Standard The PagePutnam 6 – July 30-August 3, 2012
Outdoor News Outdoors
31,2012 – Page 7 Tuesday,July The Putnam Standard
Remembering Andy Hansroth,outdoors writer
David Payne Sr. Column by David Payne Sr. davidpayne@theputnamstandard.com
I was a teenager in the mid1990s, when the U.S. House of Representatives passed a big gun-control measure. According to the newspaper accounts, when the announcement came, the entire Charleston
Gazette staff cheered – except for one guy, Andy Hansroth, the outdoors writer. An argument ensued, which was entire Gazette staff vs. Andy Hansroth, which culminated in Andy and James A. Haught writing opposing columns on gun-control. That Gazette debate caused quite a flurry – my pro-SecondAmendment father cancelled our Gazette subscription and some 20 years later, still no issues are allowed in his house. I learned, as I'm sure Andy did, the news media overall – especially in larger markets - is pretty liberal. It's good to know that there is a place in that world for good old boys like Andy and me. Andy could be Grizzard-like at times. He had a wit I always enjoyed. His West Virginia Encyclopedia article on hunting dogs begins “Since the human nose is virtually worthless...” John A. “Andy” Hansroth was
born in 1959 in the Eastern Panhandle and was the Gazette's outdoors writer for many years. Whether it was gun control, deer farming, mountaintop removal, Andy called his shots exactly as he saw them. He could be tough on the DNR, something I've never seen any reason to be myself, but what he truly believed, he said. I have always respected that. When chronic-wastingdisease was first discovered in Hampshire County about 10 years ago, Andy came down hard on deer farming, as did I. There was, however, one key difference between us, I was the outdoors writer at the state's 6th largest newspaper and he was at West Virginia's largest. What he wrote often got national attention. Andy was always getting ripped by the gun-control crowd, deer farmers and a host of other people who didn't
Outdoors Roundup: New Sport Fish Poster Available By David Payne Sr. davidpayne@theputnamstandard.com
aThe West Virginia Division of Natural Resources recently made a sport-fish identification poster available for free. The poster features paintings of game fish found in West Virginia. It was produced by the DNR's Wildlife Resources Section, said Frank Jezioro, DNR director. “We’ve published this poster in response to many outdoor enthusiasts who have been asking for something like this for a while,” said Jezioro. “The fish illustrations have been printed on the back of our fishing regulations for years, but the images on this poster are much larger and clearer. I’m told many people who have received the posters have framed them and hung them on their office or recreation room walls.” The color poster features warmwater and coldwater fish species. Fish enthusiasts can go to the DNR website and print the poster in either letter size or 11-by- 17-inch sizes. To print a copy, go to www.wvdnr.gov and click on “Sport Fish Identification Poster” under the Fishing
heading. Already printed 18-by-24 inch posters are also available for free. They can be picked up at state parks, DNR district offices or an 11-by-17 inch poster can be mailed. To obtain a copy, call (304) 558-2771 or write: WVDNR, 324 Fourth Avenue, South Charleston WV 25303. Special Antlerless Hunt Applications Accepted The West Virginia DNR is now accepting applications for limited-permit antlerless hunting at several wildlife management areas, said Curtis I. Taylor, DNR Wildlife Resources chief. “These limited permit areas provide antlerless deer hunting opportunities in counties or areas of the state where wildlife biologists have determined that limited numbers of antlerless deer permits are necessary to meet management objectives,” Taylor said. Three Wildlife Management Areas (Calvin Price State Forest, Elk River and Upper Mud River), National Forest Land in Tucker County and five counties or portions thereof (Clay, Fayette, Nicholas, Pocahontas and Webster) will have a limited number of Class N licenses for resident and Class
NN licenses for non-resident antlerless deer hunting from October 25-27 on private land only and November 19 through December 1, December 13-15 and December 28 through December 31 on private and public land. Applications must be received by the DNR by August 24. The 2012 limited antlerless deer season will provide an opportunity for 650 residents and non-residents to participate on the three WMAs and national forest land in Tucker County. An additional 1,500 residents and non-residents will be selected to hunt antlerless deer in the five counties (Clay, Fayette, Nicholas, Pocahontas and Webster) that are restricted to antlerless deer hunting. For more information on antlerless deer season dates and bag limits, consult the 2012-2013 Hunting and Trapping Regulations Summary, which is available from West Virginia hunting and fishing license agents, DNR offices and online at www.wvdnr.gov . These applications may be downloaded from the DNR’s Web page at www.wvdnr.gov under the “Hunting/Main Page” heading.
