Shad We Go Fishing

Wednesday, April 29, 2009

The shad are running in full force this spring.  And hundreds of fishermen can now be seen casting for the spawning fish along the James River near Rocketts Landing.

Shad can grow to be as big as eight pounds. They reproduce in the James because it has an abundance of moving water. The current is necessary for the fish’s eggs to properly hatch.

Jess Cadwallender has been fishing for shad on the James and Rappahannock Rivers since he was young. Cadwallender holds an IGFA (International Game Fishing Association) World Record, and he drives a Jeep Cherokee with a Virginia license plate that reads, “SHDRUN.”

“This year we’re seeing a strong run,” he said. “The shad will populate the rivers as far south as Florida and some of them come from as far north as Prince Edward Island, Canada. Legend has it; the spawning fish saved Gen. George Washington’s army from starvation at Valley Forge during the Revolutionary War. ”

When fishing for shad it is important to remember that they, like any fish, do not fight the current all the time. They sometimes seek the edge of current rips, less turbulent water behind rocks, and the relatively calm water in feeder creeks.

Shad can be caught on a variety of lures, the most popular being small “shad dart” jigs and small gold or silver spoons.

“Every year there is always somebody down by the river peddling their homemade darts, claiming they're the best,” Cadwallender told me. “Sabiki rigs have grown in popularity lately as well. Each Sabiki rig has eight to twelve hooks on it with artificial fish skin or feathers attached.”

In terms of fly tackle sinking fly line is a requisite, as shad for the most part like to stay deep in the current. A short eighteen-inch leader is all that is needed, and small clouser-type flies in a variety of colors work well.

A lot of people eat shad despite their boney flesh.  After scaling the fish, I cut a filet off each side. I then rinse each filet and with the skin side down make half-way deep perpendicular cuts through the meat at quarter inch intervals. Salt, pepper, roll in corn meal, and then fry the filet until crispy. The slices in the meat cook the small bones, making them edible.

Cadwallender, on the other hand, likes to eat the shad eggs most of all. “I sauté the row in a pan with bacon and lemon juice and sometimes mix it all in with my scrambled eggs at breakfast. It’s not a bad way to start your day.”

Photo / Flickr user Western Sport Shop

At Home on the Water

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Recently I chatted with the President of the Virginia Boat Club (VBC), Mark Willis.

Mark has been a friend of the blog, on several occasions explaining what would possess a sane man to row on the James River at an ungodly hour. He and his wife, Therese, moved to Sky Line at Rocketts Landing two years ago.

(Below is an edited transcript of our chat)

Captain’s Blog:  How long have you been the president of the VBC?  

Mark Willis:  Since January 2008

CB:  The club has been around for a long time. What's it like being the president of an organization with such longevity?  

MW:  It is an honor.  The Virginia Boat Club's origins date back to 1888.  In the late 1800s and the first half of the 1900s, rowing was a very popular sport on the lower James.  The club's boathouse on Mayo Island was the hub of quite the social scene.  In the last couple of years, we have seen resurgence in rowing.  My goal for the club is to capitalize on this interest and the great rowing waters that we have here in Richmond. 

CB:  How does someone join the VBC?

MW: First, check out the VBC web site at http://virginiaboatclub.org/.  This will give you some basic information about the club and our programs.  Next, just send an email to me (mark@virginiaboatclub.org) or one of the officers letting us know of your interest. Members have access to all of the regular programs, facilities and equipment owned by the club.  We are also having an open house at the downtown boathouse (4400 E. Main St.) at 9:00 am on Saturday, May 2.  The spring session of classes will begin the following Saturday.

CB:  How long has the VBC been operating out of Rocketts Landing?

MW:  Since 1986 

CB:  Why Rocketts Landing?

MW:  The club has always had a boathouse on the lower James.  We are a part of the city and want to be a part of all of the development along the river. 

CB:  How did you get interested in rowing?

MW:  Three years ago, my wife, Therese, and I took the VBC Learn-to-Row class.  We had a great instructor and met a lot of new and interesting people.  Rowing was a great complement to the other sporting activities that we were involved in, so we joined the club.

CB:  What do you like most about it?

MW:  As a fitness activity, rowing is quite beneficial.  You get the aerobic conditioning of running or biking, the strength training of weights or machines, and core and balance training all rolled into one activity.  

