Chincoteague Island

Chincoteague Island Virginia is a family-oriented vacation resort along the USA Atlantic Coast. Vacations to the island can include recreational activities such as swimming, sunbathing, fishing, clamming, bird watching, nature cruises, eco tours, biking, hiking, boating, kayaking, miniature golf, Chincoteague ponies, the pony swim, fireman's carnival, Chincoteague decoy and art show, Chincoteague Center's arts and crafts show, the oyster festival and more.

The island is known for its shops and art galleries. Chincoteague area wildlife artists display art such as decoys and other bird carvings, paintings, photographs and sculptured wildlife pieces.

Located within minutes of the resort is Assateague Island, which is occupied by Assateague National Sea Shore and Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge. The refuge covers over 14,000 acres of beach, dunes, marsh, and forest habitat. The majority of the refuge is located in Virginia although 418 acres are on Maryland soil. The refuge also includes Morris Island, Marsh on the Northern part of Chincoteague Island. The refuge extends southward, Assawoman, Metompkin, and Cedar Islands.

A world famous Chincoteague Island event is the pony swim and penning, a tradition since 1924. The swim, penning and auction is held on the last Wednesday and Thursday of July. Ponies are rounded up and swim the channel between Assateague and Chincoteague Islands. The animals are penned, inspected, fed and most of the foals auctioned off to qualified buyers. The remaining ponies are returned to Assateague after the penning to roam free for another year.

Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge is one of the most popular refuges in the United States, especially among bird watchers. The refuge is either home to or a stop over point for a array of birds and other wildlife. Ducks, geese, swans, egrets, herons, skimmers, plovers, sanderlings and dozens of other shorebirds visit or live on the islands.

The refuge is also home to a variety of mammals and reptiles. The most famous are the Chincoteague ponies, but visitors may also spot whitetail deer, sika deer, foxes, muskrats, cottontail rabbits, box turtles, terrapins, and a few species of harmless snakes.

The U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) reported that Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge reported the most recreational visits of roughly 80 national wildlife refuges during 2006. The refuge had about 7.5 million visitors for the year. Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge held the number one spot for jobs at 3,766, economic return, at $315.4 million. Economic benefit was number one among the nations refuges with $155.42 returned for every $1 budgeted expenditures.

Visit the Outdoors USA online store to shop for Chincoteague Island-Chincoteague Pony T Shirts, Assateague lighthouse art and more.

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Eastern Shore of Virginia Chamber of Commerce Seafood Festival is held annually in May.
Enthusiasts enjoy oysters, clams and fresh fish deliciously served Eastern Shore-style. The event is all-you-can-eat, held at Tom's Cove Campground, Chincoteague Island, VA.

The Annual Chincoteague Island Pony Swim and Penning is the last Wednesday and Thursday of July. Started in the 1924 as a fund raising event, it now also serves to keep the population of the horses down to the 150 adult animals that the Fish and Wildlife Service deems appropriate to protect the island habitat from overgrazing. The ponies are driven across a narrow part of the Assateague Channel at slack tide on Wednesday, corraled and auctioned off on Thursday. This "pony swim" is the highlight of the summer season.

The Chincoteague Island Blueberry Festival is an annual summer event. The 2-day festival is normally held the third full weekend in July, preceding the world famous pony swim and fireman's carnival. The festival has been a Chincoteague Island summer event since 1987. It has grown in size and now draws over 100 artists and crafts specialists.

The Chincoteague Island Virginia Oyster Festival is a popular annual event, held each year in October. The festival, created by the chamber of commerce, features Chincoteague Island's famous oysters. The event promotes the oyster season, which includes the cooler months of fall, winter and spring. The popularity of the event may require obtaining tickets well in advance as the festival often sells out.

National Waterfowl Week at Chincoteague Wildlife Refuge runs from the Saturday before Thanksgiving to the Sunday after Thanksgiving. The wildlife loop is usually open to vehicles all day during the event. This is a once a year opportunity to have vehicle access to the service road which extends northward into the refuge. From the service road, visitors are be able to get a close up view of many of the hidden ponds where they find ducks, geese, brant, shorebirds, wild ponies, deer and other wildlife.

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Assateague Island lighthouse is another attraction for visitors to Chincoteague and Assateague Islands. The lighthouse is located within Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge and is a popular tourist stop. The icon is visible from the ocean, the beach and from almost all of Chincoteague Island.

The lighthouse is owned by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service and is still actively used by the United States Coast Guard as an aid to navigation. The Lighthouse is 142 feet high on a site 22 feet about sea level.

