By VDGIF   Dove season is underway, offering lots of exciting shooting opportunities in the coming months. Below is the Game Department’s assessment. The mourning dove is one of the most abundant bird species in North America and dove populations have been stable for the past 10 years. Population estimates are derived from leg-banding studies and breeding bird surveys … [Read more...]

  By Harry Murray At this time of the season the low, clear trout streams present us with a challenge which produces an exceptionally gratifying form of angling. The trout carefully select feeding stations which enable them to capture the greatest amount of food while exerting the least amount of energy. They are exceptionally wary now and since the natural food is sparse the largest … [Read more...]

By Jo Ann Abell   Snapping turtles are in a bit of trouble and the biggest threat is man While snapping turtles are the embodiment of turtles who shared the planet with dinosaurs for a time, they are now obliged to share it with the human species, a far bigger threat to its survival. Each year many females are hit by automobiles in their search for nesting sites, and hatchlings on … [Read more...]

By Bruce Ingram   Whitetop Laurel just might be the most unique trout stream in the Old Dominion. Located in Washington County in far Southwest Virginia near Damascus and Abingdon, Whitetop features mountainous scenery and classic trout habitat with plunge pools, runs, and pocket water. But as pristine as the setting is, the Virginia Creeper Trail runs along much of the stream, making … [Read more...]

By Sherman Shifflett   Covesville. It’s where I grew up. Covesville, Virginia (County of Albemarle) is located in a valley on Route 29, southwest of Charlottesville, near the Nelson County line. The area was originally settled by Scots-Irish immigrants from the Shenandoah Valley in the mid-1700s, though little of the early settlement remains. The road here was once the … [Read more...]

(Trumpet Vine) Got a couple letters from my articles last week – one concerning my search for the identification of a beautiful roadside bloom I saw. Hal Hurka wrote that it might be a Trumpet Vine. Says Hal, “I can’t tell from your photo if the flowers on the mystery plant are trumpet shaped or not. If they are, it is probably a Trumpet Vine or similar plant. We saw one years ago and my … [Read more...]

By Sherman Shifflett   (Ed Note: Farmers and backyard gardeners alike are all at the mercy of the weather, but anymore, we are also at the mercy of varmints. Here is an account of one gentleman farmer’s struggle with the thieving beasts.)   Dealing with varmints during the first six months of 2019 has been a real battle. Squirrels have been the worst. There's a Bartlett pear … [Read more...]

By James Friend Dickerson During a recent trip to Manteo, NC, we got skunked on a Cobia fishing trip due to using a small craft during high winds. All was not lost! A friend stopped by the house and gifted us a couple of Puppy Drum - some call it a Drum, Red Fish or Channel Bass, depending on size and location. We call it delicious, whether  for breakfast with fried potatoes or for dinner with … [Read more...]

Northern Water Snake (nonvenomous). Photo credit: J.D. Willson   By J.D. Kleopfer, Herpetologist, VCDGIF Spring is here and the fishing is heating up. It’s also that time of the year when lots of other critters are heating up and becoming active. Among these critters are water snakes and cottonmouths (aka “water moccasins”). Here are some helpful tips on identification and behavior … [Read more...]

Every spring, beginning in April, striped bass by the thousands make their way from salt water up through the fresh waters of the Roanoke River for their annual spawning run.  These fish migrate to the area around Weldon, NC and provide anglers with a chance at a fishing trip of a lifetime. The stripers stay in this area throughout the month of May. The average catch will be from 20-100 per … [Read more...]