Rowing is also very relaxing -- being out on the water in the early morning or evening is serene and calming.  There's nothing like gliding along the glassy surface of the river with the sun coming up over the trees.

In addition, the social aspects of rowing are great. Rowing crew develops teamwork and camaraderie. We like to party after getting off the water -- whether it's the Wednesday evening "Row-and-Poe", a summer picnic or holiday get together.    

CB:  How did the Rocketts Landing Collegiate Regatta go?

MW:  Even though the Rocketts Landing Collegiate Regatta had to be called off midway through the event due to high winds and waves, I think that the race showed its potential for the future.  We had good attendance from teams in Virginia, North Carolina and Maryland.  The athletes and coaches loved the venue and said that they would return next year.  We also had quite a few spectators and media coverage. 

Photo / Virginia Boat Club

Making Port at Rocketts Landing

Thursday, April 23, 2009

The marina at Rocketts Landing is coming-about. Forty of the planned 125 floating dock slips are complete and scheduled to open May 1st.

The slips hug the James River’s east bank and will cost boaters $10 per foot a month for an annual lease. Fifteen of the 40 slips have already been reserved – ten by Rocketts Landing residents (who receive first dibs) and five by non-residents.

In hopes of learning more on how the marina was constructed, I spoke with Jason Vickers-Smith of The WVS Companies (the developer of Rocketts Landing). In 2001, Vickers-Smith spearheaded the building of the 158-slip marina at Belmont Bay on the Occuquon River, a few miles south of Mount Vernon.

Unlike at Belmont Bay, the floating docks at the Rocketts Landing marina were constructed without any pilings and only with steel trusses holding them in place. The pivoting steel trusses measure 30-40 feet in length and are anchored just above the shoreline.                                                                                

According to Vickers-Smith, it would have been expensive and environmentally unsound to drive pilings into the riverbed in front of Rocketts Landing.  A thick layer of solid rock lines the riverbed in front of Rocketts, and the soil surrounding the bedrock stores a lot of the river’s pollutants (from long-ago days when the area was used for industry). Drilling would have required costly machinery and released the potentially harmful pollutants into the water.  

“The design of the docks using the pivoting steel arms instead of pilings might seem unusual, but it is not uncommon,” Vickers-Smith said. “So far, it has worked well.”

Other noticeable features of the marina are the wooden crib-docks left over from the early 1900s when Rocketts Landing was a thriving commercial port. Vickers-Smith said the marina was built around the crib docks to maintain an historic element.

The depth of the water at the docks varies from 6 feet to 7 feet at low tide. That should be more than enough room for most James River powerboats with a draft of 2-3 feet. No yachts or sail boats have signed onto a slip, but Vickers-Smith says he is hoping to be “pleasantly surprised” by the birth of one or two.

Vickers-Smith also says that The WVS Companies is considering the purchase of a boat that will be kept at the marina.

There are no plans in place as of yet for the marina’s opening day. However, Vickers-Smith said at some point he would like to host an event that celebrates the opening of the new Boathouse restaurant and the new marina simultaneously.

Flying with Tom Stiles of Sky Shots

Thursday, April 09, 2009

Last week, I was 1,000 feet above Rocketts Landing and about to lose my lunch.

“Alright go ahead and bank the plane at 45 degrees so that I can get a better shot,” Tom said to the pilot as he was leaning out the back seat window. “That’s it . . . a little more . . . perfect!”

He lifted the camera closer to his eye and snapped a few pictures as we circled out over the James River.

In the front seat of the Cessna 172 dubbed 28 November, I was gripping my armrest with white knuckles. The wind was blowing at about 15 knots and shaking the plane’s cabin with a dizzying force.

“How are you doing up there, Ben?” Tom shouted at me, looking up for a moment from his camera.

“Great,” I said.

But as we pulled out of the turn, I could feel my stomach sink and then rise into my throat.  I tried my hardest not to throw-up.

Tom, on the other hand, was constantly moving around and looking for a better camera angle, seemingly unaffected by the turbulence.  He founded Sky Shots, an aerial photography company based out of Hanover County Airport, in 1999 and has been snapping photos of the Rocketts Landing development project since construction began.

