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New sign at Rockahock ramp states, $8 ramp fee if you pay before launching, if you pay when you get back in $10, if you launch and come back in and leave and don't pay you will be sent a bill via mail at the cost of $75. Looks like they are serious about getting that ramp fee. Friend launched this morning early and returned in the afternoon to find a warning note on his windshield. So looks like we better pay up.
I was there last Sunday, I Paid before launching and still got the warning on the windshield...... I called the next day to get that one straight, can't afford a $75.00 parking ticket..... This is kin dof steep for launching a boat..... Fishing the lake this weekend.....
I went there this spring, I saw the sign but saw no-one to pay ( nothing was open), so I left and fished lake and did well on lake. Havn't been back.
i thought that i would save some money by going to riverside & travel upriver to my favorite spots, only to find out that it was 7$ to launch my boat there. no late fee for launching before there was anyone to take my money. it looks like you better get out your pocketbook if you are going to fish the chick. wonder if next year it will be 10$? how much is enough for these people? does the county charge them that much in PPtaxes? i personally think its greed plain & simple. if VDGIF can put ramps on the james, sure would be nice to see one on the chick close to the dam. how about a package deal to go along with the rebuilding of the dam? maybe its time to start fishing somewhere else!!!
It is a shame the folks at Rockahock need to go to such extreme measures to collect ramp fees. I used to keep a tally in previous years of the number of times I used the ramp and there was no one around to pay. I would pay up for past trips when I found them open. I guess all fishermen are not as honest as I am.:rolleyes:
Now they can show up to work late and collect an extra $2/boat for sleeping in or not show up at all and collect an extra $67/boat with their new fee structure.
uhhh how bout a drop box, maybe envelope to put your $ in and write your license plate number on
[QUOTE=Percidae_Papermouth;1709812]uhhh how bout a drop box, maybe envelope to put your $ in and write your license plate number on[/QUOT
TOO EASY, DRILL SERGEANT!
Chesapeake Yachts system works for me. His dirt road is smoother then I64 also.
They use the drop box system at Fort Washington marina in MD work good for them.
Yes, there is a drop slot to the left of the door to the office. I don't recall any sign or instructions--just a slot--so I asked the nice ladies at the desk about SOP. They handed me a bunch of surplus window envelopes & said to simply stuff the $8 launch fee in the envelope, write my tag # on it, and drop it through the slot if they weren't there.Quote:
Originally Posted by Percidae_Papermouth
Good info! I did see sign this spring. ( maybe @ ramp?) with no-one to be found , I wasn't going to take chance of someone there screwing up and sending me massive ramp fee bill. ( the sign was somewhat nasty, but I guess they were tired of freebee's taking advantage of situation)
They didn't have to go from zero to ugly in one step, however. They could have simply put a courtesy box next to the ramp & included instructions. 99% of ramp users would have been happy to follow the same procedure used at ramps everywhere. Until this year, I saw no effort to collect a fee during the winter months.Quote:
Originally Posted by HeyCharlie
Agreed! they seem to have gone from 0 to 100 overnight! Hope they read this! or its printed and handed to them! (with payment, of course)Quote:
Originally Posted by Corker
looks like they are making the fisherman pay for the dome that they put up last year:mad::mad::eek::eek::rolleyes::rolleyes:
Sounds like there needs to be a bunch of pressure put on VDGIF to get a state ramp put on that area. That would bust that stuff up quick. Fees around Edenton were starting to creep up and N.C. Wildlife threatened to put in a ramp only feet away from a commercial ramp and that slammed the brakes on it right there. The business owner even used that spot to put in a better ramp than the existing one he had and maintained two and kept the price down. They had him then because he borders an area of town property that has been converted into a park on the creek. Would not take much and plenty of room for another free ramp to be put in at any time. With as much money that is paid in foe licenses and other fees, there should be free ramps on every lake and river in N.C. and V.A..CF
DGIF can claim that it already has a ramp serving Chick River, but unfortunately it's on Morris Creek--over 20 miles down the river from Walkers Dam.Quote:
Originally Posted by crappiefarmer
Can you still put in at Colonial Harbor Marina? It's below the dam, but isn't that where the fish are this time of year?
Mike
This shouldn't be hard, thats ridiculas (spelling)
WIth respect to minimizing ramp costs on the Chick. If you are a regular you can negotiate an annual rate with Mike at Riverside.
It's a good spot to launch and there is a safety benefit in that someone knows you are out on the water. During the week in winter the Chick can be a mighty lonely place to have a breakdown or other problem.
With respect to the increasing ramp costs. Those who haven't had to maintain a pier on the river may not understand just how expensive it is. I had mine repaired several years ago from ice damage. Driven pilings were going for $8 per foot back in 2003. I'm sure they are more now. A typical piling is 20 to 30 feet on the Chick because of the deep mud on the bottom, and they are replaced in pairs, every 8 feet. It is no problem to drop $10 or $15 K on a repair. That is a lot of $7 ramp fees.
Rockahock could do a much better job of customer service, the fellow with the drop box idea has it nailed. I'm no fan of Rockahock, but please don't think they are getting rich off of your ramp fee. If you find them untenable, the best thing to do is to vote with your dollars and go to Riverside. Besides, there is a lot less pressure on the crappie fishing over on that side of Turner's Neck, some of the real slabs are downriver in the bigger water.
Interesting fact most fishermen are not aware of: The Wallop Brough Act (my spelling may be bad) levied a 10% excise tax on all outdoor goods which goes into a special fund. This excise tax is collected at the point of manufacture, so you never see it being collected, but it is there in every rod, reel, boat, spool of line, and jig that you buy. This has been collected since the early 80's, part of RR's effort to convert taxes to user fees.
Virginia angler's do not get their return from this fund. The fund works like this: If a State wants to build a boat ramp, fish hatchery, campground, etc the state must file the plan with the fund (Federal Government) and then the fund matches the state dollar for dollar. In effect, outdoorsmen provide a 50% discount to the state for buiding facilities. States like Maryland that invest a lot in these types of facilities get a lot back from the fund. States like Virginia that don't invest in the outdoors let their ourdoorsmen's money go to other states.
( for me) Its thier Half-AZZ additude /threats/ and lack of proper way to pay! ( fishermen are generally early on the water)
BTW, welcome to CC.
I plan to try out a used Bassboat monday, may put in at rockahock