Sunday 8/13

[zigtherat]

Went out Sunday morning with my cousin and a few other boats for a little friendly competetion. We managed to get 3 keepers in the boat by noon and one was almost 4 pounds. Water was its usual green color where we were in the no wake zone and surface temps were about 76. There were only 1 or 2 other boats out when we got started but the ramp was a zoo when we came back in around 12:30. Very nice day out on the water.

[Deleted]

Congrats! What were you using? I was out from 6:00 AM to 11:30 AM and got my first skunk of the season. I fished shallow, I fished deep and we hit a ton of spots that typically give up a bass or two and I bombed big time. The mud line was moving down the lake bringing with it all kinds of debris (and chocolate milk colored water). When we came back in to the ramp at 11:30 the water near the Sheidy Ramp was nasty. It was like a maze running back up through trying to avoid all of the logs and branches coming down through with the mud line (plus all of the dirt and little twigs etc.) The water also looked like someone dumped a warehouse full of mulch in it; it was bad. Fortunately when I came in the ramp wasn't too bad. But one of my buddies said he was trying to come in around 12:30 or so and he had to wait nearly 45 minutes in the water to bring his boat in. They really need to make one ramp for loading and one ramp for unloading on the lake since all of the pleasure boaters seem to be using the Sheidy Ramp now. I'd love to fish there a little longer on each trip but I know that it's best to get out of there by around 10:30 or you'll run into a big mess.

[zigtherat]

We got most of them pitching plastics, a couple on shakey heads and 1 on a jig. Some shallow and some deep. Picked up one here and there so not really much of a pattern. All that debri was like a minefield coming back in! Add that to the overcrowded ramp and it made for a bit of a frustrating experience getting the boat out. We had to wait about 30 minutes. Seems like one ramp for loading and one for launching would be a good idea but who knows all it takes is one person to screw it up.

[icemole]

Been a long time since I put in at Sheidy ... but isn't that a double wide ramp too ? As far as making one side for launching and the other for retrieval... it would not work unless you had somebody sitting there all day. I've seen all kinds of bad behavior at the ACOE ramps in addition to people who just aren't very good launching/retrieving.

[zigtherat]

I'm not sure what the name of the ramp is but it's off RT 183 and when looking at the map it's across from Sheidy Rd so I assume that's the name of it. There is definitely enough room to do one side for launching and one for retrieval but like you said it would have to be controlled somehow. The wait and crowd at the ramp was pretty much what I was expecting for a Sunday afternoon so that isn't exactly the problem it's just a few people doing things that hinder everyone from being able to launch/retrieve smoothly.

[Deleted]

Aug 14, 2017 16:13:52 GMT -5 icemole said:

Been a long time since I put in at Sheidy ... but isn't that a double wide ramp too ? As far as making one side for launching and the other for retrieval... it would not work unless you had somebody sitting there all day. I've seen all kinds of bad behavior at the ACOE ramps in addition to people who just aren't very good launching/retrieving.

There is a ramp on each side of the dock at Sheidy, but on Sunday folks with pontoon boats etc. were trying to launch two on the same side while another two pleasure boaters were trying to launch at the same time on the other side. I would have loved to have watched a pontoon boat trailer go off the side of the concrete ramp while trying to squeeze themselves in; would have served them right. Yes; I agree that a separate launch/retrieve would not work unless it was monitored which would never happen. But it's a nice thought anyway. One of the issues is that so many VERY large pleasure boats are launching up there now and those folks in general have no clue what it means to prep the boat BEFORE you pull up to the ramp. When I back down the ramp my boat is 100% ready to go (as it is with most of the fisherman- except for some of the rookies). But honestly, most of these pleasure boaters up there have a huge sense of entitlement and could care less about boat ramp etiquette; sad but true. And as far as following the rules in the no-wake zone......that's a whole other story. If only they could make the Sheidy Ramp for FISHING BOATS only; everything would be just fine. Us fisherman as a whole are pretty kind and courteous to one another (most of the time) but those pleasure boaters could care less about us because in their eyes they own the lake and we are pondscum; again......sad but true.

[redman]

I've only fished on my boat a few times at Blue Marsh largely due to the crowds and jet skis. However my experiences are the same as Frogman regarding preparedness of pleasure boaters. They wait in a queue for 1 hour or more to launch and then spend another 20 minutes at the ramp screwing around. Cracks me up!!! Half the time they leave their PFDs or lunches in their truck and only remember once they're out on the water. Saw a guy last year launch with his plug out, told him about it, but he continued to launch...oh well. He tied up the ramp real good until he could get the boat back on the trailer.

[icemole]

The pleasure boaters have just as much right to the ramps as fishermen. We both pay the PFBC for the privilege to boat in Pa. In fact pleasure boaters probably pay more than most fishermen due to using more gas than fishermen.(there is a federal tax on gas used by boaters that comes back to the PFBC)

Blue Marsh is the only unlimited HP lake in the SE portion of the state. We need to share the lake without pitting one group against the other. I'm not real familiar with that ramp, but at the main lake ramp I always beached my boat(if solo) and pulled into the line waiting my turn to retrieve. Yes it took me a little longer than if I'd had a "partner" but I did not tie up the ramp too long.

The thing that gets me more at the ramps are the people who tie off to the dock leaving only a narrow chute down the middle. And then there are the jetskis moored up all over the "beach" area so that you can't beach your boat to get the trailer this ties in with people tying up the docks.. They need a 15' NO MOORING Zone

[Deleted]

Aug 15, 2017 17:29:25 GMT -5 icemole said:

The pleasure boaters have just as much right to the ramps as fishermen. We both pay the PFBC for the privilege to boat in Pa. In fact pleasure boaters probably pay more than most fishermen due to using more gas than fishermen.(there is a federal tax on gas used by boaters that comes back to the PFBC)

Blue Marsh is the only unlimited HP lake in the SE portion of the state. We need to share the lake without pitting one group against the other. I'm not real familiar with that ramp, but at the main lake ramp I always beached my boat(if solo) and pulled into the line waiting my turn to retrieve. Yes it took me a little longer than if I'd had a "partner" but I did not tie up the ramp too long.

The thing that gets me more at the ramps are the people who tie off to the dock leaving only a narrow chute down the middle. And then there are the jetskis moored up all over the "beach" area so that you can't beach your boat to get the trailer this ties in with people tying up the docks.. They need a 15' NO MOORING Zone

I agree with your comments about having just as much right and not pitting one group against each other; BUT.....I am a realist and it is what it is. Fisherman very rarely break the no wake rules; fisherman know all about having your boat prepped and ready before backing down the ramp etc. I fish by myself about 50% of the time and even when I am by myself I can get my boat unloaded; park my vehicle and get out of the way in a very short time. I am not saying that 100% of fisherman and pleasure boaters are the problem; but I would say that pleasure boaters cause many more issues than fisherman. And it seems like the bigger the boat; the fancier the boat the worse it is.....as I stated earlier; entitlement. Not trying to piss anyone off; just stating the facts. Maybe if the pleasure boaters would be more considerate of the fisherman things would be a whole lot better. So really; I should say that we fisherman have just as much right to be on the lake as the pleasure boaters.