WINTER IS "show time" for outdoor enthusiasts afflicted with cabin fever. Almost every weekend sees some outdoor-related extravaganza within 100 miles or so of Fredericksburg.
Outdoor impresario and Louisa County resident C.C. McCotter isn't afraid to wade into this crowded field. He hopes the Fredericksburg Outdoor Show becomes a regular offering in the winter lineup. The show begins tomorrow and runs through Sunday at the Fredericksburg Expo and Conference Center.
Produced by Ballantine Management Group, the show represents an expansion to a larger venue of the Woods and Waters Hunting & Fishing Flea Market Show that has been held for the past two years.
McCotter is executive editor of the Woods & Waters publication seen in many regional tackle shops and sporting goods stores. He also runs a Lake Anna fishing guide service and is an outdoor writer whose work is carried in weekly papers.
McCotter has assembled several regional tournament anglers and guides. A full schedule is available at bmgevents.com. Topics include: Pitchin' & Flippin' with Rob Grike; Top Finesse Tactics with McCotter; Tidal River Tactics with Capt. Karl Bunch; Early Spring Bass Tactics with John Hutchens; Fishing Chickahominy Lake with Art Conway; Family Fishing & Fun on New River with Paul Moody; and Fishing Soft Plastic Stickbaits with Mike Gilpin.
Bunch is a field editor for Woods & Waters, while Grike is an associate with McCotter's Lake Anna guiding operation. Conway is a biology professor at Randolph-Macon College who also operates a local guiding service.
McCotter said the Hawg Trough Bass Tank, featuring fish from Lake Anna, should be a big draw. He also thinks the trout pond will be a hit.
Scheduled seminars are heavy on fishing with the exception of retriever dog demonstrations by Jack Jagoda and an indoor archery shoot staged by the Manahoac Bowmen.
"We will have three golden trout. If someone catches one of them and releases it, they will get a special prize," McCotter said. "We will also have trout pond tournaments for adults and kids. The Bass Federation will also provide a Kids Corner Activity Center and Kids Casting Contest."
February is a competitive month for outdoor shows. One Northern Virginia show folded operations a couple years ago. But, an estimated 8,000 people visited Bassarama in Richmond last month.
Direct competition for the Fredericksburg show would be the eight-day long Eastern Sports and Outdoor Show, the granddaddy of outdoor shows, which wraps up in Harrisburg, Pa., this weekend. Also, the large, long-running Western Virginia Sports Show is scheduled Feb. 9-11 at the Augusta Expoland in Staunton (see calendar).
McCotter is upbeat about the Fredericksburg venue and said the show's slogan is "Setting the New Standard."
"The Expo Center is world-class, the region is vibrant and our plan is to treat our exhibitors right and pack the house," he said. "Our speakers are well known in the regional angling circuits and will be very entertaining, easy to talk to and accessible. They also better represent the exhibitors at the show.
"We have a limited number of Swap Meet Flea Market tables so members of the hunting and fishing community can resell items to raise money for their various reasons. Hunt clubs, conservation groups and tournament organizations have taken advantage of this option."
Show hours are 1-9 p.m. tomorrow; Saturday, 10 a.m.-6 p.m.; and Sunday, 10-5. Cost is $6 for adults, $5 for seniors, and free for children 12 and under free. Discount coupons are available at bmgevents.com. Click on the show logo. Call Ballantine Management Group at 548-5555 or see fredericks burgexpocenter.com for more information.
DGIF Funding RestorationVirginia Gov. Tim Kaine has presented a proposed executive amendment to the 2006-2008 Biennial Budget for the state that would return all watercraft sales and use taxes to the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
The tax revenue had been dedicated to the department since 1994, but was directed into the state's general fund as the state grappled with severe fiscal issues in 2002.
Kaine's amended budget represents $400,000 returning to the VDGIF this fiscal year and $1 million-2 million next fiscal year, according to department spokeswoman Julia Dixon.
Watercraft sales and use taxes are paid on powerboat purchases. As Virginia's boating agency, game wardens in VDGIF's Law Enforcement Division patrol Virginia waters and investigate boating incidents. The department also processes boat registration and titling for Virginia boaters, teaches boating education courses, and provides access to the commonwealth's rivers, lakes and the Chesapeake Bay.
Currently, the department owns 214 boating access sites across the commonwealth. Some sites were essentially mothballed due to funding woes in 2002.
Ken Perrotte can be reached at The Free Lance-Star, 616 Amelia Street, Fredericksburg, Va. 22401; by fax at 373-8455; or e-mail at