You should go there and ask to speak to the owner or manager. Tell them about the changes you think they need to do. It may help but you won't know till you try.

 

You should go there and ask to speak to the owner or manager.

good luck. i think it's owned by TPWD

 

I do not think the signs will matter, folks really think the water is deep there. I once had to kill my engine and pool someone's line from my prop, and this is after I asked him to watch his line. This was during the winter and tides were low.

 

Yeah its public now. I've never really had an issue there until last weekend with line, and then again last night. And of course already got some imperfections on a brand new prop. Jack plate on 6, motor trimmed up. Last night was it for me.

I almost want to say something to the people on the dock, but I also know how limited fishing is without a boat so I kind of refrain from saying anything. But at the same time people, you are throwing in about a foot of water, and you're *********** up people with boats. It's almost as if when these people see a boat, they immediately think its 10ft of water.

When their line tears into the seals on the lower unit, hopefully they can afford the invoice in the mail!

 

If they only knew how unsafe the pier is, one good hit by a boat and would fall like dominos. Saw it this winter on a super low tide and pilings at the base are barely an inch or two around.

 

LOL yep! That pier is a problem waiting to happen. That whole outfit down there ramp, dock, parking lot, etc needs an overhaul

 

Dad used to call it "running the gauntlet".

 

It's been like that for the 20+ years I've lived on Tiki. The pier has been rebuilt a couple times or at least had some significant repair over that time but since the bait camp moved up the street it has gotten progressively worse. The ramp and pier are actually owned by the state. For the most part, it has always sucked and the issue with the people fishing...well they have always fished there. There really isn't a lot of access to the water if you don't have a boat. I'm certainly not making excuses for the folks fishing across the boat channel there as I've had my share of issues over the years including having lures and hooks thrown at me, just bringing up the other side of the coin. Most folks fishing there have no idea the channel is right along the pier and the rest of it is super shallow muddy flats.

 

I feel your pain. Launch at Xmas has become a "namese" fishing hole. Crab lines off of of every cleat along the dock and people casting surf rods in to less than 1 foot of water. People keeping every 2 inch crab they catch, blocking the launch.

Winter can't get here soon enough...

 

I feel your pain. Launch at Xmas has become a "namese" fishing hole. Crab lines off of of every cleat along the dock and people casting surf rods in to less than 1 foot of water. People keeping every 2 inch crab they catch, blocking the launch.

Winter can't get here soon enough...

I remember you and I almost having to push that flat bottom out of that ramp last duck season!

Like Jkmoore said to me on the phone, our ramps around here SUCK ***. Off the top of my head, I think the nicest ramp in the area is the public ramp on Clear Lake. Aside from all the dumbasses that come through there, the ramp itself is nice.

2004 Chocolate is okay aside from the ridiculous small space you have to maneuver. Get a good crowd of boats coming through and it's a cluster.

 

This is what is looks like when the water is blown out during the winter.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

Glad you posted these pics. I was going to reply to Bullitt that the winter can be way worse. You just don't normally have all the yahoos on the dock when it's cold, but you might not be able to use the ramp either.

A few years ago me and a buddy launched from there with an outgoing tide. It was February and the wind was blowing, not super hard but steady. We were barely able to get back to the ramp when we were done fishing. I think if we would have stayed out much longer we would have been SOL. I hate launching from there. My primary launch point (ramp at the diversionary in Hitchcock) isn't much better, people crowd the two ramps there too. And getting out to the ICW from the diversionary can be tricky at low tide.

 

mud flats

"Most folks fishing there have no idea the channel is right along the pier and the rest of it is super shallow muddy flats."

I discovered that mud flat straight out from the pier, about 10 years ago. Taxied out a bit from the pier to let a boat go south. Boat went by at about 30 kts and the waves pushed me up and on top of the flat. Took a bit of knee deep muddy pushing to get the bow back off it. Havent been back sense. Sort of like launching at the Goo hole in Anahuac 30 years ago.

 

Ya the ramp at SLP can be challenging. That entire cove is typically only 1.5’ on a good day. It’s a challenge just to make it out into the bay. But it’s doable if you take your time and don’t get crazy. My buddy Todd has a 22’ Shearwater and runs out of there all the time. That things drafts a whole lot deeper than my SS so I know it’s not impossible. But on a real low tide forget about it.