<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" version="2.0"><channel><title><![CDATA[Hunting and Fishing in Central VA]]></title><description><![CDATA[Casting Memories, Reeling Connections]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/blog</link><generator>RSS for Node</generator><lastBuildDate>Fri, 09 Oct 2026 16:55:27 GMT</lastBuildDate><atom:link href="https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/blog-feed.xml" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml"/><item><title><![CDATA[An Appomattox River Skunking]]></title><description><![CDATA[My dad and I headed down to Jordan Point Marina to put the boat in the water as the sun came up. We were running up the James River into the Appomattox by about 7 A.M.             It was a beautiful morning. The river was calm and almost glassy. It was a cool morning for late September about 62 degrees. While we were running it even felt a little cold. There was a little cloud cover but a mostly sunny day.             We stopped at a boat dock where we have often found fish on our way to the...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/an-appomattox-river-skunking</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6ac11cba1bab6ecf4e3259df</guid><pubDate>Sat, 03 Oct 2026 15:21:46 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_b8796cbc3b89400b80f3f88ea82b1507~mv2.jpeg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Bank Fishing: Brim Catching]]></title><description><![CDATA[One sunny afternoon I headed out to Watkins Landing. It is down a straight road with some beautiful houses on each side. Then you get to some gates as you get close to the river that appear to be hunting land. One of the gates seemed to have a hundred buzzards around it.           I kept driving and the road dead ends at a cement boat ramp with a gravel parking lot on either side.           I parked my truck, grabbed my pliers, and my one rod, and walked down to the water.           It was a...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/bank-fishing-brim-catching</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6ab7ec54d852efceeddda782</guid><pubDate>Sat, 26 Sep 2026 16:02:32 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_a1b61be0efa3448aa016022e23ad4928~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Early Morning Dove Shoot]]></title><description><![CDATA[I drove out to my parents’ house in New Kent before the sun came up. I said good morning to my dad and threw my guns and my stool in his truck. I hopped in and we headed down to Charles City.          A friend of my dad has a great farm with a great dove field. We got there and got set up in a strip of cut corn right under the decoys on the wire.          Early on there wasn’t a lot of action and we had hunted this field pretty heavily two days before. But just like any other type of hunting...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/early-morning-dove-shoot</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aae944e12f0baf721f332b8</guid><pubDate>Sat, 19 Sep 2026 13:55:31 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Opening Day of Dove Season]]></title><description><![CDATA[A friend of my dad has a beautiful piece of property in Charles City. It is bordered by the Chickahominy river and the Chickahominy lake. And every year he has an opening day dove hunt there.          On opening day legal shooting doesn’t start until noon and the birds typically don’t start flying well until around 2. So, we got down to Charles City and started up the grill.          We ended up with quite the spread for our pre hunt lunch. Hot dogs, Italian sausages, baked beans, chips,...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/opening-day-of-dove-season</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6aa55a95dd58bcb58cb738ff</guid><pubDate>Sat, 12 Sep 2026 13:58:48 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[I Need a Boat]]></title><description><![CDATA[I decided to go fishing Saturday at Amelia Wildlife Management Area. I grew up not too far from it and it is a beautiful well managed tract of land that has a lake on it that is supposed to be full of Bass.          I drove out there and pulled up to the parking area for the dam. I parked my truck and threw my needle nosed pliers in my pocket, grabbed my rod, and started walking down the path towards the lake.          The path came to a pretty swift dead end. I was at the corner of the lake...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/i-need-a-boat</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a9f0c6a5bf065f25f4cb833</guid><pubDate>Mon, 07 Sep 2026 19:11:41 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A New Adventure]]></title><description><![CDATA[The other day I had some free time on my hands and nothing to do so I decided to go on a little adventure. I wanted to find river access and just fish from the bank. So, I drove to Chester and tried to go to Dutch Gap Conservation Area. But apparently it is now a construction site and not open to the public. So, I had to figure out my next move.          I headed all the way down to Colonial Heights and went to White Bank Park. It is a beautiful large park with a boat ramp on Swift Creek.     ...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/a-new-adventure</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a93133740e0fd5137c9f460</guid><pubDate>Sat, 29 Aug 2026 17:14:02 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_69c49460035044efab36cf6aef6733f1~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Hook Setting]]></title><description><![CDATA[A friend of my dad’s who we have hunted with for years has a beautiful farm with a large pond on it. The pond is long enough that it takes over an hour to really fish it end to end. It is full of small bass and brim and some crappie.           