Chincoteague Virginia is known for its saltwater fishing. Anglers of all ages come to Chincoteague to fish for flounder, croakers, trout, bluefish, sea bass, kingfish, spot, tautog, spadefish, rockfish, red drum, black drum, sharks, tuna, mahi mahi, wahoo, marlin and more.

Flounder

Summer flounder (P. dentatis) are found around the channel edges, on the flats, near the inlet and in the ocean off Chincoteague. Flounder bury in the sand to ambush its prey. Flounder feed on a variety of small fish and crustaceans.

On the coast of Virginia, including Chincoteague Island, flounder fishing is a spring ritual for local anglers. Locals and transient anglers fish the inshore waterways each spring for flounder.

The action sometimes begins in March but April sees the main thrust of fish. The spring run can continue into May.

Croaker

Atlantic Croaker or "hardhead" are popular in Chincoteague. The fish get their names because of the "croaking" noise they make when removed from the water. Croakers are hard fighters and prolific feeders. They are caught on a variety of baits and lures. They arrive in Chincoteague in early summer and remain intil fall when they migrate back into the ocean. Even in October, croaker can be caught in tremendous numbers when ocean schools are located.

Spot

Spot occur in the bays, estuaries and coastal waters. Spot are fun to catch and a great fish for anglers of all ages. Spot are caught using standard 2 hook rigs, using small hooks and small pieces of bait. Popular baits include bloodworms, shrimp, clam and synthetic bloodworm type baits. Spot may also be caught with small jigs or Sabiki rigs. Anglers seek spot both as a baitfish and because of their excellent value as a seafood delicacy.

Kingfish

Kingfish are small but delicious fish that are caught in the back bays, near the inlet and along the surf. They are sometimes caught in large numbers. Anglers drift using small hooks and baits such as bloodworms, small pieces of squid, clams or other cut baits.

Sea Bass

Sea Bass fishing is among the most popular fish caught in the ocean off the Virginia coast. Anglers fish year round for this exceptionally delicious fish, although the fish migrate to deeper water in winter.

Peak fishing is usually May and early June and again in the fall. In the spring, wrecks, reefs and rough bottom in depths of 50 - 80 feet usually hold the most fish.

Bigger fish can sometimes be enticed by using larger baits. Favorite rigs for bigger fish include single hook rigs with a whole squid for bait, large bucktail jigs with squid strips and large metal jigs.

Bluefish

Around Chincoteague Island, bluefish can sometimes be found along shorelines, beaches and areas where rips form such as sharp bends or channel edges.

Surf anglers on Assateague Island also encounter bluefish, sometimes in large numbers. Bluefish may appear in the surf at any time but spring and fall see the best catches.

Offshore, bluefish congregate in large numbers along the 20 fathom line. Monster bluefish are often caught while shark or tuna fishing.

Bluefish often work bait the surface and their location given away by birds or when their backs or tails appear above the surface.

Striped Bass

Chincoteague Island has excellent striped bass fishing. Surf anglers catch monster striped bass, known locally as "rockfish" using cut boats such as menhaden or "bunker", spot, bloodworms and squid.

Striped bass are also caught around the bridges and other structure by casting artificial lures such as plastic shad or by live baiting spot or other small fish.

In addition, anglers sometimes locate schools of striped bass in the ocean, usually in the cooler months of November thru March.

Sharks

Sharks are caught in several environments around the island from Spring thru late Fall. Sharks may appear in the bay, near the inlet, in the surf, along the inshore shoals and reefs or farther offshore.

Surf anglers catch smooth and spiny dogfish, sandbar, bull and sandtiger sharks.

Farther out in the ocean, anglers catch mako, blacktip, sandbar, bull, hammerhead, thresher, tiger and other large sharks.

Tuna

Boats fishing from Chincoteague Island catch bluefin, yellowfin, skipjack and longfin tuna. Anglers troll artificials or dead baits, chunk with butterfish or jig to catch tuna.

Chincoteague Island is one of the best places in Virginia to fish for wahoo. Chincoteague offshore fishing boats begin catching wahoo in mid-summer along the 20 fathom line and out in deepwater areas such as the Washington or Norfolk Canyons.

Mahi Mahi

Mahi Mahi, also known as dolphin fish are fast growing, pelagic fish. They are among the most beautiful of all fish. Younger fish school in large numbers, orienting to sargasso weed or floating debri. The males develop a blunt forehead and grow larger than the females.

Wahoo

Wahoo are among the fastest and most beautiful pelagic fish. They easily attain speeds exceeding 50 mph and are known for their stealth. The fish are long and slender, with vertical blue stripes. They have blue eyes and a wide opening mouth equipped with razor sharp teeth.

