Artificial Reef 9

[baynovice]

Has anyone taken a kayak from shore to any of the artificial reefs? I stay near the Indian River Inlet and it looks like reef 9 is a little over 4 miles out. That's a solid hour plus to the reef. Wondering if anyone has made the trip and how the conditions were once you got there. Thanks in advance.

[Slobber Bob]

Surf launch right? I'm hoping you aren't planning on riding out through the inlet to get there.

With the proper planning you can ride the OC inlet in and out with a kayak, but IRI looks like a death wish.

I don't know anything about Reef 9 though - sorry.

[baynovice]

Surf launch right? I'm hoping you aren't planning on riding out through the inlet to get there.

With the proper planning you can ride the OC inlet in and out with a kayak, but IRI looks like a death wish.

I don't know anything about Reef 9 though - sorry.

For sure, surf launch. I've heard of the dangers in the IRI even for boats. You'd have to be very skilled or nuts to kayak out of the inlet. I'm not suggesting that a surf launch on either side of IRI would be easy given the waves, but was curious to see if anyone has done it.

[Slobber Bob]

Good. I was just making sure. You never know sometimes.

I haven't seen him post in years, so I doubt he is still active, but a member here named Chimo used to go to some of the near shore wrecks off OC. You might be able to look up some of his old stuff on here and it might be helpful in giving you insight into some of the DE ocean wrecks? That's about all I have to contribute in your pursuit of some information.

[baynovice]

Good. I was just making sure. You never know sometimes.

I haven't seen him post in years, so I doubt he is still active, but a member here named Chimo used to go to some of the near shore wrecks off OC. You might be able to look up some of his old stuff on here and it might be helpful in giving you insight into some of the DE ocean wrecks? That's about all I have to contribute in your pursuit of some information.

Thanks for your input. I’ll stick to the safer parts of the Delaware bays and the Lewes channels.


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[Slobber Bob]

I wasn't trying to discourage you at all.

I'd like to do more ocean trips myself around OC one day.

[baynovice]

I wasn't trying to discourage you at all.

I'd like to do more ocean trips myself around OC one day.

Appreciate your thoughtfulness. I’ve been watching too many YouTube videos. There is a guy EliasV who goes out to wreck sites offshore in NC. Looks very tempting when watching but I’m sure much harder in reality.


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[Jaysav]

With proper planning, that’s not a bad trip. I kayak three miles one way sometimes just to reach my favorite spots. Know your limits, plan your trip. Check the weather and use the tide for your advantage, I try to ride the tide to and from my fishing locations, pay attention to wind forecast. Make sure you have all the safety equipment (PFD, Radio, mirror, first aid kit, bilge pump, flag, night lights, flare gun, charged cell phone, back up battery for fish finder GPS, rescue ladder and float plan). Take a fishing buddy. Don’t forget food and drinks. Four miles is not bad, I done trips that covered close to twenty miles. Nothing wrong with turning back if it get uncomfortable.

[baynovice]

With proper planning, that’s not a bad trip. I kayak three miles one way sometimes just to reach my favorite spots. Know your limits, plan your trip. Check the weather and use the tide for your advantage, I try to ride the tide to and from my fishing locations, pay attention to wind forecast. Make sure you have all the safety equipment (PFD, Radio, mirror, first aid kit, bilge pump, flag, night lights, flare gun, charged cell phone, back up battery for fish finder GPS, rescue ladder and float plan). Take a fishing buddy. Don’t forget food and drinks. Four miles is not bad, I done trips that covered close to twenty miles. Nothing wrong with turning back if it get uncomfortable.

We are of the same mind. I troll in a Hobie with the mirage pedal drive on the majority of my outings to get exercise as much as catch fish and I'm generally covering 10-14 miles on the water at a steady pace over 3-5 hours, so the idea of pedaling out 4 miles sounded very doable. I took the advice from Slobber Bob and searched the archives and found a good post from many years ago about why one would want to make that trek given that many of the species at the reef are also available at the inner and outer walls in CHSP. That made a lot of sense and is clearly a much safer option. Even with potential traffic on DE Route 1, driving 20 minutes to CHSP and a 30 minute pedal to the walls seems to be a better option than the hour + pedal to the reef.

[Jaysav]

We are of the same mind. I troll in a Hobie with the mirage pedal drive on the majority of my outings to get exercise as much as catch fish and I'm generally covering 10-14 miles on the water at a steady pace over 3-5 hours, so the idea of pedaling out 4 miles sounded very doable. I took the advice from Slobber Bob and searched the archives and found a good post from many years ago about why one would want to make that trek given that many of the species at the reef are also available at the inner and outer walls in CHSP. That made a lot of sense and is clearly a much safer option. Even with potential traffic on DE Route 1, driving 20 minutes to CHSP and a 30 minute pedal to the walls seems to be a better option than the hour + pedal to the reef.

I agree, I'm in South NJ, I get to cover everything From J-bay, Cape May, and Lewes with average 1.5 hour drive, let me know when you want to hit the wall, I was planning on fishing Kiptopeke today, but I figured I'll wait until next weekend.

[baynovice]

I agree, I'm in South NJ, I get to cover everything From J-bay, Cape May, and Lewes with average 1.5 hour drive, let me know when you want to hit the wall, I was planning on fishing Kiptopeke today, but I figured I'll wait until next weekend.

Sounds good. I'm scouting/researching for trips in the fall. I'll shoot you a msg when I'm headed out. Kiptopeke - I've heard good things about the area but that's quite a drive for you from south NJ! Good luck on your outing.

[Jaysav]

Sounds good. I'm scouting/researching for trips in the fall. I'll shoot you a msg when I'm headed out. Kiptopeke - I've heard good things about the area but that's quite a drive for you from south NJ! Good luck on your outing.

I travel the east coast for fish