A few more sizeable bass have been caught in there but mostly we catch a large number of small ones.           We put the boat in at the make shift ramp. There is no actual ramp but a low spot by the dam and the ground is hard enough under it that the...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/hook-setting</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a806c1740f3daf10ba244b5</guid><pubDate>Sat, 15 Aug 2026 13:42:21 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_d9d340c708cc47cc96fccb0c76c4a242~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[My First James River Bass of the Year]]></title><description><![CDATA[I drove out to my parents’ house in New Kent and we loaded up the boat and headed down to the marina in Hopewell. It was a very temperate day for late July. About 75 degrees. My dad and I were both wearing long sleeves and a few times when we were running there was a chill in the air. A very comfortable and overcast day.           We put the boat in the water and made our way down to Kittiewan creek. We stopped at one creek right before Kittiewan that looked great. A lot of cypress trees at...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/my-first-james-river-bass-of-the-year</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a7713692dc76a37da40cf3a</guid><pubDate>Sat, 08 Aug 2026 11:36:58 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_4d6daed1b8b24a3d8336574d258a10ec~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[“They’re so fun”]]></title><description><![CDATA[It was a dreary, rainy, thunder stormy day. But the forecast said there would be a break in the rain from Noon to 5. So, I decided to go fish a family friend’s pond.          This pond is pretty special to me because it is where I learned to fish. I learned to cast a line on the edge of it and catch fish with minnows and bobbers. I can still remember the green top of the bucket we would put the minnows in that we bought at the gas station. And catching fish in this pond is just as fun over...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/they-re-so-fun</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a6e35d12aa0dd3fa1655e72</guid><pubDate>Sat, 01 Aug 2026 18:09:27 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_60595d2ebe3a44ce9da992aa9f175f54~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[What is Good With It]]></title><description><![CDATA[I was sitting around being bored one afternoon and decided I wanted to go fishing. I realized all my rods and my tackle box were on my dad’s boat in New Kent. I could have driven an hour out there and fished in the pond behind my parents’ house but I felt like doing something different.          So I went to Academy sports and got a rod and reel combo and a pack of rooster tail small spinners. I cut the tags off and tied a bait on in the parking lot and then drove down to Midlothian-Mines...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/what-is-good-with-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a649dac9bd96b2dad85616e</guid><pubDate>Sat, 25 Jul 2026 11:29:06 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_b2596d9dfeff41cdaa82dbd6df660707~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Never Lose It]]></title><description><![CDATA[On the 4th of July I was at my parents’ house for a cookout. I got out there early. And after chatting with my folks for a while I decided I would walk down to the pond and see if I could catch a few fish.          My parents live on a golf course with a small pond behind their house. My dad and I have put some fish in the pond that we caught on the river but I’m starting to think there were already more fish in there before than we thought.          I grabbed one of my rods and the needle...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/never-lose-it</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a5b8852f41b637093b164d3</guid><pubDate>Sat, 18 Jul 2026 14:06:34 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[3 Catfish, 1 Nice Bass, A bunch of little white Bass, and A Dang Crab!]]></title><description><![CDATA[It was a beautiful morning. I met my dad at the boat ramp at sunrise. It was a cloudy but still morning and the sunrise over the river was beautiful.           We put the boat in the water and made our way up into the Appomattox River. We ran way up the river to a place we had been showed by a guy when we were fishing the Appomattox a few months earlier.           There was a ton of great wood and cover on this bank. With a bunch of little indentations where a fish could get out of the tide....]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/3-catfish-1-nice-bass-a-bunch-of-little-white-bass-and-a-dang-crab</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a52b4e5661479e527e54d42</guid><pubDate>Sat, 11 Jul 2026 21:30:39 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_144cbd082d7e424694d67659fd011c0d~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The Pamunkey to Get the Monkey Off my Back]]></title><description><![CDATA[There were two fishing tournaments on the James River so my dad and I decided we would fish the Pamunkey to stay out of so much boat traffic. There happened to be a tournament on the Pamunkey river too. But we only saw a few boats toward the end of our day.           The Pamunkey river is a lot thinner and smaller than the James but it is beautiful and closer to my parents’ house. We put the boat in and ran up river. We found a creek full of lily pads and started fishing pretty quickly.       ...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/the-pamunkey-to-get-the-monkey-off-my-back</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a491135f7b480551f0f7bf9</guid><pubDate>Sat, 04 Jul 2026 13:57:17 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_2b6b147b769049a79022049e0d5d42cd~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[My First Deer]]></title><description><![CDATA[I remember it like it was yesterday. It was Thanksgiving morning and we planned to hunt for just a few hours before making it to the family celebration at my grandmother’s house.  