Good meetup/Camping/Fishing place between Richmond and Winchester.

Looking for a lake or river approximately halfway drive where an old buddy from Winchester can meet me (currently living in Richmond area--Midlothian) to catch a few crappies and other panfish. Would be best if if there is camping (primitive is fine) available there too. Lake Anna comes to mind but looking for something possibly less crowded/pressured and further West. We will each be fishing from kayaks. Buddy has his heart set on Lake Moomaw but that is a long drive for each of us. If we do Moomaw then Summer might be better cause we can beat the heat slightly at Moomaw...

Any help/suggestions would be much appreciated. TIA.

I wish I could help with a central location for the two of you, but I don’t know anything about that area. But, if you could talk him into coming to you in April, there is no better time for CATCHING from a kayak.
Bring him here and camp at Rockahock at the Chicahominy River. From there you guys can find hot crappie, bass, herring, hickory Shad, catfish, striper in the river at the damn. Easy kayaking. And bass and crappie above the damn. Perfect for kayaking.

Also have Diascund res, no gas motors. Crappie and bass. Also Little Creek res. Same.

Also the James river will be on fire with spawning run Herring, hickory and American Shad, white perch, stripers and catfish. Easy launching from Ancarrow Landing in Richmond. If you go first 3 weeks of April. You can literally get tired of catching. Little gold or silver spoons, double crappie jig rig, sabiki rigs for catching herring and white perch as many as 6 at a time.

Be glad to give you more details if the trip works for you. I’ve got 3 young people to take to Richmond the week of 4-8th because there is no better time to get them fast action and tired enough to need to sleep that night, and a lifetime memory.

I’m here in chesterfield. Even if you pick a day or two for him to come, I’ll tell you exactly where to go and what to throw.

Dayton

Ancarrow park Wall fishing in Richmond VA - YouTube

James river white perch - YouTube

Shawn and the Shad 2016 - YouTube

Randy's lunch 2016 - YouTube

Wyatt catching shad on the James 2016 - YouTube

https://youtu.be/wFIG0iPhqXQ

https://youtu.be/6iTyo9Ph1ws

https://youtu.be/5S2ihmiPwuo

Try to talk him into it!! Camp at Pochantus park here in chesterfield too.

Shenandoah River. It has crappie and a ton of camping along it.

Ranger690 (Dayton), thanks for the info above and for much info below. A week or two ago I fished Chick below dam, seems I missed the ring perch bite by about 3 days ("should have been here Sunday" lol). Fished 2 or 3 days (only about 2 hours each day) on Chick Lake, nothing happening yet/then (but probably is by now). Sounds like I need to try Ancarrow, I too live in Chesterfield. I would like to catch a bunch of white perch and crappies. Caught a lot of shad on Roanoke River when we lived in NC, those are fun too but only once did I cook one successfully. Dog wouldn't eat the second one I cooked! Thanks again.

Wasabi, thanks for recommending Shenandoah River. That could be a near-perfect meetup area. Do you mean South Branch? Any general locations (especially camping) would be appreciated. Thanks

Moomaw is very nice and decent campground. May want to go during week to avoid crowds. I second Shenandoah. I really enjoy the south fork.

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Originally Posted by cprodave

Wasabi, thanks for recommending Shenandoah River. That could be a near-perfect meetup area. Do you mean South Branch? Any general locations (especially camping) would be appreciated. Thanks

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Sorry, I don't fish the 'Doah but thought it would work for you. The past week or so I've seen someone posting on Facebook about catching nice crappie there so I thought I'd mention it.

OK, hold on, my mind is spinning up to speed. There are a bunch of private campgrounds all along that river. I have thought of staying at one or two over the years and doing some kayak fishing but never made the trip.

Shenandoah River State Park is a new state park that many haven't heard of yet. It's closer to your buddy, more of a drive for you. I drove through it a few weeks back and they have campsites right next to the water.

Here is a map of one stretch with some callouts about camping, fishing, etc. https://1bbyc7f63gj1pui422dr9eqz-wpe...e-to-Luray.pdf

2 campground names I saved but have never visited yet:
Low Water Bridge Campground
River Run Campground

You may want to look up Port Republic launch, then use google maps to find a suitable campground nearby. Heard there were some large deep pools nearby.

Lastly, PM me if you want a third. I still want to fish it and enjoy camping.

Thanks Wasabi, I like newer public areas, many times it takes a couple years for word to get out and meanwhile there is less crowding/competition. Fortunately I am retired and can do outdoor stuff on weekdays, my buddy is still working but only Mondays and Tuesdays. I will PM you as we get closer to meeting up his way in event you want to be a third person. Thanks again!