Poaching on James still problem

This column was originally going to be about noodling, the mostly insane practice of angling for catfish with one's hand popular in parts of the country where people often have more all-terrain vehi cles than teeth.

I was all set to go noodling (what does that say about my sanity - or total teeth?). I'd even lined up someone, local catfishing guide Mike Ostrander, who could show me where a few cats might hide. We would dive, find the beasts and hope to wrestle them to the surface. Then we'd snap a few pictures before letting them swim away.

From what I'd read about the practice, there was much more chance that we'd get hurt than the fish. Catfish don't rule the James by accident. They're tough hombres. But they do deserve a fair fight.

Ostrander and I decided to shelve our trip when we saw the article by Rex Springston in Tuesday's Metro section. "Remains of catfish strewn along river," the headline read. Springston detailed the poaching of catfish and other species from the James. It was pretty grisly stuff. Catfish certainly aren't getting a fair fight when groups are coming down to the river with cast nets, spear guns and "gear resembling fist-sized grappling hooks."

Instead, we decided to do a little old-fashioned fishing, the kind with a hook and line. We had a successful day of smallmouth bass fishing, but our conversation was mostly about poaching and trying to curb it.

The problem is especially acute at this time of year when the water's low and clear and the fish can hide in only so many places. It was a problem last summer, too, when I wrote a column about the subject. Then I focused on the fact that much of the poaching on the James is done by men from Latin American backgrounds.

Ralph White, head of the James River Park System, saw it as a cultural issue, one of education. Others saw the need for greater enforcement from the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. No easy solutions were offered.

But the poaching is not a threat to fish populations, at least not catfish populations, according to Gary Martel, fisheries director for the DGIF.

"There's lots of catfish [in the James]," he said. "In fact, in some areas of the James, we would encourage increased harvest. The flatheads aren't native to the river. They're piscivorous and fairly aggressive, so I certainly don't encourage illegal activity, but the limit is not an issue in terms of the population."

The limit is 20 fish per person per day for blue, flathead and channel catfish. That's a lot of fish, but the science says the river can handle it. Of course, the Department of Health recommends citizens eat no more than two meals a month of flathead and blue catfish less than 32 inches long. So catching your limit and eating it could add some serious PCBs to your diet, but it probably won't change the dynamics of the catfish population.

The problem is more one of responsible use and how we want our city's centerpiece stretch of river to look and feel. No fisherman, kayaker, bird watcher or hiker wants to see and smell rotting carcasses on rocks.

So what's to be done?

Here's one idea Ostrander and I kicked around: Why not designate a stretch of the James falls as catch and release only? This would simplify law enforcement because it would make obvious to other anglers anyone attempting to keep a fish, and it would concentrate in smaller "catch and keep" sections those who might not be fishing by legal methods.

Here's an even easier solution. Write down this number: (800) 237-5712. That's the hotline to report a game violation. Anyone going to the river should memorize it or take it with them.

"We're never going to have law enforcement there all the time," Martel said. "If people would go ahead and assist us by calling in to the violator line and tell us what area the individuals are in, there's a fairly good probability that we can go in and be a lot more effective."