Frozen Ramps

How cold should it be for you to need to worry about not being able to pull out of the lake on a ramp?

My son wants to go Friday...estimated Low is 26 degrees...is it a bad idea to go? Just want us to be safe...

freezing

Better have 4wd.

I've dropped the boat in the water many times in mid 20s daylight temps and never had any issues or had to use 4wd getting up the ramp. Just check before you back all the way down and make sure it's not a solid sheet of ice coming out of the water.

The lake water will melt the ice, never had to use a 4wd and fished with temps in the teens multiple times. The trick is to not panic when backing down and the in ability to stop till your tires get to the water if there is already a sheet of ice on the ramp.

Take some cat liter just incase

The ramp can get slick if it was used the night before and froze overnight then you are first one to launch next morning. Other thing to remember is the boards freezing on the trailer if they are wet from previous day. Don't unhook till in the water

Take a bag of potassium chloride to melt the ice and let you walk and drive on it.

Did this at Ivie a few years ago. Bout broke my thumb on the winch handle, took a little chunk out of the transom and was a major PITA getting the boat back on the trailer. Never again!!

SE Kansas grass grower

Potassium chloride?

I'm not sure what that would do to fish. I do know what it does to people.

Are you sure you don't mean sodium chloride?

I'd be worried being the first person going down, but i don't think even water on a ramp the night before would be an issue. 26 is not that cold, and water would drain off the ramp before it could freeze.

Think it only going below 30, for a few hours. i assume not much activity at 3:00 am on a ramp.

Need more information before you can really say how good/bad it will, where you are going is it a steep ramp? do you have 4W drive? will you be loading after temps have been well below freezing for several hours, is it hot water lake? Wind conditions? is it an isolated ramp or others boaters expected nearby. Those things need to be considered but I would probably still be going if the fish are biting and just take it slow and careful using tips already provided.

Even wet ramps can be difficult if they're steep and you have a big boat and pulling with a PU. No weight in the back and the tires will just spin. We were in my buddies boat and launched at Flat Creek once which has a steep ramp. Pulling the boat up that ramp the tires just kept spinning and both truck and boat were sliding back in the water. Let some air out of the rear tires and I jumped up and down on the rear bumper and finally got a little traction.

Just use common sense. If your worried and other have not been on the ramp, check it.

Pavement holds heat, so it has to be down in the mid-20's for several days before ice will start building up.

American-Texan
A bit off the subject but with temperatures cold enough to freeze water on the ramp how do you keep your rod guides from freezing up?

dip the rod into the lake about every cast. .....and don't use braid.

lol, isn't that what they use for lethal injections?

The water will stop you when the trailer hits the water and the water off the trailer will allow you to pull out.

The best way I have found is to stay home!

this is some

kinda wrong on both statements. Haha.

Ha ha guys...

I didn't have a problem at Grapevine (27 degrees) this past cold front but went to Tyler State park and it was (17 degrees) -with snow on the ground and a sheet of Ice on the water to the ramp...

Funny part was my trailer wheels actually rolled on the ice a few feet before they broke in to water (I have a small lightweight boat)

We had to use 4x4 to get out...wheels were spinning...

Thanks ya'll

So did you catch any fish when it was that damn cold?!