Having flown in a small plane twice before, I jumped at the invitation to join him on a photo shoot. I prefer to be on the ground or out on the water but still enjoy the thrill of flying. I also wanted to see Rocketts Landing from a bird’s-eye-view.

When I met Tom at the airport, he greeted me with a big smile and had a giant camera bag slung over his shoulder.  We toured around the airfield, and he showed me some of his latest work which hangs on the walls in the airport lobby.

In one flight, Tom usually tries to fit in as many different sites as he can, and on this particular afternoon, in addition to Rocketts Landing, we were going to take pictures of two other places along the river.

“I always like to take pictures of Rocketts in the afternoon,” he said. “The timing makes for a better shot from out over the James when you’re looking at the front of the development. The sun is in the west, and the shadows of all the buildings are pointing away from the water to the east.”

 A part from the blustering wind, we couldn’t have asked for a better day to fly. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and the temperature was somewhere in the mid-seventies.  Despite my nausea, I can easily say the trip was worth it.

 Along the way to Rocketts Landing, we passed over the Richmond International Raceway, the Richmond Braves’ old baseball stadium and Monument Ave.

As we approached Rocketts Landing, we began to slow down and fly in a giant circle. A blast of fresh air rushed into cabin just as Tom opened the window to take pictures.

From the airplane Rocketts Landing looked spectacular. One of the location’s most noticeable characteristics was how much it stands out amidst all the old industrial buildings and parks surrounding Richmond. This is something you can’t really get a feel for on a diagram or Google maps.

For the first time, I could truly see all the ways the development project could expand along the James River. About six or seven boats dotted the waterway, and the empty but almost complete Rocketts Landing docks looked like open arms ready to take them in.

 Probably the most distinguishable building was The Boathouse Restaurant currently under construction. The tinted windows of the dining-area reflected the light from the river bank and contrasted heavily with the surrounding buildings and weathered smokestack leftover from the old power plant.

As we circled around once more, Tom took a few more pictures before we veered off.

“That’s great. Let’s go on to the next site,” he said.

photo / dpicreativeservices.com

Visitors come by the bus-load to see lofts at Rocketts

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Everyone knows that a “boat load” is synonymous with a lot. You’d be surprised how big a” bus-load” is, too.

I learned this over the weekend as visitors were brought to Rocketts Landing by the bus load for the Downtown Loft Tour of Richmond.

The goal: to ooh and ahh at three beautifully furnished lofts. For some, it was their first chance to see Rocketts.

“I’m excited Richmond is doing this,” said Pat Zirkle, who was on the tour with her two daughters. “I love these kinds of events.”

Denny Petfield, a Richmond-native on the tour with his wife and another couple was equally excited. “I haven’t heard anything about the Rocketts Landing development project, but I’m interested to see how the buildings have been redone.”

Upon their arrival, visitors were ushered up to the top floor of 210 Rock. The two-story penthouse has three bedrooms, two bathrooms and a panoramic view of the James River from the living room. Outside the condominium is also a winding stair case that leads up to a roof-top patio complete with a fire pit, dining-area and view of the Richmond skyline.

“We are excited to be a part of the Rocketts Landing concept,” said Beth Saunders, who has been living in the condo on weekends with her family of four since October. “We’re originally from South Boston, Virginia, and at first we questioned the idea of moving here. But now we enjoy it and are happy to share our home with others,” she said.

The next stop on the tour (no bus needed) was Cedar Works Condominiums, located across the street from 210 Rock. The two-story loft is actually two units put together and belongs to Jason Vickers-Smith, vice-president of The WVS Companies, the developer of Rocketts Landing. His loft has wonderful exposed brick and cedar beams.

“I fell in love with the place when we first started work at Rocketts Landing,” said Vickers-Smith. “I have been living here since September and am happy to be helping the project with this tour.”

The final stop was at Sky Line, which is a bit closer to the river.  Judy Arenstein moved to Sky Line with her cat, Toby, from the Fan District. Her condo was on display.

Arenstein’s living room opens up onto a balcony overlooking the river and The Boathouse restaurant currently under construction (read more about that here).  She said she is getting excited about the restaurant’s opening in the fall and looking forward to watching the Rocketts Landing Collegiate Regatta from the comfort of her home.

"I like the community that Rocketts Landing has to offer,” she said.  “I felt isolated in other high-rises around Richmond. Plus, take a look out the window. You can’t beat that view.”