Thursday, June 05, 2008
Places to go on the Eastern Shore
Bill Cochran
Recent mail
BILL:
Perhaps you can tell me about the places on Eastern Shore where you go, and are there campsites there? I could save a lot of gas money by going to the Virginia shore rather than the Outer Banks of North Carolina.
J.O.
Blacksburg
J.O.: A bit more travel time is involved in reaching the Outer Banks from your area, but the Eastern Shore isn’t all that much closer. The major difference is what you find when you get there. There are miles of beautiful Atlantic Ocean beach interspersed with resort type settlements at the Outer Banks.
The Eastern Shore is wedged between the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic, and the tourism business is not as developed. You really need a boat and some navigating skills to view off-road areas. The barrier islands provide stark, people-free oceanfront, but you reach them after a twisting, sometimes challenging, boat ride through a wilderness of marshes and cord grass. The exception is to the north at Assateague Island. Near it is Chincoteague, about the only true tourist town.
If you don’t have a boat, and the know how to go with it, your best option is to hire a fishing guide, someone like Eastern Shore native Jack Brady, who lives in Oyster: (757) 331-2111.
As for campgrounds, starting at the south side of the Eastern Shore, there is Kiptopeake State Park, on the Chesapeake Bay, which provides off-water RV and tent camping. The park has a beach, swimming, fishing pier and boat ramp, along with quality bird-watching opportunities. Check www.dcr.virginia.gov.
North on U.S. 13 from Kiptopeake is Cherrystone Family Camping Resort, featuring 300 acres of Chesapeake Bay frontage and more than 700 tent and RV sites, making it Virginia’s largest campground. Check www.cherrystoneva.com.
Most of the Shore campgrounds are in the Chincoteague area. They include Tom’s Cove Campground, www.tomscovepark.com; Tall Pines Harbor Campground, www.tallpinesharbor.com; and Maddox Family Campground, (757) 336-3111.
BILL
BILL:
The smallmouth bass have really turned on this week. Stable weather and clear skies have made midday really productive. Clear water is making it necessary to fish far from the boat, but for those who can cast well and hit their spots, they have been rewarded with some really nice fish.
The Bremo area has been really productive. Lots of bait in the water and the smallies are really hitting on Case Salty Shad or Flukes. There has also been a pretty good top-water bite in the early morning with both buzz baits and Pot-R’s.
This must be the year of the channel cats. The river seems to be loaded with them this year. Most are in the 5-pound range, but we have boated some up to 20 pounds near Scottsville.
BRAIN BODINE
Razorback Guide Service www.RAZORBACKGUIDESERVICE.com
