Read more...]

Yep, this coming week is Bat Week, ironically in advance of Halloween, vampires, ghosts, and goblins. But bats are perhaps the most misunderstood of all animals. They are feared and loathed by some, but they play a vital part in our environment. Writes Courtney Celley of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, “We at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service want to set the record straight and help others … [Read more...]

A quarter-million pounds of trout or roughly 400,000 catchable-sized trout: That’s how much the Coursey Springs Hatchery produces on an average year. Located in Bath County, Virginia, Coursey Springs Fish Hatchery is a unique grow-out facility where brook, rainbow, brown, and tiger trout are raised to stockable size. The facility receives fingerlings from Wytheville, Marion, and Paint Bank … [Read more...]

By Katie Martin/DWR The “music” of fall for many wildlife species is the sound of acorns raining down from the trees. In most years, the steady “plop, plop” begins in early September and can continue, depending on the crop, through October. On calm days, they fall steadily as singles or pairs; but on a rainy, blustery day they can pour from the sky, leaving “marble yards” to navigate across in … [Read more...]

I have caught Golden Trout before, but I have never caught a Golden Catfish. The gentleman pictured above caught two Golden Catfish in Lake Orange within a few minutes of each other. These Golden Catfish are really just albino channel cats. The taste the same, bite the same things, fight just as hard, but they are a beautiful yellowish gold color. I don’t know how any more there may be in … [Read more...]