agree with what he had to say. You can still find some surviving anti-Hansroth releases online from various people going after something Andy had written. My favorite example is a religious article – and this was posted just this year – that calls Andy a “Charlton-Heston clone” and “High bishop in the hunting hierarchy.” I don't know if Andy ever realized that some kid would be reading his stuff and think “I want to do that someday.” I was such a kid. I sometimes think about Andy when I write about the outdoors. I wish I had gotten to meet him. I wish I could call him up right now and tell him what an inspiration he was to me, but I can't. A father of three and only 45, Andy died in 2005 as a result of an operation by a doctor with very questionable credentials and Andy's case was one of many in a flurry of malpractice lawsuits against him. There ap-
parently was a settlement reached in that case last year, which, of course, doesn't bring Andy back or write the many things that have remained unwritten. What's sad to me is that Andy's writings are not readily available today – at least not freely on the Internet. I wasn't able to find any of his books for sale anywhere and I can only find one of his outdoors columns that can be read without using a credit card. That's a shame, because it’s hard for a writer's memory to live on if his words aren't readily available. But I remember Andy Hansroth. It's hard to forget somebody who inspired you to write a column every week for more than a decade. Contact David Payne Sr. at davidpayne@theputnamstandard.com.
Fish Report Compiled by David Payne Sr. B e e c h Fo r k : T h e re s e rvoir water level is at summer pool. Anglers should c a l l t h e B e e c h Fo r k C o r p s of En gi n e e r s off i ce at ( 304) 5 2 5 - 4 8 3 1 f o r m o re i n f o rmation. Bass fishing may b e s l ow i n g n ow w i t h h o t d a y t i m e t e m p e ra t u re s. Tr y fishing early in the morning or near dusk to beat the heat, channel catfish will be actively feeding during this time as well. Hy b r i d s t r i p e d b a s s a n d white bass can be caught u s i n g w h i t e l u re s. E a s t Ly n n : T h e re s e r v o i r water level is at summer pool but the lake is muddy f r o m re c e n t s t o r m e v e n t s. Fo r m o re i n f o r m a t i o n c a l l the Corps of Engineers re c o rd e d m e s s a g e a t ( 3 0 4 ) 849-9861. Bass will be holding near logs, stumps and fish attracting brush p i l e s. Mu s k y w i l l b e f o u n d near bush piles and fallen t re e s. C h a n n e l c a t f i s h a n d flatheads will be good t h r o u g h o u t t h e d a y. Tr y crappie fishing around s t a n d i n g t i m b e r o r t re e s that have fallen into the w a t e r. A f e w w a l l e y e h a v e been caught in the lake a n d t a i l w a t e r.
St e p h e n s L a k e : St e p h e n s i s v e r y c l e a r. To i m p r ov e the odds of catching fish, u s e l i g h t l i n e, c a s t f a r, a n d re d u c e n o i s e, f i s h q u i e t l y a n d c a re f u l l y. A s m e n t i o n e d p re v i o u s l y, a n g l e r s fishing at dawn, dusk and i n t o t h e n i g h t a re f i n d i n g g re a t e r s u c c e s s d u e t o l i m i t e d b o a t t ra f f i c a n d c o o l e r c o n d i t i o n s. T h e s e a n g l e r s a re u s i n g m o s t l y s u r f a c e l u re s l i k e j i t t e r b u g s , b u z z baits and prop baits for s u c c e s s. B a s s a re a l s o being caught using wacky rigged worms in various c o l o r s a t v a r i o u s d e p t h s. Ca t f i s h h a ve b e e n re c e n t l y caught using chicken live r s , w o r m s a n d p re p a re d d i p b a i t s. Lower Ohio and Kanawha r i v e r s : Ta i l w a t e r f i s h i n g s h o u l d b e e x c e l l e n t . Ji g s w i t h m i n n ow s c o u l d p r o vide some excellent c a t c h e s o f s a u g e r, w h i t e bass, hybrid striped bass and f re s hw ater d r u m . If art i f i c i a l b a i t s a re yo u r p re f e re n c e white and c h a r t re u s e a re g o o d c o l o r s t o t r y. B l u e, f l a t h e a d a n d channel catfish activity is p i c k i n g u p.
Contact David Payne Sr.at davidpayne@theputnamstandard.com