Getting Annoyed with Poor Access

[Andrew D]

Starting to get annoyed with this state (VA) and the poor access we have to what should be public water. I spent like 3 hours walking around the C.F. Phelps WMA this morning/afternoon looking for any point of access to the Rappahannock River only to find that despite the trail map looking like it dipped down to the river, it does not.

For anything walk/wade, I pretty much always have to drive out to Shenandoah NP for brookies or the Shenandoah NF/SF for smallmouth. Closer in, it's really tough and almost not worth it for a wading angler with the limited public access. I don't have room to store/transport a kayak, so I'm pretty well locked into walk/wade.

I've gone to a ton of places, esp for smallmouth. Anything closer in to NOVA than a 1.5h drive is either zero public access or environmentally dead. Am I just missing something? Or should I just be ok with driving 3-4h round trip just to get my weekly fix?

[brad dreisbach]

its not just wading. i was not allowed to launch my boat at fountainhead the other week. it has a 90hp outboard, but they dont care if you only plan to use the trolling motor anymore apparently. sad.

On Jun 15, 2024, at 16:24, Andrew D <adie...@gmail.com> wrote:



Starting to get annoyed with this state (VA) and the poor access we have to what should be public water. I spent like 3 hours walking around the C.F. Phelps WMA this morning/afternoon looking for any point of access to the Rappahannock River only to find that despite the trail map looking like it dipped down to the river, it does not.

For anything walk/wade, I pretty much always have to drive out to Shenandoah NP for brookies or the Shenandoah NF/SF for smallmouth. Closer in, it's really tough and almost not worth it for a wading angler with the limited public access. I don't have room to store/transport a kayak, so I'm pretty well locked into walk/wade.

I've gone to a ton of places, esp for smallmouth. Anything closer in to NOVA than a 1.5h drive is either zero public access or environmentally dead. Am I just missing something? Or should I just be ok with driving 3-4h round trip just to get my weekly fix?

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[Eric Packard]

How far are you from Harpers Ferry (Shenandoah) buddy caught 27, missed a ton more smallmouth bass today. Wet wading. Ave size 13-15” fish. 

Eric Packard

Artist (I fish sometimes, too) 

On Jun 16, 2024, at 3:47 PM, brad dreisbach <bsdre...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Kevin KB]

Brad,

I think the problem is that too many people abused the rule.  We have that problem where I live.  People claim they will use their trolling motor until they get out of sight of the dock, but then they fire up the outboard.  A few ruin it for all of us.

Kevin 

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[Doug Graebner]

What about the MD side? Rock Creek is well, Rock Creek but the Monacacy has ample public access and in sufficiently low water the Violette's/Swain's Lock area has good wading. For trout you have the Gunpowder ~15/20 minutes north of Baltimore and the Cactoctin streams, plus Beaver Creek.

[Rob Snowhite]

Wading at Shepherdstown on Saturday. Nothing but smallies. Nothing huge. Friends come head bugger was the fly of choice. Water level was waist deep most of river despite lack of rain. Stopped in White Fly shop while I was up there. 

Sent from my iPhone

On Jun 16, 2024, at 7:45 PM, Kevin KB <klb...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Andrew D]

Don't worry though, I'm sure you can rent a shitty kayak at fountainhead for $20/hr.

[Andrew D]

Yeah that spot is still over 2h for me unfortunately. Ideally looking for things slightly closer but I know that probably isn't a reality

[Brian]

well, considering i drive 1.5 hours to get to work, 1.5 hours to fishing access is fine.  you may be able to access the  Rappahannock down at the rt 29 bridge; there's a parking area on the east side south of the bridge.

[Art Friedlander]

Thanks for the info

Where do you access the river at Harper's Ferry?

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[Trent Jones]

Andrew,

Can you provide some clarity on "poor access" at C.F. Phelps WMA? You say it looked like the trail dipped down to the river. Was there an impediment to you accessing the water like a fence? What made the access to the water poor? Was the wooded area to dense to reach the Rapp?  

Also, can we watch the language on the forum please? One persons shhhhhh canoe is another persons yatch. 

-Trent

 

On Saturday, June 15, 2024 at 4:24:15 PM UTC-4 Andrew D wrote:

[Scott Diaz]

Andrew,

Contact Rob Snowhite. He guides in and around DC. 

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[Andrew D]

Ah fair enough, sorry! Was totally intended to be a dig at Fairfax county for bleeding the populace dry with exorbitant rental rates rather than a dig at a perfectly capable kayak. Considering I don't have a boat of any sort, they're all yachts to me!

On C.F. Phelps - I just found it kind of frustrating - it's on literally miles of public water, but there is no access to it except two spots: 1) up at the Kelly's Ford boat ramp, and 2) down at the furthest downstream tip of the WMA where there's another boat ramp. Even that furthest south boat ramp, they close the gate to the road that accesses it, so it's a 1.5 mile walk one way just to get to the river (couldn't imagine doing that with a kayak of any sort). I walked for miles around the upstream part (near the barn) trying to find anything that could access the river, was bushwhacking through small game trails that became a wilderness of thorns and thickets, and was still a fair clip away from the actual water. I really did try to get down there. Who knows, maybe was completely in the wrong place.

To me it's just a completely missed opportunity. The CF Phelps WMA is totally viable for multiple types of outdoor recreation, but it really only caters to hunters and it shows. Wish it was possible or legal (is it?) to blaze a trail meant specifically for anglers down there, giving more opportunities closer in to the larger population areas. It'd still be a pretty decent walk, so it'd deter a lot of the people just looking to poach.

Anywho, that's me off my soapbox. Hope y'all have better luck than I did this weekend :)