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First kayak, good places to put in (Gavleston)?

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 9:04 am
by rball5
Hi all! I bought my first kayak yesterday & want to get it in the water. Anyone have suggestions about where to put in on the island? Looking for somewhere I can park my truck (obviously) & do some paddling + fishing to get used to the new boat. Maybe somewhere that's not a busy boat ramp so I'm not the newb in the way?

Scored a huge deal on an Old Town Predator 13 from Cabela's: http://imgur.com/a/olf2X

Thanks!

Re: First kayak, good places to put in (Gavleston)?

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 8:52 pm
by trilogyace
61st street park has a ramp to launch from and you can paddle in offats bayou.

Re: First kayak, good places to put in (Gavleston)?

Posted: Sun Aug 06, 2017 9:59 pm
by rball5
Thanks for the reply! From my boating days I know how impatient some people can be at a busy ramp (like 61st seems to be) & was looking for something a bit more laid back while I get my bearings on a kayak. I found launch points at GISP after posting... I might start there at least for the first outing.

I found an online map with many launch points tagged, but most are next to someone's house (dead end roads) - how does parking work there? Just park in the street & nobody cares?

Re: RE: First kayak, good places to put in (Gavleston)?

Posted: Tue Aug 08, 2017 11:25 am
by Shroomboyy
rball5 wrote:Hi all! I bought my first kayak yesterday & want to get it in the water. Anyone have suggestions about where to put in on the island? Looking for somewhere I can park my truck (obviously) & do some paddling + fishing to get used to the new boat. Maybe somewhere that's not a busy boat ramp so I'm not the newb in the way?

Scored a huge deal on an Old Town Predator 13 from Cabela's: http://imgur.com/a/olf2X

Thanks!
Lol I saw that same yak at Cabela's a couple weeks ago since I live by that store and go in every so often to visit the clearance section. Some hella good deals in there.

I'm also fairly new to kayak fishing and I'll go down to Texas City Dike and fish around Mosquito island. It's maybe a half mile or less from the begining or the dike past the bait shops on the left side. It's a good place to get into some specs eary in the mornings before it gets hot.

It's easy to beach launch there or you can use the ramp a few hundred yards away if you want to. Usually there will be a half dozen or more kayackers and lots of wade fisherman in the area eary just as the sun comes up.

Just a bit of advice. Avoid the place on weekends unless you want to battle people for a parking space and enjoy being buzzed by power boaters and jet skiers. Also they charge $5 cash only on weekends but it's free the rest of the week and the off season.

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Re: First kayak, good places to put in (Gavleston)?

Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2017 1:27 pm
by rball5
Thanks for the recommendation - I'll check it out one day soon.
I've got all of next week (and half of the following) off work - hopefully the weather cooperates & I get to spend a bunch of time on the water.

Re: First kayak, good places to put in (Gavleston)?

Posted: Thu Aug 10, 2017 11:08 pm
by crusher
This is a pretty often asked question and is where most of us started...where to go? Personally, I suggest Galveston State Park as a good starting place because the three launches are boat-free, it's pretty shallow so you can be comfortable paddling around and getting used to the new kayak, and there are reds, flounder, and specs around in one place or another any given day, and there are other kayaks around but never too many. $5 to enter and park, but it's safe parking and paddling. If you go more than a half mile, you can see grass lines, geotubes, grass bottoms, oyster, and start the journey to learning the various fishing habitats.

Re: First kayak, good places to put in (Gavleston)?

Posted: Sun Aug 13, 2017 1:16 pm
by rball5
crusher wrote:This is a pretty often asked question and is where most of us started...where to go? Personally, I suggest Galveston State Park as a good starting place because the three launches are boat-free, it's pretty shallow so you can be comfortable paddling around and getting used to the new kayak, and there are reds, flounder, and specs around in one place or another any given day, and there are other kayaks around but never too many. $5 to enter and park, but it's safe parking and paddling. If you go more than a half mile, you can see grass lines, geotubes, grass bottoms, oyster, and start the journey to learning the various fishing habitats.
Thanks for the reply! I didn't look around enough before asking - found lots of recommendations in the saltwater section (maybe a sticky in the 'New to Kayaking' section with links to answers for different areas would be good).

To follow up, I went to GSP & launched at Oak Bayou (per the ranger's recommendation for a newb). Convenient parking without worrying about a ticket/towing, trash cans, restrooms, land on 3 sides and shallow enough to stand in most places in case you get in to trouble. I'm confident enough after the first outing to convert my inflatable pfd back to automatic (was worried about dumping out when I launched/landed & wasting $25 to re-arm).

I'd still like to find a spot closer to home but I really liked the state park's facilities & will be back (I've been spoiled by living on the island, the ~13 mile drive from 25th street seemed like FOREVER :D).

I'll ask when I go back tomorrow, but ... anyone know if you still have to stop by headquarters every day if you buy the annual pass?
I've got some time off work & plan to spend most of the next 1.5 weeks on the water.

Re: First kayak, good places to put in (Gavleston)?

Posted: Tue Aug 15, 2017 10:52 pm
by crusher
Pretty sure you just drive in with the annual pass. No need to stop at the office.

I've never been, but I think there's fishing in the lagoon on the far east end of the island. That's close to you, I imagine.

Use google earth and the published launch sites once you think you're stable and up for some exploring. I've only covered about 20% of the launches between Sabine and East Matagorda that I know about, over about 3 years as a pretty occasional yakker.