Ramp Conditions
12-4-23 PM
Text Message 530-249-1430
Contact Us Anytime No Calls after 7pm please
LOW WATER RAMP: The courtesy dock has been removed for the season the ramp remains open to use.
Some trailers are going off the end of the cement, but mostly only the first set of tires of a dual axel. However, please note that the drop off the end is pretty deep if you do drop off and you might lose your license plate and damage your trailer but all in the name of fishing….and now without a courtesy dock.
Getting a trailer too deep keeps the boat floating & harder to center on the trailer. Dock can get icy this time of year so just be careful. Also note that boats on carpeted bunks can freeze to the bunks overnight after launching. Don’t keep backing down the ramp, the boat will float the trailer & not even grunt. Just wait a few minutes, the lake water will thaw things out. I don’t think I ever waited more than a few minutes until temps drop to single digits and lower. That was the least of my problems. LoL.
Stay closer to the dock than the rock (it is buoyed and marked and is now just out of the water on top. The east side of the ramp has a lesser slope …okay for smaller boats & shallower launching trailers. The dock can get a bit slippery on a cold morning as temps drop. So watch your step, it can get slick & not show it’s icy. The bumper along the dock was dislodged in a couple places. I would assume a few screws could repair it in a few minutes but we haven’t actually had the time to fix it ourselves and it remains with drooping bumper edges. So be sure to get your bumpers out, crashing into the wood/steel dock when it’s windy is no fun. LoL.
We still have the hump from last year, surrounded by deeper water…the hump doesn’t allow for flow out the channel, it simply traps the sediment and drops on the shoal (AKA “hump”). So power-loading boats this season is still not advisable. So start having some common sense out there people. Power loading has killed more than one ramp around here in the past. The sad part is I have seen more power-loading this year than last year so don’t be surprised if more rocks are blown out and the sandbar rises as the hole at the end of the rocks deepens.
PICK UP YOUR DARN TRASH PEOPLE AND THOSE WITH DOGS….PICK UP YOUR DOGS POOP AS EVERYBODY HAS TO WALK DOWN FROM THE PARKING LOT. Nothing like stepping in dog poop and then into the boat.
The launch ramp is designated for launching boats, not swimming or fishing from it. There’s miles of recreation area for swimming and fishing from shore….the boat launch is not it. Either side is fine, just don’t block or hinder the boats going in and out. We all like to see folks enjoy their stay & see the kids playing and fishing. However, Eagle Lake does NOT have areas to drive up and fish from shore. Every access for shore fishing requires a hike & some small children can’t always traverse the length and terrain. It’s not a family user friendly lake for shore fishing as accesses are not maintained nor have any accesses been created or adapted for low water usage. Pretty much over fall and winter, it’s a matter of being able to hike through snow and survive cold temps. …often low temps in the single digits by late Nov/Dec. Kayaker’s? You’ll work very hard getting a craft to the water. Harder time getting it back up. Use the low water ramp or the old Aspen ramp area which are the easiest launches.
SPALDING: Nope. Spalding district board has chosen not to open the marina bathrooms or ramp for launching as the water is not high enough & a rock pile stands in the way. Not going to be any boats launching out of Spalding until the deluge comes and quite a few repairs and maintenance….like removing the rock pile blocking the channel. And no one advises trying.
STONES: Nope
I advise all CA boaters to take the CA boat operators test and get certified. If you’re over 50, this means you. You’ll be amazed at what you don’t know after all the decades you have been boating. Those of us that have certified sooner than we needed to, we can tell in an instant when one is not. From the way you handle your boat at the dock to how your trailer is hooked up as well as manners on the water such as how close you can come to manual powered float tubes or kayaks on the water. These are no different that if someone was swimming and just because there might not be enforcement all the time, safety can certainly be an issue. Do it in your spare time. Take the course, the mini tests and get it done. Do not take the test thinking you know everything, unless you have a captains license and at that point you don’t need certified, you are already. Take the course. You will need to know about sailing boats, PWC, Kayaks, manual powered float tubes and paddle boats and legal distances from them as well as what NOT to do at a launch ramp….that’s what is a real determination of passing the certification test. Military vessels, buoys at inlets, ocean, distance from swimmers (including manual powered crafts) and much more. Trust me, no matter how long you have operated boats on a lake, you probably won’t pass the test without taking the course. Gotta pass by no less than 80% correct. I am not ashamed to say, I learned things that I will never use, but at least I do know them. Do you? Personally, regardless of age, knowing what you’re doing with a boat and on the water is a good thing. Other’s lives depend on it also. I can’t count the times when boats come too close to my kayak or float tube, turn so their lines are under me and then blame me for running over their lines. LoL. If someone wants to talk or say Hi, just let me know before coming in too close. Most people text me and I’m expecting company. No problem, just don’t come in too close when no notice is given or when a kayak has a fish on. Anymore, I just keep fishing, ignore the idiots, if they catch my line my braid will win and my scissors are handy to cut their lines when they hang up on my depth finder, yak or my line for being stupid. LoL. It really is unbelievable how many people out there on the water crowd not only other boats when there is a lot of open water and few boats but crowd the kayaks too. One born every minute.
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