Minnewaukan Boat ramp

It would appear based on your observations and the above probability graph that the odds are not good you will be using that ramp come late spring.  Not without some work anyway.

There were a few of us on the phone earlier today discussing ramp and bridge isssues and this is what we are "guessing" at this point.

Ramps:
Minnwalkin-Done
Six mile- Visibly done but still usable, tricky
Woodland, Casino fine.
The ramp on the back side of camp grafton, toast if windy, tricky the rest of the time.
Ghrams island ramp and park fine, road on the way out might need some quick attention.

Bridges though; I guess getting uder the 57 and 20 bridges are going to be out of the picture if you have a full windshield and a normal size boat, Mauvee Coullee bridge is gonna become tricky like the 57 and 20 were last year ESPECIALLY with the wind factor.

Further guess, we will be fishing the north side of Minnawalkin this year while boating over old 281.

Just a guesstimate and i'm sure some will be right, some will be wrong and there will be plenty of folks out there that remind me of those predicitions I got wrong!!! LOL

Walleynut ,I thought you fished mostly from shore!!??

I DO!!!! But guess what I got for christmas...???? I got one of those boats two people can sit in and pedal, so watch out, I am on the prowl!!!!!!! LOL

WalyNut doesn't even fish! He backs up by the water and the fish get so scared they just give up and jump into his livewell!

Elk,

Thats only when I tie on the special "Chuck Norris" lure!!! LOL

Go back to talking about boat ramps and stop highjacking this guys thread!!! LOL

Walynut are you going to boat all the way from ghrams island or i once heard they were putting a ramp farther south down by the pump i once read in a local paper that they were going to make another but i havent heard anything after that. it looks like with all the road construction i will be fishing mostly out of black tiger i have never been there how will that ramp hold up with the water levels?

WIF,

I am sorry to not be able to help you out more but I do about 99% of my fishing from the casino west. The folks I was talking with do also so I really dont know how the east end ramps are going to fare through this year. I do not know of any public ramps "for sure" that they (G&F) are putting in, matter of fact I only know of possibly one private being put it BUT I cant talk to much about that yet. I cant see G&F dumping cash into alot of new ramps till they come up with a solution to an outlet, I think the funds they do have available will be spent on keeping the current ones above water.

I would say that I launch 50% of the time out of West Bay (private launch) 30% out of Ghrams and 20% of the time out of the other listed launches. Just depends on where I have found an active fish pattern.

I was oahetized this summer.    ---  what about my favorite ramp --- on the east side schaffer? ramp--- right off from 57.   Is that one closed / was it open this summer?  Predictions

Is the west bay boat ramp able to use for a fee or anything like that?

WIF,

You would need to contact West Bay Resort and ask Jim or Diane your question.

Short,

If you are refering to the ramp across from Camp Grafton, I would think that one would be fine.

Wishin I was Fishin Said:
Is the west bay boat ramp able to use for a fee or anything like that?

I stopped and asked a few years back and Diane said that unless you were staying with them that you could not use the ramp.  Don't know if that policy has changed or not.

I have heard talk about a new ramp in Round Lake to the SW.  They will have to cut a ditch through the old highway.   A landowner has supposedly give his okey dokey too. 

Dalyrmple has declared an emergency for the Devils Lake region already.  I think bad things to come for Minnewauken.

TCRenagade Said:
  A landowner has supposedly give his okey dokey too. 

ALOT of landowners have offered up access or even blocks of land to G&F to put in ramps but they are not budging on getting anything going. (Not saying your round lake story is incorrect, I am not familiar with that project.)

I know one example very closly though, first hand, where land was offered to G&F to allow them to put a ramp in. G&F said they would accept but the landowner had to also meet them half way on the expenses to build the ramp BUT couldn't charge folks to use to try and recoupe there invested costs because is would be considered "public" since half the funds would come from G&F.

Makes NO sense, wouldn't waist money like that either.

Tim,
Unfortuanitly I belive you are right. I definitley see the school there departing most rapidly. I hope I am wrong but......

walynut Said:

I know one example very closly though, first hand, where land was offered to G&F to allow them to put a ramp in. G&F said they would accept but the landowner had to also meet them half way on the expenses to build the ramp BUT couldn't charge folks to use to try and recoupe there invested costs because is would be considered "public" since half the funds would come from G&F.

Makes NO sense, wouldn't waist money like that either.

Wow...that amazes me that the G&F would only pay for half when the ramps that will still be good are few and far between.  Stupid!

I worked directly with the G&F on trying to find a spot over in that area.  The problem is slope.  Pure and simple.  A lot of people are willing to give land or spots, but the cost to do so is quite high.  And most all the spots don't have a decent slope if the lake goes up or down.  You need a decent slope to have a boat ramp,  If you don't have it you have to haul in dirt or dredge depending on which way the water goes.  The cost of doing either of these is extremely high.  And areas that have good slope have all kinds of people wanting to purchase them for private sites.  You also have other rules.  The G&F can't "buy" land without direct approval by the Legislature, and they can't dip into their reserves to fund high cost sites without that same approval.  The money they normally use for boat improvements is federal money.  And, that has a caveat that was mentioned above.  If that federal money is used, you can't charge for access.  So, it's really not that simple.  With that being said, the smartest think the Minnewaukan community could do right now is to go to the Legislature and get them to put a good chunk of money aside for this purpose and direct the G&F to then develop something.  That time to do that is right now.  They're in session for the next few months and then it won't be for another 2 years before they meet.

I always thought that Benson County should request that the Sate purchase the point on the southwest corner by the Mauvee bridge and then turn that over to State Parks and make a nice little park/boat ramp.  But with the lake coming up, I'm not sure we'd be able to get under the bridge to Pelican.

Thanks for the explanation gonefshn....makes sense.  If they move Minnewaken they should have plenty of fill for ramp.  Only kidding....I use to fish alot out of Minnewaken and don't want to see it disappear. 

Hey Walynut, do you camp over at west bay?  

featherblaster Said:
Hey Walynut, do you camp over at west bay?  

Yes, I have a place in there.