Wondering if the rising water has made it ok to launch at Shady Grove? I like the sound of a free ramp again.

It is probally O.K. since the lake is up 5 ft it is probally 4ft. deep there.
Johnny

I bet it is good to go. I've launched out of there when the lake was lower than it is now. Still need to be careful though.

Didn't someone say that it wasn't safe to park in Shady Grove?

No pelican bay is unsafe. Sady grove is O.K. cops come through every little while.
Johnny

Just don't park Shady Grove after dark. The ramp is very usable right now. I just wish they had put in a dock for getting in/out of the boat. I wouldn't use the ramp at Pothead Bay if they paid me to use it. Good luck.

be very careful if you try to use it. a buddy and i went down there in august with his pontoon and when he backed in---BOOOM, the trailer fell off the end of the ramp. luckily his pontoon is pretty light and he had 4-wheel drive, so it was easy to just pull right back out. i would definitely take a rod or pole of some type and keep "feeling" the ramp behind the tires as you back down, so you can make sure you dont find the end of it. i sure wish it was marked with a sign.

hey basscatjb, how big is your boat and are you saying you can launch right now??

He don't lanch there anymore he lanches at anglers club. He is probally off flying now. Did'nt mean to jump in but know him well and fish with him a lot. It is a spooky ramp at any lake level. Even with the lake up ther will be some 2 to 3 ft. water between the lake and the ramp. A lot of people do it to save 5 dollars . I would only lanch a jon boat at any level. Just IMHO.
Johnny

I have a 19 ft Bass Cat. Johnny's right. You can get the boat in but you need to stick to the channel if you can and be really careful until you get out to the lake. I don't use it anymore like Johnny said.

Saginaw Dad,

I launched there last week. I don't really like to launch there because it's not really set up good. You either have to pull your boat up on the rocks (now that the lake is only a 1/2 ft low), or climb over the fishing dock. The only reason I launched there is because I got home late and only had an hour before dark, I literally live a 1/4 of a mile from this ramp so I went for it. I had no problems at all, the water was right at 4 ft all the way out to the main lake. I did have to dodge lots of tree limb piles, but it wasn't anything bad. You shouldn't have to worry about backing off the end of the ramp now that the lake is almost full.

However, unless you are in a time crunch, I would pay the $5 at West Bay.


Jonathan