Wahoo use their combination of speed and sharp teeth when hunting. They have been known to charge thru a school of fish, with their mouth wide open. Their teeth need only to touch baitfish to slice them cleanly in half. After the initial charge, wahoo may turn and cruise back in lower in the water column, catching any injured or dead fish that sink.

White Marlin

White marlin tend to weigh around 30-60 pounds and feed on a variety of smaller baits. They are very intelligent fish. When hunting prey, white marlin display neon colors and change to an aggressive posture. A hungry or agitated marlin will charge and bat its bill at a baitfish or trolled lure.

Blue Marlin

Blue marlin are much larger, up to 1000 lbs, feeding on larger baits. Blue marlin are brightly colored and are known for their dramatic leaps and deep runs. Most local blue marlin are over 100 pounds and feed on fish such as small yellowfin tuna, false albacore, mahi mahi and other fish. A sign of potential for blue marlin fishing are pods of skipjack tuna. Skipjack tuna are the smallest of the Virginia tuna, ranging from about 3 to 18 pounds. The fish are sought after by fishermen because they are among the favorite prey of blue marlin.

Swordfish

Swordfish complete the trio of billfish that swim off the coast of Virginia. These fish have tremendous strength and stamina, testing the limits of the most experienced anglers. Swordfish may vary from perhaps 4-10 feet in length, reaching weights of several hundred pounds and rarely exceeding 1000 pounds. Swordfish are found in the deeper offshore waters, feeding in extreme depths during the day and coming near the surface at night. Like marlin, swordfish move with temperature changes, becoming most common in late summer and fall.

Swordfish are caught mostly at night, in the deeper areas of offshore canyons. On overnight trips, anglers typically set one or more lines at various depths. Nighttime swordfish rigs usually consist of a large circle or Southern tuna hook on a cable leader. Swordfish baits include whole squid, mackerel or other small fish. A glow stick is added to the leader a few feet above the bait. Inline weights may also be added on the line to control the depth of the bait.

Chincoteague Island Virginia is known for waterfowl hunting, decoys and other waterfowl and wildlife carvings. Chincoteague Island is one of the few places where hand carved working decoys are still used. Local artists carve all types of waterfowl and wildlife art.

The Chincoteague Island Decoy Carver's Association has over 200 members. Several shows on Chincoteague Island offer visitors with an opportunity to see and purchase decoys and wildfowl art from a number of local artists.

During tourist season, people come from all over ther world to visit the island and enjoy its culture. Visitors often browse the many shops that carry local wildfowl carvings, decoys and other art, many of whom take home a collectable working or decorative decoy.

These are the latest Chincoteague Island and Chincoteague Pony calendars.

Chincoteague Ponies calendar

Chincoteague Island calendar

Chincoteague Virginia is well known for its excellent quality oysters. The saltwater provides and ideal environment for the growth of oysters and other shellfish.

The oysters that grow around Chincoteague Island are Eastern, Atlantic or Virginia oysters (Crassostrea Virginica). They are also known as "Chincoteague Salts", referring to their unique and sought after taste which comes from the pure Atlantic Ocean water that nourishes them with each tide.

Chincoteague Island is home to a successful aquaculture industry which also includes production of both oysters and clams.

The Chincoteague Island Virginia Oyster Festival is a popular annual event, held each year in October. The festival, created by the chamber of commerce, features Chincoteague Island's famous oysters.

More information about Chincoteague Island oysters is available at the local Oyster and Maritime Museum on Maddox Blvd.

Other local seafood includes flounder, tuna, mahi mahi, striped bass, croakers, spot, scallops, lobsters, clams, blue crabs and other delicacies.

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The Hidden Galleon

The Hidden Galleon by John Amrhein, Jr. is "the true story of a lost Spanish ship and the legendary wild ponies of Assateague Island." On September 5, 1750, a Spanish warship named La Galga drove ashore on Assateague and came to rest close to shore and partially submerged. The only people who died were lost swimming ashore. Her captain later described her location as "within two ship lengths of the Maryland and Virginia boundary."

The Forgotten Pony - the story of Rainy's Boy

Author Jessie-Ann Friend met Marguerite Henry as a young girl and promised to keep the stories of Misty's descendents alive. The Forgotten Pony is the second in what will be a trilogy of books for young readers.

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The Chincoteague Cultural Alliance is a non-profit, tax-exempt organization formed to enhance community life by fostering and promoting the growth and vitality of arts and culture on Chincoteague Island and Delmarva's Eastern Shore. The Alliance is the sponsor of the popular Second Saturdays Art Stroll on Chincoteague.