The James and Shenandoah Rivers The Shenandoah was at a good level and clarity to float and fish on June 10, but over an inch of rain mixed with strong storms caused localized flooding. It has been a rough season for smallmouth fisheries and we are hopeful that populations are in tact despite potentially losing the entire spawn this year. Hopefully we will have an extended season into October … [Read more...]

They were first discovered in the Potomac River in 2004 - the infamous snakehead fish, imported from Asia and illegally released into our public waterways. The Game Department went on a snakehead safari, trying to eradicate the invasive species, but to no avail. The menacing looking snakeheads spread throughout the Potomac and then to the James and Rappahannock rivers and even into Lake Anna and … [Read more...]

Besides bluebirds, the most welcomed guests in my backyard are Monarch butterflies. They are like miniature, fine-art paintings flitting from bush to bush and flower to flower. They are magnificent creatures and they are threatened. Their fiercest enemies happen to be human beings, who are rapidly destroying meadows and the milkweed plants that Monarchs must have in order to survive. One of my … [Read more...]

(Field Sparrow carrying an insect to its young. Photo by Ken Mattison). By The Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries   Watching birds eat from your bird feeder can be a true joy, but did you know that you could take your bird feeding and bird watching to the next level by growing native plants? Native plants will attract birds and support them by providing them the natural … [Read more...]

  By Sherman Shifflett (Intro by Jim Brewer: More and more folks, even those in urban areas, are raising chickens. The difference between a fresh and a store bought egg is night and day. Plus, they’re fun to have around. Here are some notes from Sherman Shifflett, a regular CvilleBuzz contributor, about his experiences raising chickens.)   Except when I was in college and in … [Read more...]

By Sherman Shifflett   Lots of rain here, and we needed it badly. Some of our roads are flooded and we had 2-hour delay on school openings. Not sure how much rain we got because I had taken my rain gauge in last fall. Every year it freezes and breaks. I'm guessing between 4-6". My chicken house is about 100 yards downhill from my house and it got flooded - for the first time in 15 … [Read more...]

By James Friend Dickerson   In 1999 we traveled through Scotland, touring the country and visiting Masonic Lodges. After many Lodge meetings, we enjoyed the time of Harmony (food, drink, music, and spirited conversation). Among my favorite food items during Harmony were the sausage rolls.  When Jen Christenson made her sausage rolls using an Australian recipe, they were just like the … [Read more...]

Capt. Alan Cain   Hello friends and fellow anglers. Hope you are all doing well and had a great Thanksgiving. It has been a while since my last fishing report, but I wanted to give you all a quick update on the last few months. I left North Carolina in October for my annual 3-month trip to Louisiana to guide for giant adult redfish and black drum. This is all shallow water sight … [Read more...]

By Sherman Shifflett   Robert Runnett took this handsome buck last Monday morning in Louisa County. It has 13 points and an inside spread of 20 1/2" – a very good mass and a huge body close to 200-lbs. The buck had one split brow tine and three kickers on G2. Robert dropped the nice deer with a crossbow. Robert also took a bear on Saturday. Robert is the son of Lloyd Runnett, who ran … [Read more...]