Castaway Sporting Goods (804-706-9100) reports crappie are starting to come back a little bit, with people starting to buy more small and medium bait. The jackfish are biting. Castaway’s two-day Classic tournament was held last weekend as 75 people qualified and competed on Saturday and Sunday: 1. Mitch Blankenshik/ Wayne Braughn , 30.7 pounds; 2. Larry Lester / Barry Tucker , 26.4; 3. Arick Johnson/Cliff Adney , 25.77; 4. Robert Laphan / Adam Laphan , 24.27; 5. Buddy Rhodes / Jimbo Rice , 21. 59, big fish: 6.32.

Andrew Stevens understands first hand what a strange and powerful thing the mind is. One day you’re teaching school, coaching track and running a six-minute mile. You have perplexing symptoms - loss of appetite, vomiting - but you’re 27 years old. Overall, you feel healthy.

Let’s start with a caveat: Private land generally is a better place to look for big bucks than public land in the state of Virginia. That said, not everyone has access to private parcels, many of which actively are managed to create optimal whitetail habitat.

Modified and new warnings about eating fish caught from various rivers and reservoirs around the state were issued today by the Virginia Department of Health. The new fish consumption advisories were issued because of mercury and polychlorinated biphenyls contamination. In some cases, residents are being advised to eat no more than two meals a month of specific fish. Some species of fish, however, should not be eaten at all from certain waters.

The victim was crossing a barbed wire fence and his coat became entangled. While attempting to free himself, the gun discharged, striking him in the lower right leg, resulting in amputation.

The signs of change are subtle but unmistakable. In two months, the Richmond Marathon, which now includes half-marathon and 8K races, will bring well more than 10,000 runners out of the woodwork. In two weeks.

Walking in an outdoor wonderland It’s hard to overstate the overwhelming experience of walking into a Bass Pro Shops for the first time. This is true even when the store is weeks from being completed.

As hurricane remnants continue to bring much needed rain to Central Virginia, rising water levels in the James River have had the simultaneous effect of reinvigorating life on the river and covering up the scene of a crime.

Every year on Sept. 1, I perform my kind of own Punxsutawney Phil routine. My prediction routine is not unlike Phil’s, only the result is more consistent.

The people who created the Snowden Trail in Northern Virginia’s Sky Meadows State Park knew their target audience: urban and suburbanites looking for a little breathing space.

In the past few years, you could almost set your watch by the late summer drought conditions that settle over the region. Nothing drives home that fact like a trip to the Falls of the James River.

At first glance, two recent fishing trips - smallmouth bass fishing on the Shenandoah River and flounder fishing in the Chesapeake Bay - didn’t have much in common. Yet both brought home an important fact: Virginia’s fisheries benefit from the volunteer work of anglers.

Summertime. The floating is easy. Well, not that easy. At least not right now. But under even slightly wetter conditions, there are few August activities more relaxing than floating down the James River on an inner tube.