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/long
obviously, the early morning thunder storm let me sleep in a bit. while on my way to the bay, i texted GS and he told me he was launching from SPSP and their was a huge lie to get in. it was almost 10am by this time and didn't feel like waiting in an hour long line, and so i decided to cross the bridge and launch out of terrapin beach park for the first time.
Lets go over this launch site. tiny parking lot, supposedly a half mike walk to beach. there are 2 parts out of 3 to this review, the launch and the landing...
the launch:
When i first got there, the parking lot was pretty empty and it's not big at all(you can park on the street). loaded up my kayak and was i off hauling 150lbs or so 1/2mile on the flat tires of my cart(damn things never hold air). i had no idea where to go. asked a lady but she wasn't from around there, visiting from Cleveland. Luckily there was a map there and took a picture of it on my phone for reference. off i go. heres the deal, no way in hell its 1/2 a mile walk, at best it 1/8 of a mile. it took me 8 minutes to get to the beach. i was actually pump...didnt seem THAT bad of a launch. the walk does kinda suck, but i could jury rig a better cart specifically for it(to even out the balance of the kayak) or even build a trailer for a bicycle if i wanted. get to the beach and its pretty empty with only a few groups of people fishing in the distance. get on the water, and im out under the bridge by 1100ish.
Fishing:
took me around 2 hours or so to get 6 spots, all in the 8"-9" with a few perch, baby rocks and tiny bluefish. got bored of trying for more spot, so paddled out to deeper water. first spot out, 30" in the hatch. next hour, nothing. got bored so decided to jig and throw metals at the pilings and sewer pipe. nothing. went back to see if i could find GS. found him and he told me about his catch. spent a few minutes with him and he headed off west towards sandy point. i started heading back too but had 2 spot left. out one goes and gets mangled but i didn't set the hook in time bc i was picking my nose..lol..no joke. spot comes back dazed out so i let him go and stick another out at a different set of pillings. few minutes, something takes it and starts taking out line, more line than the 30". i try and bring him to the boat but it keeps going deep, 30 seconds or so later, he spits the hook and i curse. eh, i paddle back to the beach.
the Landing:
i actually had to use my gps for the first time to find where, on the beach, i launched from. Now around 430pm, the beach was PACKED. in addition, there was guys wading/fishing in neck deep water with surf rods, the entire stretch. it was a mind field of rods and lines trying to get to the beach. once on the beach< i got surround by kids and their parents... seriously, surrounded, asking me questions, touching my stuff. then comes the walk back. after a day of fishing, that walk is brutal...it only took me 12 minutes this time, stopping a few times to rest, but it felt like an hour walk and i was soaked from sweat. bottom line is, bc of the atmosphere there, i may not launch from there again, at least not during the weekends. but i definitely need to adjust my cart if i do. also, that empty parking lot turned packed, and people parked behind me ont he grass which really made it hard for me to get out of my spot with my truck...literally took me 5 minutes to get out moving in 12" increments. only positive note was i still was off the water and past sandy point before GS was loaded with his kayak after pedaling across. i'm on the fence about this launch....we need to do something about getting hemmingways back.
Monday on the 4th, my girlfriend and i kayak crabed spa creek again. we had lines in the water by 930am and with only 2 handlines in the water we already had 6 in the cooler within 20minutes, i didnt even have time to set her lines out it was so quick. we ended up with two dozen crabs in 2 hours and only stopped bc we ran out of room in the cooler. only 4 crabs were under 6" with 9 being over 7". great quick trip with a pro at handlining.
/end
obviously, the early morning thunder storm let me sleep in a bit. while on my way to the bay, i texted GS and he told me he was launching from SPSP and their was a huge lie to get in. it was almost 10am by this time and didn't feel like waiting in an hour long line, and so i decided to cross the bridge and launch out of terrapin beach park for the first time.
Lets go over this launch site. tiny parking lot, supposedly a half mike walk to beach. there are 2 parts out of 3 to this review, the launch and the landing...
the launch:
When i first got there, the parking lot was pretty empty and it's not big at all(you can park on the street). loaded up my kayak and was i off hauling 150lbs or so 1/2mile on the flat tires of my cart(damn things never hold air). i had no idea where to go. asked a lady but she wasn't from around there, visiting from Cleveland. Luckily there was a map there and took a picture of it on my phone for reference. off i go. heres the deal, no way in hell its 1/2 a mile walk, at best it 1/8 of a mile. it took me 8 minutes to get to the beach. i was actually pump...didnt seem THAT bad of a launch. the walk does kinda suck, but i could jury rig a better cart specifically for it(to even out the balance of the kayak) or even build a trailer for a bicycle if i wanted. get to the beach and its pretty empty with only a few groups of people fishing in the distance. get on the water, and im out under the bridge by 1100ish.
Fishing:
took me around 2 hours or so to get 6 spots, all in the 8"-9" with a few perch, baby rocks and tiny bluefish. got bored of trying for more spot, so paddled out to deeper water. first spot out, 30" in the hatch. next hour, nothing. got bored so decided to jig and throw metals at the pilings and sewer pipe. nothing. went back to see if i could find GS. found him and he told me about his catch. spent a few minutes with him and he headed off west towards sandy point. i started heading back too but had 2 spot left. out one goes and gets mangled but i didn't set the hook in time bc i was picking my nose..lol..no joke. spot comes back dazed out so i let him go and stick another out at a different set of pillings. few minutes, something takes it and starts taking out line, more line than the 30". i try and bring him to the boat but it keeps going deep, 30 seconds or so later, he spits the hook and i curse. eh, i paddle back to the beach.
the Landing:
i actually had to use my gps for the first time to find where, on the beach, i launched from. Now around 430pm, the beach was PACKED. in addition, there was guys wading/fishing in neck deep water with surf rods, the entire stretch. it was a mind field of rods and lines trying to get to the beach. once on the beach< i got surround by kids and their parents... seriously, surrounded, asking me questions, touching my stuff. then comes the walk back. after a day of fishing, that walk is brutal...it only took me 12 minutes this time, stopping a few times to rest, but it felt like an hour walk and i was soaked from sweat. bottom line is, bc of the atmosphere there, i may not launch from there again, at least not during the weekends. but i definitely need to adjust my cart if i do. also, that empty parking lot turned packed, and people parked behind me ont he grass which really made it hard for me to get out of my spot with my truck...literally took me 5 minutes to get out moving in 12" increments. only positive note was i still was off the water and past sandy point before GS was loaded with his kayak after pedaling across. i'm on the fence about this launch....we need to do something about getting hemmingways back.
Monday on the 4th, my girlfriend and i kayak crabed spa creek again. we had lines in the water by 930am and with only 2 handlines in the water we already had 6 in the cooler within 20minutes, i didnt even have time to set her lines out it was so quick. we ended up with two dozen crabs in 2 hours and only stopped bc we ran out of room in the cooler. only 4 crabs were under 6" with 9 being over 7". great quick trip with a pro at handlining.
/end
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