I was just 13 years old. Your typical awkward 7th grader still growing into his body and into his personality.           I walked down into the woods in the dark. I climbed up in the wooden stand. I had to pretty much reach for every 2x4 step because I’m sure we didn’t have enough wood when we built the stand so the...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/my-first-deer</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a40198ced54ddfd7e1a6a0c</guid><pubDate>Sat, 27 Jun 2026 18:42:39 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Another Fun Day of Pond Fishing]]></title><description><![CDATA[There has been a lot going on lately so my dad and I haven’t been able to put the boat in the water as often lately. But last Saturday I had the itch that I needed to feel a fish pulling on my string.             So I drove out to New Kent and decided I would spend a few hours fishing the pond in my parents’ back yard.             I grabbed one of my rods off of the boat and the needle nosed pliers and walked down to the pond. My dad was not far behind me. I walked around the bank throwing a...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/another-fun-day-of-pond-fishing</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a36fd2891a8121cb984e7c8</guid><pubDate>Sat, 20 Jun 2026 20:50:56 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[Shooting Clays]]></title><description><![CDATA[Shooting clay pigeons is one of my favorite activities. I would say it’s not the same thrill as hunting. But it is a great feeling hearing the gun go off and watching the clay bust into a million pieces.           The only thing that can sometimes make it less fun is you do actually notice the gun going off. When you are shooting at an animal you really don’t hear the gun go off or feel it kick at all. I guess your focus is just so zoned in that it feels like the gun didn’t even fire. But...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/shooting-clays</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2d6d5144c7bef1d0306c05</guid><pubDate>Sat, 13 Jun 2026 14:46:46 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[The First Deer I Saw]]></title><description><![CDATA[I do not remember the first deer I ever saw in my life. But I do remember the first time I was sitting in a deer stand with a shotgun in my hand and saw some deer within shooting range.           I was 12 years old. Up to that point I had always sat in the stand or on the ground with my dad. When I got to be 12 he decided I was old enough and knew what to do, so I could go sit on the stand by myself.           I remember the block of woods I was in and the exact stand. My dad walked me to it...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/the-first-deer-i-saw</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a2427587af0f73356932de8</guid><pubDate>Sat, 06 Jun 2026 13:57:58 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[A Bumpy Ride]]></title><description><![CDATA[We pulled up to the boat ramp at around 11 A.M. It was a cloudy day and a little bit windy. When we crossed the bridge towards the ramp, we noticed a little chop on the water but not too much.             We put the boat in the water and started are run. That little bit of chop was a lot rougher than it looked. And of course my dad wanted to go down and fish Chipokes creek which is the furthest one from the ramp. But he had caught a lot of bass there two weeks before and we figured if it...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/a-bumpy-ride</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a1b21f1c314d04636c2c968</guid><pubDate>Sat, 30 May 2026 17:46:03 GMT</pubDate><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[My Most Prized Possession]]></title><description><![CDATA[I have been asked what my most prized possession is many times. It is a difficult question because I have never cared much about possessions. But I would have to say it is a framed picture that is in my bedroom.             The picture is of me when I was about 14 years old standing next to my first bird dog Belle. She is on point and you can read my lips saying “wow”. In the background is rolling hills and an old wooden cabin.             This picture was taken at Sandy Creek Shooting...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/my-most-prized-possession</link><guid isPermaLink="false">6a11c2a1c9b7de4f2a1de70d</guid><pubDate>Sat, 23 May 2026 15:09:04 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_49c07bdb3d1f4c3fa2242aee05d19063~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item><item><title><![CDATA[All It Takes Is Hearing One]]></title><description><![CDATA[I got to the hunt club at 5:30 in the morning. I opened the gate and pulled up to the shed. I opened the book and saw that everyone had been hunting the same two blocks of woods. Probably because that’s where the turkeys are. But I decided I would outsmart everyone and hunt the block of woods nobody had been hunting.             I grabbed my mask and my call. I threw my gun in the back of the UTV and fired it up and went on my way.             It was a quiet, clear, beautiful morning. It was...]]></description><link>https://www.centralvahuntfish.com/post/all-it-takes-is-hearing-one</link><guid isPermaLink="false">69ff3c70b1ac8cd94fa3c578</guid><pubDate>Sat, 09 May 2026 13:57:50 GMT</pubDate><enclosure url="https://static.wixstatic.com/media/bc60eb_c4fbd61a87014b6a9151b17e9604a606~mv2.jpg/v1/fit/w_1000,h_1000,al_c,q_80/file.png" length="0" type="image/png"/><dc:creator>bdnorford</dc:creator></item></channel></rss>