Northern Neck Water Trails: Currioman Bay Experience

This article by Guest Blogger Northern Neck Planning District Commission Environmental Planner Stuart McKenzie is part of an ongoing initiative by the Northern Neck Chesapeake Bay Access Authority, the Northern Neck Planning District Commission, the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program and the Northern Neck Tourism Commission to promote the ten (and counting) Northern Neck Water Trails.

Heading downhill on Currrioman Road past several sorghum fields, the road narrows to one lane and you can smell the salt in the air. Currioman Landing is medium sized boat ramp facility located on Currioman Bay off the Potomac River near the mouth of Nomini Creek in Westmoreland County.  There was only one truck with an empty trailer when we arrived. The Currioman Landing boat ramp is concrete and sufficiently rough to allow the launching a canoe without worrying about slipping on algae. (See photo #1)

Photo 1:  Currioman Landing Boat Ramp

There is a nice little inlet with a sandbar that juts out to protect the Currioman boat ramp from the wind and waves. (See photo #2)

Photo 2: Protective inlet near boat ramp

Make note of the sandbar once you have paddled out into Currioman Bay, for a landmark to guide your return trip. Another useful landmark is a white house on the hill a few hundred yards downstream of the boat ramp.  Noting the appearance of these landmarks upon departing should lead to easy navigating back to the ramp.

When rounding the corner of the sandbar, the wind and waves became apparent. The wind was blowing from the Northeast, about 5-8 knots. As mentioned in the Currioman Bay Water Trail Guide, Currioman Bay is not very well protected from wind and waves (see Photo #3),

Photo 3: Currioman Bay

so this paddling trail is recommended for the more experienced (novice, or expert) paddler. The waves were manageable (no water was splashing into the canoe), and we headed into the wind, paddling the width of Currioman Bay to seek shelter from the wind near the shore of Hollis Marsh (Sharkstooth Island). NOTE: Sharks Tooth Island is privately owned and there is a permit and fee that must be paid to access the island, see

http://www.colonial-beach-virginia-attractions.com/sharks-tooth-island.html.

Paddling into the wind is not easy work, and is not very speedy, but we decided that paddling into the wind was best, as that way, on the return trip we would be going with the wind in a following sea making an easy to return to Currioman Landing with minimal effort. We did not land on Hollis Marsh, but instead skirted the island’s near shore (See photo #4 & #5).

Photo 4: Shark's Tooth Island in Currioman Bay

Photo 5:  Protected shore on Shark's Tooth Island in Currioman Bay

Photo 6: Comb jellyfish or Ctenophora

Next to the sandy shore, I noticed a comb jellyfish (See Photo #6), and remarked that this type of jellyfish does not sting (humans at least). The comb jellyfish moves by moving small hairs, called cilia that line the exterior of their bodies. There are often thousands of them in the waters of the Northern Neck, and you might not even see them unless you have polarized sunglasses that allow you to see past the water surface. We noticed a lot of sea grass (see Photo #7) on Hollis (Sharkstooth Island), and determined it was Phragmites. Phragmites is an invasive plant that spreads rapidly and crowds out native wetland vegetation. For more information on Phragmites, see http://www.fws.gov/GOMCP/pdfs/phragmitesQA_factsheet.pdf .

Photo 7: Phragmites

I cast a 4” chartreuse Gulp swimming mullet on a 3/8 oz. jighead a few times along the shoreline, and got a few nibbles, but was unable to catch any fish. The nibbles might have been small perch whose mouths were too small to swallow the bait, or my imagination. 

The sun was getting low in the horizon so we headed back. The wind provided most of the power, but we paddled to keep the canoe lined up with our destination. Here is a view of the sandbar from Currioman Bay that will guide you to Currioman Landing (see photo #8).

Photo 8: Use sandbar as point of reference on return to Currioman Landing